Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets.
It is related to but distinct from economics, which is the study of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Based on the scope of financial activities in financial systems, the discipline can be divided into personal, corporate, and public finance.
Bond issued by The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Bonds are a form of borrowing used by corporations to finance their operations.
Share certificate dated 1913 issued by the Radium Hill Company
NYSE's stock exchange traders floor c 1960, before the introduction of electronic readouts and computer screens
Chicago Board of Trade Corn Futures market, 1993
Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value and sometimes, a standard of deferred payment.
Banknotes and coins
A 640 BC one-third stater electrum coin from Lydia. According to Herodotus, the Lydians were the first people to introduce the use of gold and silver coins. It is thought by modern scholars that these first stamped coins were minted around 650 to 600 BC.
Song Dynasty Jiaozi, the world's earliest paper money
Printing paper money at a printing press in Perm
