In 1903, an American anthropologist named William Henry Furness III, spent several months studying inhabitants of the Island of Yap. (Friedman 1) The Island of Yap is located in the Caroline Islands, in Micronesia. William found the German colony’s monetary system to be especially interesting and wrote the book, The Island of Stone Money. (Friedman 1)

The Yaps treasured limestone found from over 400 miles away. Sailors would carve out chunks of limestone they found into wheels and bring it back to their island. The idea of a large, twelve foot, wheel of stone being the system of currency for a society, is an astounding concept. The Yaps didn’t need to have the material broken down to sizes that a man could easily carry with them. The ability to possess the Island’s source of wealth was by word of mouth. When one islander was the owner of the rock, everyone else on the island acknowledged that. There was no point in stealing the heavy stone from another owner because the value wasn’t physical. The value came from the power of everyone knowing the item belonged to the owner, even if the stone wasn’t physically held by the owner. One day, a slab of “fei”, which is term the islanders used for the limestone, got lost at sea. A violent storm caused the sailors to let go of the stone, but the value wasn’t lost with the waves. The Yaps located onshore believed the sailors’ stories and didn’t discredit the value of the owner’s stone.

The concept of having faith in an item that humans cannot physically possess, isn’t a foreign idea in our society today. Although modern ways of payment have changed, there are still similarities to the past. For instance, the idea of physically handing over cash for an item, is becoming rare. People typically now pay with credit/debit cards, checks, loans and so on. The shared concept that the Yaps have with modern society, is that people don’t need to physically see money or “stones” to acknowledge the value. The material of the rocks wasn’t important to the Yaps. The important thing about the rocks included the value, prestige, and power that was associated with the item. The same idea applies to cash today, considering the paper the money is printed on isn’t important. The important aspect is the value that comes along with the piece of paper, allowing people to purchase what they would like. Value is associated with credit cards too because the idea isn’t that the plastic is important, it’s what the plastic can buy.

The value of money is determined by the importance people place on it. If a society doesn’t care to use the money that is produced, the value goes down. This problem occurred in Brazil, starting in the 1950s. The inflation was so high, that people lost faith in in their monetary system and their economics were hectic. However, Brazil finally received an economic turn around with the help of four, brilliant men. The idea to restart Brazil’s economy came from four men from the Catholic University in Rio. The men decided on replacing the constantly-changing cruzeiros with “URVs—Units of Real Value”. This concept kept an exact price that didn’t change on an item, even if the cruzeros changed. In today’s society, inflation is low and prices stay relatively-consistent. An example includes a gallon of milk won’t be double the price every few months, only a possible couple cents difference.

The concept of money in modern society isn’t as different from the past as many people may believe it is. Whether the monetary system of a country uses stones, money, or coins, each item has significant value. The value of money is determined by society, and doesn’t need to be physically accessible. The Yaps treasured stones because of the power, prestige, and wealth associated with it. Today, people value credit cards and receive payments online, because of the value they know they’re receiving. Lastly, the idea of value being placed on money saved Brazil’s economy when they were at an all time low.

Joffe-walt, Chana. “How Fake Money Saved Brazil.” Planet Money. 4 Oct. 2010. Web. 1 Feb. 2015. .

Friedman, Milton. “The Island Of Stone Money.” The Hoover Institution, 1 Feb. 1991. Web. 1 Feb. 2015. .

Kestenbaum, David. “The Island of Stone Money.” Planet Money. 10 Dec. 2010. Web. 1 Feb. 2015. .

“Yapping About Money: The Stone Money of Yap.” Economist’s View. 15 Sept. 2005. Web. 1 Feb. 2015. .