| # | Polity | Store Of Wealth | Tags | Year(s) | Edit | Desc |
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Goldsmith lenders and banks were well established in the seventeenth century. “Later, the Crown also offered lenders self-liquidating annuities for a number of lives or for 99 years, and sold tickets to public lotteries. They also charged corporate bodies like the East India Company and, in the next reign, the South Sea Company vast sums in return for the privilege of being allowed to exist. The greatest example of this fund-raising strategy, and Montagu’s crowning inspiration, as the charter for the Bank of England, established in 1694. In return for an immediate loan of £1.2 million, the Bank was allowed to sell stock in itself, receive deposits, make loans, and even print notes against the security of its loan to the government. In future years, the Bank of England would be the Crown’s greatest jewel: its largest single lender, its principal banker, and the manager of this funded national debt which Montagu initiated.”
[1]
[1]: (Bucholz et al 2013: 326) Bucholz, Robert, Newton Key, and R.O. Bucholz. 2013. Early Modern England 1485-1714: A Narrative History. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=1166775. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XQGJH96U |
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There was rich armoury and three treasuries which were at the amir’s personal disposal: “The first comprised revenue from the land tax and other imposts, and was used for the army’s salaries. The second comprised revenue from the amir’s personal properties and estates (the rndl-i khdss), which was used for court expenses, food, etc. The third comprised revenue from occasional and extraordinary levies, and confiscations of the wealth of soldiers who had gone over to the enemy; from all this, special rewards and payments were given to outstandingly brave warriors and to spies and envoys.”
[1]
[1]: Frye 2007: 128. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/7XE9P8HB |
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Banks, personal stores.
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Banks, personal hoards.
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Banks.
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“As soon as the most turbulent stages of the revolution were over, the economy began to recover. The recovery was preceded by the end of hyperinflation. A return to the gold standard in 1916 provided the basis for rapid stabilization of prices. Two factors were behind the monetary stabilization. Cárdenas and Manns (1987), following Kemmerer (1940), argue that, as notes in circulation progressively lost the functions of money, a reversion of Gresham’s law took place with notes (“bad money”) being replaced by gold and silver (“good money”). The substitution of currencies occurred in a matter of a few days. As Kemmerer (1940, pp. 114–115) puts it: At this juncture there occurred a remarkable monetary phenomenon, one of the outstanding facts of recent monetary history. It was the sudden and unexpected return from hoards into active circulation of an enormous volume of gold and silver coin, driving out of circulation practically all the paper money and placing the country squarely back upon the gold standard—and all within the surprisingly short period of a few days…In such an atmosphere the paper money quickly disappeared from circulation about the last week in November, and gold and silver money came back into general circulation almost as if by magic. The paper money died in its tracks and coins came out of hoards to perform the task of carrying out the country’s monetary work.”
[1]
[1]: (Moreno-Brid and Ros 2009: 52-53) Moreno-Brid, Juan Carlos and Ros, Jaime. 2009. Development and Growth in the Mexican Economy: A Historical Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/PZXKGTTV |
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The establishment of the State Bank of the Russian Empire in 1860 and the emergence of commercial banks marked the development of a formal banking system, which facilitated credit for industrial and commercial ventures.
[1]
The Hermitage Museum Treasury: While primarily known as a museum today, the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, originally a part of the Winter Palace complex, was used to store vast collections of art, jewels, and gold. The Treasury Gallery of the Hermitage housed precious items collected by the Tsars over centuries. [2] The Kremlin Armory: In Moscow, the Kremlin Armory, one of the oldest museums in Russia, was used to store state regalia, ceremonial Tsarist garments, and valuable items made of gold and precious stones. It served as both a storehouse and workshop for the production and preservation of these items. [3] [1]: “История Банка России,". Zotero link: A2HGJZX9 [2]: “The Treasure Gallery of the State Hermitage Museum.” Zotero link: H8I44B7I [3]: “Armoury Chamber,” Zotero link: SS6DBVZI |
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Banks, personal hoards.
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“Additionally, both Patrick and Gildas seem to have known the purpose and value of money and, although there was no new coining and very little importation of continental issues post 410, existing coins may have continued to circulate for some time, or have been used to store wealth or pay tribute.”
