The production of coins to lubricate the market, by the fifth century A.D., had become a general feature of all the larger governments in what I’ll call the “central zone” of the Africa-Eurasia landmass. I mean the middle latitudes, above the Sahara Desert in Africa and below the taiga in northern Eurasia.
The Sahara Desert was not as dry in the 6th century A.D. as it is now, but it was still a desert. Below the Sahara, it was cattle, gold dust, slaves, and ivory as the main interests of the economy. In the snowy north, it was furs, slaves, and amber where there was amber to be found. In the middle, the size of the economy required coinage to keep track of things. The miscreants at the top, so…
