PAPER MONEY AND COINS AS TEACHING MATERIALS IN SOCIAL STUDIES

PAPER MONEY AND COINS AS TEACHING MATERIALS

IN SOCIAL STUDIES

By: Rodrigo P. de Vera, Jr., Ed. D.

            Are you a numismatist? If you collect coins or paper money, you are a numismatist or a collector of coins and paper money, including tokens and medals. This is an appropriate hobby for a Social  Studies teacher to engage into.

            As to the history of coins, coins were introduced as a means of payment at around 6^th or 5^th century BCE, but its invention is still shrouded in mystery. Nobody knew exactly how it started, but according to to Herdotous, coins were first minted by the Lydians, while Aristotle claimed that the first coins were minted by Demodike of Kyrme, the wife of King Midas of Phrygia.

            As to the history of paper money, the Chinese started it. They  started carrying folding money during the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907),  mostly in the form of privately issued bills of credit or exchange notes. They used it for more than 500 years before the practice began to catch on in Europe in the 17th century.

            Regardless who should receive the credit of starting the use of coins and paper money, one thing is for sure, both items are valuable materials for teaching Social Studies subjects.

            Why use paper money and coins as teaching materials?

        Coins and paper money tell the history of nation. Coins and paper money are the “living” witness of the rise and fall of nation, even for a civilization. Ancient coins are still unearthed and found at the bottom of the sea. Coins have longer life span than to its makers. Ancient coins featured their leaders/ emperors during their reign. Today, we have witnessed  the fall of a nation. Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, U.S.S.R., East Germany and West Germany, North Vietnam and South Vietnam, to name a few, have been gone and have become part of  history; however, their coins and paper money during their existence remain intact and preserve among the hands of collectors and enthusiasts. Even ancient coins from the time of the Roman Empire or earlier, we can still see and own one. That is why, when your topic is about the Roman Empire, you can show to your class ancient coins on the said period. This will surely make your class alive and interesting as your students can touch the coins used during the Roman Empire. You can buy ancient coins and paper money  online for your class and they are affordable.

            Coins and paper money show the economy of a nation. The value of a coin and paper money is determined by its gold reserve. The value of a paper money and the coin depends on the political and economic condition of that country. In times of war, inflation is a threat to a nation in crisis. During war, you can see a paper money in billions or millions but in reality it has a little value. After the war, these paper monies eventually lost their value and ended up souvenir items just like what happened to former Yugoslavia.

        Paper money features the culture of a nation. Festivals, occupations, recreation, historical landmarks, beliefs, religious institutions, etc. are featured at the back of the notes. Color and designs of our paper money today make these notes interesting among students.

          Paper money and coins can be a great decoration in your classroom. You can put them in frames and hang them in your classroom. In order to protect your paper money, you can cover them with acetate film.

            Start collecting now and enjoy the fun!