Barter to Bitcoin
1. Barter
Long ago, in a distant time,
Bartering reigned, a simple chime.
Exchange of goods, the ancient way,
Before money’s rule came into play.
Farmers traded crops for tools,
Shepherds bartered woolly jewels.
A dance of give and take, you see,
Like a tulip bulb, wild and free.
Beware the tricks, the hidden theme,
As not all deals were as they seemed.
Some men prospered, some went broke,
Have watchful eyes for the pig in a poke.
Silks for spices, pots for bread,
Trading all day ‘til sunlight fled.
So let us learn from barters’ past,
Value in trade should always last.
2. Cattle
In times of old, when life was rough,
Cattle roamed, big and tough.
They were the treasure, a wealth untold,
For in their trade, value unfolds.
Hooves they stomped and horns so grand,
Cattle wandered over the land.
People gathered, their eyes alight,
Trading for pigs, day and night.
From hills to valleys, they would roam,
Exchanged for goats, far from home.
Milk and meat they could provide,
Their worth in cattle could not be denied.
The weight and size of cattle immense,
Transporting them, no easy expense.
Across the land to make the deal,
But cattle as currency, not ideal.
3. Cowrie Shells
From Africa to the Caribbean Sea,
Cowries were traded, you’ll agree.
In China, they were used with grace,
In Japan, they found a special place.
A long while ago, before coins gleamed,
And banknotes were but a distant dream.
Cowrie shells, with value to convey,
Yet cunning scammers forged their way
Artisan shills with skillful hands,
Carved their replicas on faraway sands.
From bone and clam shell, they’d devise,
Counterfeit cowries, in cunning guise.
Through the ages, this tale remains,
As currencies shift, in varied domains.
Cowrie shells, both genuine and fake,
As time moved on, the legacy breaks.
4. Metal Coins
In ancient times, a tale we’ll tell,
Of metal coins, they served us well.
From Greece to Rome, a new romance,
In palms they gleamed, a symbol of chance.
Kings and Queens, their power supreme,
On coins, their heads, a recurring theme.
A reminder of who controls the land,
A piece of metal, their power commands.
But coins, oh dear, they had their plight,
Heavy and clunky, a weighty fight.
In pockets they jingled, causing dismay,
A noisy, heavy, price to pay.
So paper and digital, took the stage,
Coins of the past, in a different age.
Their legacy lingers, an ancient tale,
As keys to your coins are the holy grail.
5. Paper Money
Once in history, a clever invention,
Paper money, a grand convention.
A medium of exchange, so light and small,
With value assigned, it pleased us all.
It folds neatly, like an origami swan,
Spending is easy from dusk until dawn.
But moisture, fire, wear and tear,
Threaten our bills, causing quite a scare.
A shift to Zimbabwe in 2008,
Hyperinflation, a troubling faith.
Value vanished, as prices saw red,
Wheelbarrow stacked for that piece of bread.
Cash is trash, the wise ones say,
Let it sit and it will decay.
Inflation’s whisper, cunning and sly,
Erodes your wealth as time floats by.
6. The Gold Standard
In days gone by, the gold standard held sway,
A currency’s value in gold’s display.
Each dollar in hand was backed by the gold,
A promise of worth, a story long-sold.
Crossing borders, a cumbersome quest,
Gold’s weighty challenge, put to the test.
Hard to divide, a burdensome load,
In pockets or coffers, its weight bestowed.
In times of crisis, it held us fast,
With rigid rules from the distant past.
The world has changed and rearranged,
Gold’s for the old as ancients reigned.
But now today, a new tale we chase,
A digital gold, to take its place.
A faster horse, with a private key,
Transparent code for all to see.
7. Credit Cards
History of credit cards, let’s unfold,
Diner’s Club cardboard to metal so old.
Charge cards revolving, at our command,
To paying with credit across the land.
A world of plastic, a consumer’s delight,
Buying things we don’t need, day and night.
Keeping up with the Joneses, a tireless need,
The quest for approval, our wallets concede.
Swiping and tapping, are the way we pay,
Spending our wages, the modern way.
Fees and penalties, a relentless storm,
Draining our pockets, and any life form.
A slave to your master, the card that owns you,
High annual fees, to crush your worth too
Late repayments, a financial earthquake.
Credit bills strike, like a punch in the face.
8. Electronic Money
Enter the era of bits and bytes,
Digital money as fast as light.
Cards and apps, the silicon age,
Pressing the button, is all the rage.
The printer goes BRRR, loud and clear,
Creating wealth, out of thin air.
Value erodes, like sand through a sieve,
A ponzi tale, we mustn’t relive.
But beware, my friends, of a lurking sight,
CBDC’s with hidden might.
It’s on the cards, coming fast, they say,
A weapon of control, at the end of the day.
Enslavement’s mask, in digital guise,
Tracking our lives, under watchful eyes.
A digital trance, where freedoms falter,
March the masses, like sheep to the slaughter.
9. Bitcoin
In the wake of ‘08, a crisis so dire,
Bitcoin emerged from the financial fire.
Sown from distrust in banks so wide,
A new alternative, a safer ride.
Divisible, it’s split with grace,
Durable, to spend in space.
Portable ease, from here to there.
Acceptable, as more people care.
Impossible to copy, easy to store,
Be your own bank, keep your own score.
Decentralized, that’s the key,
With laser eyes, can’t you see.
Digital hornets in a cyber swarm,
A peaceful protest, breaking the norm.
Mass adoption, the orange pill,
To the moon, we may fulfill.
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