I’m saying that bartering was never a real thing that happened, at least not on any large scale. I’m also saying that debt existed long before currency. So, this idea that there was a difficulty when someone had a goat and someone else had 50 apples, that wasn’t a real problem that ever happened.
Even once currency was fairly common, paying for 50 apples in currency was rare. Most of the time, things were handled using debt and/or gifts. For example, roman coins are common, but the number of coins actually in circulation in roman times was tiny compared to the size of the roman economy. That’s because the most common arrangement was debt, which was often paid back not in coin but by returning something that offset or canceled the debt.
I’m saying that bartering was never a real thing that happened, at least not on any large scale. I’m also saying that debt existed long before currency. So, this idea that there was a difficulty when someone had a goat and someone else had 50 apples, that wasn’t a real problem that ever happened.
Even once currency was fairly common, paying for 50 apples in currency was rare. Most of the time, things were handled using debt and/or gifts. For example, roman coins are common, but the number of coins actually in circulation in roman times was tiny compared to the size of the roman economy. That’s because the most common arrangement was debt, which was often paid back not in coin but by returning something that offset or canceled the debt.