The History of Goldsmiths

Goldsmiths would write receipts detailing the amount of gold on deposit and where people could pick it up from. People found it much easier to carry around these receipts than gold coins because they were far less heavy. This was the origins of modern day banknotes, where even today, the paper rectangles represent a much higher value than the metal coins. The respect that the public gave these deposit receipts was the turning point that kicked off modern global banking.