[1]
Coin hoards have been found from throughout the polity period. The largest was found near Cuerdale and contained 7,500 coins, 35 kilograms of ingots and hack silver dating from around 905-910 CE, while the area was under Viking rule.
[2]
[1]: (Higham 2004: 3) Higham, Nick. ‘From Sub-Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England: Debating the Insular Dark Ages’, History Compass 2, no. 1 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-0542.2004.00085.x. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XZT7A79K [2]: (Higham and Ryan 2013: 329-330) Higham, Nicholas J. Ryan, M. J. 2013. The Anglo-Saxon World. Yale University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/DEXKYD28 |
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Banks, personal stores.
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Palaces, the court, and homes of many high-ranking officials contained stores of wealth including treasury rooms, cash hoards, crown jewels, plate, gold and silver, chests and hiding places containing valuable goods.
[1]
[1]: (Prestwich 2005: 40, 73, 189, 272) Prestwich, Michael. 2005. Plantagenet England 1225-1360. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XTBKFDCI |
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Banks. Personal cash and precious goods hoards in private homes.
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Burial caches. “Caching behavior somewhat similar to that seen at Saturday Creek and Altar de Sacrificios is evident among smaller residences at Tikal, contrasting dramatically with what has been revealed in monumental architecture (Table 6.3). At the small residence Str. 4F-3 of Group 4F-1, three manos were placed near the house, in what Haviland (1985 : 156 –157) calls a “votive” deposit. In a gap in a wall of Str. 4F-42, another small residence, the Maya placed a small bowl containing sherds and charcoal (p. 158). These caches noticeably differ from royal ones.”
[1]
“Late Classic royal burials are quite spectacular. One of the most imposing temples at Tikal, Temple I, served as the funerary temple of Tikal’s most powerful ruler, Hasaw Chan K’awil (Heavenly Standard Bearer), who ruled from ad 682 until about ad 734 (Burial 116) (Harrison 1999 : 143–145). It overlooks a large plaza where subjects likely witnessed the interment of their deceased king. With him were entombed over twenty vessels, slate plaques, alabaster dishes, carved and incised bone, and more than sixteen pounds of jade items, including a mosaic-lidded vase. His family members and priests laid him to rest on a jaguar pelt, the major symbol of Maya kingship. In contrast, Late Classic burials found beneath the floors of one of the five structures of Group 2G-1, a nonroyal Tikal residence less than 2 km northeast of the North Acropolis, were quite simple and involved family members only. Burial 57 consisted of a male placed in a “bedrock grave containing three vessels”; another male (Burial 54) was buried with only “a single broken vessel and a clay bead” (Haviland 1988: 125). A similar pattern is found at residences located less than 1 km northeast of the North Acropolis. For example, Groups 4F-1 and 4F-2 burials yielded polychrome bowls and some small jade pieces (Haviland 1985).
[2]
[1]: (Lucero 2006: 170) Lucero, Lisa J. 2006. Water and Ritual: The Rise and Fall of Classic Maya Rulers. Austin: University of Texas Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NSX2SNWU [2]: (Lucero 2006: 173) Lucero, Lisa J. 2006. Water and Ritual: The Rise and Fall of Classic Maya Rulers. Austin: University of Texas Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NSX2SNWU |
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In 1860, the Emperor of Russia Alexander II signed a decree to establish the State Bank. This was the beginning of the history of the Bank of Russia. Initially, the State Bank was mainly engaged in short-term commercial lending. However, historical developments changed everything. In the 1920s, the bank was a key actor in the restoration of the country’s financial system and the development of exchange relationships
In the Soviet Union, the State Bank was a lender for the centrally planned economy, issued money and carried out international settlements. 1923 the State Bank of the RSFSR was reorganised into the State Bank of the USSR (Gosbank). [1] [1]: “History the Bank of Russia.” Bank of Russia. https://www.cbr.ru/eng/about_br/history/. Zotero link: HQRB99QD |
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The following suggests not only that cattle were no longer used as articles of exchange, but also the existence of system of exchange based on labor rather than physical currency. "By the middle of Red II this material symbol of inequality, cattle, ceased to be commonly kept, despite the emergence of a drier environment more suitable for animal husbandry in the second millennium A.D. Historically, cattle served as social capital in many non-centralized Voltaic societies, enabling marriages and funerary celebrations, and representing wealth. Consequently, the rejection of cattle, in addition to limiting the accumulation of wealth, may also indicate the beginning of matrimonial compensation in agricultural labor, typical of modern autonomous village societies."
