PTE · Reorder Paragraphs

The Evolution of Monetary Systems

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1

Cowrie Shell Currency

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  1. ATheir small size, durability, and distinctive shape made them nearly impossible to counterfeit, which enhanced their monetary value.
  2. BFor thousands of years, cowrie shells collected from the Indian Ocean served as a widely accepted medium of exchange across Asia and Africa.
  3. CThis scarcity, however, vanished when European merchants introduced mass shipments in the nineteenth century, causing the ancient currency system to collapse through hyperinflation.
  4. DConsequently, traders transported vast quantities along maritime routes to inland regions where the shells were scarce.

Questions 2–5

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2

Medieval English Tally Sticks

  1. AThis unexpected financial utility kept the physical tally system in official government use until the early nineteenth century.
  2. BMarks were notched across the wooden stick to indicate the exact amount of money owed by a local sheriff.
  3. CIt was then split lengthwise through the notches, leaving both the debtor and the crown with an identical, tamper-proof record.
  4. DIn medieval Europe, English royal treasuries developed hazelwood tally sticks as a reliable method for recording tax debts.
  5. EBecause the crown accepted its half of the stick as payment for future taxes, these wooden tokens began circulating as an early form of currency among merchants.
3

The Spanish Silver Dollar

  1. AThis relentless commercial demand established the coin as the standard unit of account across multiple continents for more than two centuries.
  2. BDue to their consistent weight and high purity, these silver pieces quickly became the first truly global trading currency.
  3. CMerchants across Asia, particularly in China, demanded them in exchange for silk, porcelain, and tea.
  4. DDuring the sixteenth century, the Spanish Empire began minting silver coins known as pieces of eight from vast American mine deposits.
4

Yapese Stone Money

  1. AInstead, ownership was transferred purely through public oral agreements acknowledged by the entire village.
  2. BBecause the raw stone had to be quarried and transported by canoe from distant islands, each disc represented immense labour.
  3. CDue to their immense weight, however, transactions rarely required the physical relocation of a stone.
  4. DOn the Micronesian island of Yap, native communities used massive limestone discs known as rai stones as valuable property.
  5. EThis shared communal ledger allowed trade to continue uninterrupted, even when an agreed stone lay submerged at the bottom of the sea.
5

The Bank of Amsterdam

  1. AMerchants could then settle large commercial debts simply by transferring balances between accounts, laying the groundwork for modern central banking.
  2. BTo solve this monetary disorder, the bank weighed and assayed deposited coins, crediting account holders with standardised bank money.
  3. CIn 1609, the city of Amsterdam established an innovative public deposit institution called the Amsterdamsche Wisselbank.
  4. DIt was created to address the chaos caused by hundreds of debased and clipped foreign coins circulating across Dutch trading markets.

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