d governments still use, and often prefer, barter as a form of exchange of goods and services.
             In twelve hundred BC cowries were first used. This was the shell of a mollusk that was widely available in the shallow waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, was in China. Historically, many societies have used cowries as money, and even as recently as the middle of this century, cowries have been used in some parts of Africa. The cowrie is the most widely and longest used currency in history. By the time 1000 BC bronze and copper cowrie imitations were manufactured by China at the end of the Stone Age and could be considered some of the earliest forms of metal coins. Metal tool money, such as knife and spade monies, was also first used in China. These early metal monies developed into primitive versions of round coins. Chinese coins were made out of base metals, often containing holes so they could be put together like a chain.
             However some didn't have access to cowries this lead to the domestication of cattle. This was used from nine thousand to six thousand BC. Cattle, which include anything from cows, to sheep, to camels, are the first and oldest forms of money. With the advent of agriculture came the use of grain and other vegetable or plant products as a standard form of barter in many. This system however ran into some flaws when there was no set standard on how much anything was worth.
             About one thousand BC the first coined money was invented. They were bronze and copper cowrie imitations were manufactured by China at the end of the Stone Age and could be considered some of the earliest forms of metal coins. Metal tool money, such as knife and spade monies, was also first used in China. These early metal monies developed into primitive versions of round coins. Chinese coins were made out of base metals, often containing holes so they could be put together like a chain. Outside of China, the first coins develope...