[1]
[1]: (Dueppen 2012: 30) |
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The following suggests not only that cattle were no longer used as articles of exchange, but also the existence of system of exchange based on labor rather than physical currency. "By the middle of Red II this material symbol of inequality, cattle, ceased to be commonly kept, despite the emergence of a drier environment more suitable for animal husbandry in the second millennium A.D. Historically, cattle served as social capital in many non-centralized Voltaic societies, enabling marriages and funerary celebrations, and representing wealth. Consequently, the rejection of cattle, in addition to limiting the accumulation of wealth, may also indicate the beginning of matrimonial compensation in agricultural labor, typical of modern autonomous village societies."
[1]
[1]: (Dueppen 2012: 30) |
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"Though Amsterdam could not profit from the spin-off wealth of the high bureaucracy, its financial power was based on the fact that the merchants of the southern Netherlands came there to establish commercial houses and financial institutions. Amsterdam housed the most important Chamber of the semi-state East India Company, whose dividends averaged 37.5 percent in 1605-1612. A Chamber of Assurance was founded here in 1598, a new bourse in 1608, and a Bank of Exchange in 1609, followed by a Bank of Loans (Bank van Leening) in 1614. These institutions cooperated closely and reinforced each other, the city magistrates controlling them and thus providing a link of information and support. Also, private banking emerged. [...] The other cities had their financial institutions, though not as extensive as Amsterdam. Most had their own Bank van Leening, their own bankers, and of course the receiver of taxes who functioned at times as a banker."
[1]
[1]: (t’Hart 1989: 677-678) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/B9DVQGBS/collection. |
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“Although historical sources suggest some of these items entered regional markets for sale, imported trade goods were a closely guarded source of symbolic power for kings. Period, accounts describe public ceremonies, including royal coronations and elaborate rituals following the death of a king, in which large quantities of luxuries were displayed and distributed to the general public. Royal power and prestige were intimately tied to the success of these ceremonies. On the one hand, the public display of wealth accumulated in trade reinforced the symbolic power of the king. On the other, the distribution of such goods to loyal followers was a strategy for integrating subjects into a stable political system. Controlling access to Atlantic wealth became a key component of kings’ strategies to instill political order. Whereas local markets economically integrated town and countryside, it was luxuries acquired in trade that served as the political glue binding rural lords to urban royal dynasties.”
[1]
[1]: Monroe, J. Cameron. “Urbanism on West Africa’s Slave Coast: Archaeology Sheds New Light on Cities in the Era of the Atlantic Slave Trade.” American Scientist, vol. 99, no. 5, 2011, pp. 400–09: 403. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/E5WA63Z2/collection |
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“One consequence of the introduction of the cowrie currency was to facilitate the storage of wealth, since the shells were relatively imperishable.”
[1]
[1]: Austin, Gareth, et al. “Credit, Currencies, and Culture: African Financial Institutions in Historical Perspective.” The International Journal of African Historical Studies, vol. 34, no. 1, 2001, p. 144: 30-36. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/SPXH2IUW/collection |
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If the accumulation of private wealth was forbidden, it must have been physically possible: “When determining the Caliphate’s fiscal policies, its leaders abolished all the exploitative taxes, levies and seizures which had characterised the pre-jihad Hausa kingdoms. Instead, state revenues were restricted to those sanctioned by the shari’a: the fifth, the tithe, poll tax, land tax, booty taken in war and unclaimed property. All the revenues constituting the Public Treasury were to be spent on promoting the common welfare of the Community. Officials were strictly forbidden to use their positions for the accumulation of private wealth, and it was illegal to offer them gifts.”
[1]
“The Caliphate thus fell far short of achieving its ideals. It did transform the political map of the Central Sudan and brought hitherto antagonistic communities together within the confines of a popular ideological framework. But it continued to operate largely within the structures of the old order against which the jihad had been waged in the first place. Political office was still based on hereditary principles rather than competence and piety. Many elements of the sarauta system survived as the new aristocracy appropriated vast tracts of land which it worked with slave and unpaid peasant labour. Both agricultural and handicraft production increased, but the condition of the producers and their relationship to production remained largely unchanged. So too did the Caliphate’s class structure in general, though it was now constructed on a different ideological basis.”
