British Museum World of Money CD-ROM PC/Mac User Guide Interactive

BRITISH MUSEUM WORLD OF MONEY CD-ROM PC/MAC USER GUIDE INTERACTIVE

In this fascinating site based on a CD-ROM, the British Museum draws on its unique collections to present an encapsulated history of money over the past 5,000 years. Images of money in beautiful and varied forms, such as the shell money of Papua New Guinea (still used in the 1950s and 1960s as ornaments and bride wealth payments), a 19th-century Thai gambling token, and an exquisite Lydian coin dating from 650-600 BC, all provide illustrations. World of Money is well organized into six subject areas: "What is money?," "The History of Money," "Saving Money," "How Money is Made," "Money and Society," and "Studying Money." The site offers two interactive opportunities to explore a coin (in this case, silver pennies from England, one circa AD 973-975 and the other AD 1010). You can also read up on subjects such as the conservation of silver coins.