Numismatists

The word `numismatist` comes from the Greek nomisma meaning `coin`. A numismatist, therefore, is somebody who studies coins and other types of money, usually from
an archaeological and historical standpoint. Coins are one of the most important sources
of information from which archaeologists and historians can try to interpret the past.

Historians and archelogists

Unlike most objects studied by historians, coins were officially produced by the state rather than privately made by individuals. Coins are one of the most commonly found archaeological objects. This means the type of information they can give is often different from that provided by other artefacts. Their designs and inscriptions are an unrivalled source of detailed information about political history, religion and culture.

Why save?

Money is itself a convenient means of saving wealth. Other things of value, such as food
or animals, cannot be kept for ever, but coins will last for long periods without deteriorating. This is shown by the thousands of ancient coins dug up every year. But money does need
to be looked after. It might fall into the wrong hands, or the temptation to spend it unwisely may be too great to resist. More simply, it might lose its value.

What to save?

Money is not necessarily the most sensible material to save. Its value seems fixed, but
the same sum of money may not always buy the same amount. There is little point in saving
if it will buy less as time passes. It may be better to save up what you will need, or some other durable commodity whose value in money (or, better still, in other commodities) will increase.

Where and how to save?

Where should you put the money you save? You could just hide it. Or, to be safe, you could give it to a bank to look after. But neither choice would take account of the money`s tendency to lose its value. The way around this is invest your money: to exchange it for something whose value will last or increase, or lend it at interest, so that you get back more than you lent.

In a developed mixed economy with a certain degree of government intervention, the fiscal and monetary policie of government play an important role in achieving desirable economic balance.
Instruments of monetary policy help to regulate the money supply in a country. When there
is a danger of growing inflation, the government pursues the policy of tight money aimed
at reducing the money supply and limiting investments. Aggregate demand ought
to be decreased. When there is a recession, on the other hand, easy money policy should
be applied and the growth of aggregate demand encouraged.
The main instruments of monetary policy are interest rates and loan terms, increasing
or decreasing the minimum reserve requirements manipulation with the discount rates, and open market operations with goverment securities. If the government sells bonds to the public, the amount of money in ciculation decreases, and vice versa.

Medium of exchange

Nowadays hardly any ekonomy can do without the basic medium of exchange money. Money enables people to exchange goods and services for other commodities – to make transactions.

Store of value

Money also serves as a store of value. It can be kept for spending at a later date. At home money loses value because of inflaction, so i tis Berger to deposit financial assets with
a bank or some other thrift institution. The money deposit then pays its owner interest. Money can also be stored in other forms of assets, the portfolio:securities, shares or bonds. this form of stotiny wealth in the formo f different investments is quite popular as people
to diversify the risk.

Unit of account

In its third main jo bor function, money works as a unit of account – it becomes a measure
of value. It enables us to compare the value of various goods and services. from the price of the goods we knot, for example, that 10 personal computers may have the same value
as one automobile.

Before money existed, people had to use the barter system to exchange their products
and services. Barter meant the direct exchange of goods. Later people developed a more practical system of exchange. They used commodity money – goods which members of the society recognized as having value. They were for instance: cattle, skulls, feathers, shells, salt, wine, elephant tusks, tobacco, etc. Precious metals, especially gold and silver, gradually took over because they had the basic equlities that money should posses: divisibility, durability, homogeneity, they were in limited supply, and counterfeiting was extremely difficult. Nowadays notes and coins are given denominations by the government irrespective of their metal content or precious metal backing. This money officially declared by law, is called fiat money.

Money is everything that serves as a universally accepted medium of exchange or means
of payment. Money can be considered as a special commodity that mediates and facilitates
the exchange of  other goods. In this sense money works as a common equivalent.

How coins are made?

Coins have nearly always been made of metal. Metal working demands considerable skill
and technology. The metal has to be extracted from its natural state, often by mining, and then turned into the required form. Quality control and consistency are vital.

How paper money is made?

The manufacture of banknotes plays an important role in allowing them to be used as money with confidence. Paper money is well protected from counterfeiting by means of water marks, security threads, microprinting in the design, and use of reflective materials.