[2]
[1]: Chafe, Kabiru Sulaiman. “Challenges to the Hegemony of the Sokoto Caliphate: A Preliminary Examination.” Paideuma, vol. 40, 1994, pp. 99–109: 103. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZANHCUFH/collection [2]: Chafe, Kabiru Sulaiman. “Challenges to the Hegemony of the Sokoto Caliphate: A Preliminary Examination.” Paideuma, vol. 40, 1994, pp. 99–109: 105-106. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZANHCUFH/collection |
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“OKPATA or OKPOLU: The Ata’s personal Treasury-and repository. Aku, the principal acolyte, is responsible for the safe-custody of the Ata’s money and possessions which are lodged herein; here also the regalia would be kept.”
[1]
[1]: Clifford, Miles, and Richmond Palmer. “A Nigerian Chiefdom.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 66, 1936, pp. 393–435: 414. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/TF7MM698/collection |
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“The finds at Igbo-Ukwu suggest that the Eze Nri institution and its agents were involved in long-distance commerce and that the wealth that they acquired from their local ritual and political activities was used to finance the acquisition of sumptuary goods, especially Indian and Venetian beads, textiles, and horses in exchange for exports such as ivory, possibly kolanut, and other undetermined products that might have included slaves, iron, and copper artifacts. The officers of Eze Nri also used their wealth and status as ritual specialists to recruit and maintain numerous miners, craftsmen, and artists among others.”
[1]
[1]: Ogundiran, A. (2005). Four Millennia of Cultural History in Nigeria (ca. 2000 B.C.—A.D. 1900): Archaeological Perspectives. Journal of World Prehistory, 19(2), 133–168: 148. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/PK7F26DP/collection |
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“There were countless measures whereby the Sarki could fill the coffers of the state.”
[1]
“The Kano Chronicle states that the Sarkin Nupe sent her [the princess] forty eunuchs and 10,000 kola nuts. She was the first in Hausaland to own eunuchs and kola nuts. In her time all the products of the west were introduced into Hausaland.”
[2]
[1]: Ogot, B. (Ed.). (1998). Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth century. Heinemann; University of California Press: 473. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/M4FMXZZW/collection [2]: Niane, D. T., & Unesco (Eds.). (1984). Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century. Heinemann; University of California Press: 275. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ERZKPETN/collection |
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“One partnership in the 1790s united a trader operating at Buna and Kong, in the middle Volta basin, with another at Katsina, and the latter even had commercial ties in Borno. This is one of the earliest known examples of a practice which appears to have been common among many nineteenth- century merchants in such places as Zinder and Kano. Finally, brokerage firms in Kano, which handled the sale of various salts, provided banking facilities for their clients. These firms, some of which are still in operation after at least two hundred years of business, stored cowries obtained through salt sales while their Borno clients travelled to neighbouring towns to purchase goods.”
[1]
[1]: Lovejoy, P. E. (1974). Interregional Monetary Flows in the Precolonial Trade of Nigeria. The Journal of African History, 15(4), 563–585: 582. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/58ASG655/collection |
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“The spectacular parades displaying the king’s wealth were designed to dramatize the rewards of the nation’s economic and military policies. The objects displayed in these parades were articles of commerce - cloth, cowries, gold, and silver; gifts of tribute -wheeled coaches, firemen’s uniforms, plumed police helmets, and European furniture; and the spoils of war-plantation slaves, skulls and jawbones of dead opponents, prisoners of war, and models of towns captured by Dahomean armies. On the day after the display of his wealth, the monarch distributed a portion of this treasure to his subordinates. Standing on a high platform, he threw cowries and cloth to the assembled officials. At the same time he, or one of the ministers, executed war captives and cast their bodies to the waiting crowd.”
[1]
[1]: Yoder, J. C. (1974). Fly and Elephant Parties: Political Polarization in Dahomey, 1840-1870. The Journal of African History, 15(3), 417–432: 421. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/KNUC3TGF/collection |
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Banks. Personal cash and precious goods hoards in private homes.
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Insignia and holy relics were often put into special storage.
[1]
Coin hoards have often been found at trading centres.
[2]
[1]: Power 2006: 273, 286. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4V4WE3ZK [2]: Curta 2005: 79. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/RIISSF6A |
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