Chapter VI Money — Our Greatest Problem

used, but the most accurate definition is "a medium of exchange." In its true sense money is anything the seller will receive from the buyer in payment for his goods and/or services. It is always a promise to pay. In fact, money is a note the seller holds against the buyer. But, before you may dignify a buyer's promise to pay as money, the promise must have the endorsement of the Government, that the seller may have the Government's guarantee that the promise to pay will be paid in full, and received by any seller. Therefore, the credit of the Nation must be pledged behind every dollar that the people may use and be assured that the money will be acceptable to all sellers. Originally, our government minted gold and silver coin, products of labour, which had an intrinsic value, that is, a market value approximately equivalent to the stamped value of the coin. So the "guarantee" of the government was not imprinted on the coin, because the holder of the coin knew that the coin itself was worth the dollar; and that all sellers would receive it in payment for goods without question. But as buying and selling increased, and the difficulty in keeping (from robbers) the gold and/or silver, and the transporting of it from buyer