Mercur Miner | 1908-02-12 | Page 4 | Adolescence of the Dollar

ADOLESCENCE OF THE DOLLAR. Present Unit of Value Has Had Many Forms and Shapes, The ""ollar took somo rounding. Nor did It formerly ring truo, but, much nllve, simply gavo a bleat or bellow. Cattle, among country folk, at ono tlmo constituted tho dollar, while prlmltlvo man generally mado use of any article sufficiently abundant for tho standard payment of nil merchandise, merchan-dise, writes II. Holt Lomax In Harper's Weekly. Thus, In ancient Greece, a largo bronze trlod had tho v.iluo of a dozen oxen. A good hard working woman, wo-man, on tho other hand, was given In oxchango for only four such boasts When metal took tho plnco of raonoy, tho dollar clung to Its traditions, nnd coins wcro still called after Hvo stock Thus, "pccunla," applied to motnl money, derived Its origin from "peciiB" (cattle). From tho custom of counting heads of cattlo camo tho present des lgnatlon of n sum In cash capital, or "cnpltn" (licndB). In Sanscrit, rv (pa, (herd, (lock) made roupya, or tho In dlnn rupee, while tho ingots of clcc-trum, clcc-trum, or ndmlxturo of gold nnd silver, when first In uso as money, boro tho Impress of nn ox or cow. Not clumsy, but too frngllo, wcro tho shells In use ns money by the negrocB of Afrlcn, and throughout nnclent Asia, whore tho natives, taken by Its beauty, gavo the filioll a money value