From the earliest agricultural times 9,000 years ago people used cattle for currency. However, metallic money appeared considerably latter, about 2000BC, in the form of bronze ingots, often shaped like cattle and traded on the open market according to their weight. By about 1000 BC bronze was superseded by rarer metals like sliver and gold. The first proto-coins were produced by the Lydians of Anatolia about 800 BC. In course of time coins came into being in many countries including India, Belgium, the US and other countries.
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Although several early societies experimented with paper currency – most notably the Chinese – coins continued to sway in trade because of their durability. The real origin of paper money in the Western world as a medium of exchange began in France in the early 18th century.