Philosophers, jurists,
and historians, as well as economists, and even
naturalists and mathematicians, have dealt with
this notable problem, and there is no civilized
people that has not furnished its quota to the
abundant literature thereon. What is the nature
of those little disks or documents, which in
themselves seem to serve no useful purpose, and which nevertheless, in contradiction to
the rest of experience, pass from one hand to
another in exchange for the most useful commodities,
nay, for which every one is so eagerly
bent on surrendering his wares? Is money an
organic member in the world of commodities,
or is it an economic anomaly? Are we to refer
its commercial currency and its value in trade
to the same causes conditioning those of other
goods, or are they the distinct product of convention
and authority?