At the start of time, people used to trade what they have for things that they

needed. A common thing that was traded was seeds and plants. The Samerians
were the first people to utilize this form of finance. Mesopotamia lacked the
resources that the Samerians needed so they had to barter what they had for the
resources they needed, that other societies had. Next came the Babylonians who
created a form of currency called the shekel. With this form of currency, they had
created their own banking system with the ability to take loans. They used clay to
create a way to record financial transactions such as the number of their loans and
how much interest rate was applied to each individual. The Babylonians were
known to have practiced usury which was applying interest onto loans. Charging
interest on loans was viewed as a form of greed and was illegal, however, many
people have found ways to apply interest to loans. The Babylonians also developed
the concept of the time value of money which meant that money in the present has
a higher value than money in the future. The value of money increases over time
when it is invested because it has the potential to generate a return. Therefore,
holding onto the money for a longer period of time allows it to accumulate more
value. The time value of money may have affected the trade of silver from German
mines, as the value of silver may have changed over time due to factors such as
supply and demand and inflation. If the price of silver was expected to rise in the
future, it may have been more lucrative to hold onto silver and sell it at a later date.
The act of taking a risk in hoping for a profit is known as speculation. If one
speculated a rise in the future, then it would be ideal to not sell, however, if one
speculated a fall in the future, then it would be ideal to sell. The Medici family,
known for their banking and financial practices, were influential in the
Renaissance, a period of cultural and intellectual growth in Europe from the 14th to
17th centuries. The Renaissance also saw significant developments in finance and
economics, such as the emergence of modern banking practices and new financial
instruments. The Renaissance is considered an important turning point in history
because it laid the foundations for many modern ideas and values and marked the
beginning of a shift toward modernity. It can be seen as a bridge between the
ancient world and the modern world. In modern finance, the income gap between
different groups within a society is known as income inequality. Income inequality
in finance can be affected by factors such as wealth distribution, access to
education and jobs, and the tax system.