One good thing about barter is that it is hard for the government to tax barter transactions. The tax department does not accept chickens.
Paper money was "national", but gold was "international", accepted as money.
Fiat Money
Technically, prior to 1971, the U.S. dollar was a "derivative of gold".
After 1971, the U.S. dollar became a "derivative of debt".
Severing the dollar from gold was bank robbery of ungodly proportions.
Fiat money is simply money backed by government's good faith and credit.
If anyone messes with the government's and central bank's monopoly on money, the government has the power to put that group or person in jail for fraud and counterfeiting.
