The word "money" probably originates from the Latin word "moneta", a title of the Roman goddess Juno, in or near whose temple money was coined.
The earliest coins were made in Lydia, Asia Minor, around 640 - 630 BC. They consisted of electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver.
The first commodity money included pigs, rare seashells, whale's teeth, and (often) cattle. In medieval Iraq, bread was used as an early form of currency. Black and white peppers have been used as commodity money for hundreds of years before Christ, as also several centuries thereafter.
In June 2005 six currency counterfeiters were sentenced by Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court to a total of 25 years.
At the time of the arrest of Anatasios Arnaouti and his accomplices, police seized $3,377,300 worth of counterfeit US $100 notes; £1,685,930 worth of counterfeit Bank of England £10 notes; a holographic reel containing 35,394 separate images of the $100 American Express hologram for use on American Express Travellers Cheques, with a face value of $3,539,400; computers, with images of identity documents such as driving licences, passports, bail forms, marriage and birth certificates; images in preparation for counterfeiting £20 notes.
The US Bureau of Engraving and Printing produces 38 million notes a day with a face value of approximately $541 million. 95% of the notes printed each year are used to replace notes already in circulation, and 48% of the notes printed are $1 notes.
According to TNS Financial Services 8.2 million U.S. households had a net worth of at least $1 million at the end of 2004.
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