Researched
Paper Money
Sichuan merchants and then the Song state issue paper notes around 1000: money becomes a promise instead of a piece of metal.
Open in the interactive tree →Around the year 1000 merchants in Sichuan began issuing paper receipts (jiaozi) for deposited coins, and the Song government took over the issue in the 1020s. Europe's first banknotes came from Stockholm in 1661, and the Bank of England issued notes from 1694. Paper money made large payments easy, and it also made inflation, central banking and state control of the money supply possible.
Prerequisites
- Money~600 BC
- Paper~105 AD
- East Asian Printing868Song China printed its paper money from carved blocks
Unlocks
- Central Bank & State Currency1694Central banks issue banknotes, the paper money invented in Song China