Money is an odd thing. Like language, it is something we use every day, but when you start asking questions about it, difficulties arise almost immediately. How do you define money? How is it created? How does its value change, especially with respect to inflation? Rather than getting caught up in definitions and origin stories, it is perhaps much easier to look at the jobs money does, and how well different types of money (of which there are many) perform their given roles. Generally speaking, the things we use as money have three main jobs – a system of account, a means of payment and exchange, and a store of ... (full story)