Questions:
1. During the early Roman era, the merchants of Rome frequently traveled beyond the empire's borders to trade with other peoples. Summarize the trading difficulties that probably arose in the barter economies they encountered.
2. During World War II, U.S. prisoners of war used cigarettes as a form of money. Cigarettes were used to purchase anything that was for sale in the prison camps. We have discussed, however, that money should possess the qualities of durability, portability, divisibility, uniformity, ease of recognition, and scarcity. In terms of these six criteria, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of cigarette money in this prison economy.
3. Throughout history, the most popular form of money has been gold.
a. Give three reasons why gold has been such a popular form of money.
b. What would happen to the value of gold if people discovered that it could easily be made at home from inexpensive materials? Explain your answer.
c. Suppose that a nation's money supply consisted of copper, silver, and gold coins, and paper currency. Also suppose that the worldwide value of gold began to increase dramatically. Explain what holders of gold could be expected to do with their gold coins.