| He then shifts to the use of gold in Greece, Rome, and Byzantium, initially as adornment but later as a medium of exchange. |
| Accordingly, money is brought forth into society to be used as a medium of exchange to facilitate the trade of goods of all kinds. |
| But with personal property creatable on demand from sunlight and dirt, it's not clear what the medium of exchange would be. |
| Money traditionally is both a riskless, liquid asset and a medium of exchange. |
| No asset since gold in the 19th century enjoys such broad acceptance as both a medium of exchange and a store of value as the dollar. |
| Also unheard-of was a cartel cornering a commodity such as crude oil, as long as the medium of exchange was gold. |
