When we think of money, we think of coins and paper bills. That is what money is today. But in the past, people used many things as money. Some countries used cows, salt, tea, or butter. Other countries used feathers or stones.
People on the island of Santa Cruz in the Pacific Ocean used feather money. They made this money from small red feathers. They stuck the feathers together to make a string. The string could be up to thirty-two feet long. They used this money to pay for a marriage or to buy a boat.
The island of Yap in the Pacific Ocean is a place where people used and still use the heaviest money in the world: Yap stones. These are round white stones with a hole in the middle. The Yap stones do not come from the island. The Yap men have to go to islands 400 miles away to get them. They work the stones to make them round and then make a hole in the middle. They put a pole through the hole so that more than one person can carry the stones. Big stones can be twelve feet high-as big as two tall men. They can weigh more than one ton. Yap stones. Servants follow the rich people. Each servant carries a stone on a pole over his shoulder. Today people on the island use paper money for everyday shopping. But for other things they still prefer Yap stones.
Money has changed a lot over the years: from feathers to Yap stones to today's plastic money or credit cards. Money has become a very important part of our lives. Just take a look around you and you can see how important it is.