8500 - 560 BC
Emergence of lending and writing, initially used for accounting
Cowry shells, a form of currency
Birth of metal coins
520 BC - 1474
Minting of the first Athenian owls
Aristotle theorises the principle of balanced trade and the three major functions of money
Major monetary crisis during the 2nd Punic War
Coins bearing the image of Julius Caesar
Polyaenus' stratagems for financing war
Inflation crisis in Rome
Diocletian reforms the monetary system in Rome
Creation of the solidus by Constantine
Economic development of the Muslim empire, in particular Bagdad
Charlemagne's monetary reforms
The first banknotes or paper money
Assertion of royal power over monetary creation
Monetary manipulations, in particular to finance royal spending
Publication of the Treatise on money by Nicolas Oresme
Birth of the franc
1474 - 1740
The Great Discoveries
Controversy between Bodin and Malestroit in France
First bearer notes redeemable in cash in Sweden
Creation of the first central bank
Money issuance through the reuse of playing cards in Canada (New France)
First paper money issuance in France
1740 - 1945
Issuance of assignats in France
Creation of the New York Stock Exchange
Creation of the Banque de France by Napoleon Bonaparte
Creation, in France, of the franc Germinal
In the United Kingdom, strict link between note-issuance and gold stocks
Banknotes acquire legal tender in France
Launch of the first cheques in France
Creation of the Latin Monetary Union between France and several European countries
Necessity money in France during the Franco-German war
Birth of the German mark
Monetary instability in the United States leading up to the gold standard
Publication of Lombard Street: a description of the money market by Walter Bagehot
Scandinavian Monetary Union
US bank run followed by the creation of the Fed
Necessity money during World War I in France
Hyperinflation in Germany
Setting up of the Gold Exchange Standard
The franc germinal is replaced by the franc Poincaré in France
The Wörgl Experiment in Tyrol, Austria: the first parallel currency
Keynes publishes the General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money
Necessity money during World War II in France
The Bretton Woods agreements and the GATT
1945 to the present
Milton Friedman publishes his article on the quantitative theory of money
The Rueff-Pinay stabilisation plan in France
Launch of the first general-purpose credit card
End of the gold-dollar standard and switch to a floating exchange rate system
Hyperinflation in Argentina
Creation of the European Monetary System (EMS)
France's left-wing economic policy and the subsequent austerity turn
European Monetary System crisis
Signing of the Maastricht Treaty
Monetary and financial crisis in Asia
Creation of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Eurosystem
Setting-up of TARGET 1 in Europe
Introduction of the euro
Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe
Financial and economic crisis in Argentina
Setting up of electronic payment media common to all euro area countries
