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Why did people start using money? At first people bartered, which means they exchanged things they had for things they needed. A farmer who had cattle wanted to have salt, so cattle became a form of money. Throughout their history people have used different things as money: knives and rice in China , cattle in Babylonia, tobacco in America, whales' teeth and shells on the Pacific islands.
The first government to make coins that looked alike and use them as money was probably the city of Lydia in Ancient Greece. The coins were made from a mixture of gold and silver. But they were heavy and difficult to carry, and the cities and the roads of Europe were dangerous places to carry huge purses with gold. In the early 1700s, France's government became the first in Europe to make paper money - banknotes or bills as they say in the US. But paper money, as well as first coins ever, was invented in China, where traveller Marco Polo saw it in the 1280s. Now people carry plastic credit cards in their wallets instead o cash, which makes travellng even safer and more convenient. With your credit card you can take money from the cash-machine any time you need it.
When you go to a foreign country, one of the first things you may see is what money looks like. Banknotes of bifferent countries show queens or presidents or other famous people. But you also may find a tiger or elephant (India), cows and fruit (Nigeria), a map (Norway), or even schoolchildren (Taiwan).
Many cou ntries in Europe now have the same currency; all their coins and paper money are euros. Great Britain, however, is still using pounds. People in France and Italy miss their currencies - francs and lire. But they agree that now money travels easily from one country to another. This makes it easier to make financial deals between countries. And tourists can use the same kind of money to pay for a slice of pizza whether it's in Italy or in France. People travelling to other countries usually need to convert (change) their money into the local currency. For that an exchange rate is used.