Paper money is light to carry. People trust it because it can be swapped for coins.
About a thousand years ago in China, people paid with copper coins on strings. A merchant needed many strings, and they were heavy.
Merchants left their coins with a shop they trusted, and the shop gave back a paper note. A friend of the shop swapped the note for coins in the next city.
Later the government printed notes with carved wooden blocks. A note had a picture and a seal.
People trusted a note because they could swap it for coins. Paper is light.
These are some of the questions on the sets. The printable sheets have more and an answer key.
They were heavy. A long trip with them meant a sore back.
A paper note. It said how many coins were left.
They could swap it for coins. Trust came from swapping, not from looks.
Who made the note. That made it hard to copy.
With a grown-up, talk about how money is carried today, and why it is not heavy like strings of coins.
Talk about how people carry money today, and why it is not heavy like strings of coins. Keep it about the idea of a note standing for something.
