An aura of mystery surrounds the use of gold and silver as money for long periods of history. What is so special about these two metals? The answer is not mysterious at all. Money must have certain properties to function well as a medium of exchange. One type of money is replaced by another when the newer money fulfills these properties better than the old.

The six properties that a "good" medium of exchange must possess are: 1. Verifiable at low cost (people must be able to distinguish real money from counterfeit money at low cost). Discuss the redesign of U.S. paper currency. Also discuss the original meaning of "debasing the currency." When gold was money and a king wanted to fight a war, he would sometimes order the royal treasurer to melt all the gold, add 10 percent lead and recast the debased gold into coins. 2.Portable (people must be able to carry it around conveniently). Paper money works better than gold or silver in many respects.3.Divisible (people must be able to make change). Again, this can be a problem with gold and silver coins.4. Durable (money shouldn't wear excessively). This is a problem with gold because very pure gold flakes easily.5. Available in sufficient supply (to avoid the need for barter). In the era of "free coinage" in the United States, the main determinant of the money supply was the location and timing of the most recent gold strike.6. Have a stable purchasing power. Gold and silver do not have a stable purchasing power because their price changes with changes in supply and demand. For centuries, gold and silver coins satisfied these conditions better than any other alternative; hence, their popularity as money. Fiat money, however, also satisfies these conditions quite well. For this discussion forum, suggest some form of currencies that you would prefer other than the paper money and coins that we use today. For the purpose of this discussion, just consider whether or not the item(s) meet the criteria for good currency. This is the opportunity to have some fun. For instance, jelly beans fit most of the criteria for good currency. Also, as part of the discussion, access the discussion of other students and offer some problems that might erupt if we decided to utilize their currency ideas. For instance, why don't we use jelly beans for currency?