In ancient times, during the floods of Yu and the droughts of Tang, the common people became so exhausted that they were forced to borrow from one another in order to obtain food and clothing. [Emperor] Yu coined money for his people from the gold of Mount Li and [Emperor] Tang did likewise from the copper of Mount Yan. Therefore the world called them benevolent.
Could it be that trade-dependant economies (those economies dependant on trading with other tribes/nations, both through exports and imports) - not to forget foreign direct investment - were likelier to be using cash and bullion rather than gifts and credit, due to lower trust with outsiders => decreased reliability of credit-based instruments for trade relative to bullion?
