RISE OF THE MUSLIMS: Writing on the wall

RISE OF THE MUSLIMS: Writing on the wall

Ashok V. Desai on a book about how Islam changed the world

There were as many currencies as kings. All could not get hold of metals when necessary, so they created different currencies depending on what metal they could get. Coins lasted for centuries. So soon there was bedlam; there were hundreds of denominations and weights. That led to the emergence of currency traders. As traders, they kept stocks of currency. When someone was short of currency, they would lend it to him.

http://www.newageislam.com/rise-of-the-muslims--writing-on-the-wall/islamic-history/d/469