An Outline of the Origins of Money

“A classic to reflect on the meaning not only of money, but more generally of the concept of wealth, written by an ethnologist at the end of the nineteenth century. The author attributes multiple roles to money, far beyond that of a mere unit of account or a means to facilitate exchanges. The book helps investors to reflect on issues that are too often assumed to be immutable elements of our society, but also to understand the ongoing transition, in which new forms of money will play a primary role.” * bluerating *
“Schurtz’s book remains a valuable testimony to how economic anthropology can challenge the intellectual arrogance of certain types of economic theory.” * The Journal of European Economic History *
“What does Heinrich Schurtz have to say? Money is not just, or even primarily, a means of facilitating exchange. Heinrich Schurtz finds its origin - and paradigm - in the aesthetic radiance that certain ornaments exert on human minds, arousing ‘the envy of fellows and the admiration of women’; what he calls ‘inside money’. By meeting the needs of commerce, this primary social power is transmuted into purchasing power, giving rise to the money we know. We must thank Enrique Martino and Mario Schmidt for placing these valuable reflections in our hands.” * André Orléan, author of The Empire of Value: A New Foundation for Economics, “The Origin of Money” and “Value and Money as Social Power” *
“Heinrich Schurtz’s Outlines of the Origin of Money brings to light the brilliance of an intellectual journey cut short. This work positions Schurtz as a ‘minor classic,’ comparable to Marcel Mauss, and more than a historical curiosity for specialists only. Unrecognized yet subliminally influential, Schurtz straddles the line between the greats like Weber and Simmel and the era-specific figures such as Bücher and Sombart.” * Jürgen Osterhammel, author of The Transformation of the World: A Global History of the Nineteenth Century, and co-editor of Max Weber and His Contemporaries *
“Around the world in eighty currencies. Schurtz’s book is a pioneering contribution to define the concept of money in the horizon of global culture. A passionate ethnographic campaign to discover the economic customs of humankind, in its historical evolution, among the most diverse cultures, in the extraordinary polymorphism of the media of currencies.” * Carlotta Santini, author of “Friedrich Nietzsche in Basel: An Apology for Classical Studies” and “Can Humanity be Mapped? Adolf Bastian, Friedrich Ratzel and the Cartography of Culture” *
“What are the origins of money? According to Heinrich Schurtz, only Indigenous peoples have an answer to this question. Thereby, he brings his readers through a journey into the material forms and social uses of money across the globe. With this translation, a hidden gem will become a classic for scholars interested in how money is made, accepted, and transformed by people daily using it.” * Karin Pallaver, editor of Monetary Transitions: Currencies, Colonialism and African Societies and co-author, together with Jane Guyer, of “Money and Currency in African history” *

Heinrich Schurtz (1863–1903) was a German ethnologist who was trained and taught at the University of Leipzig.

Enrique Martino is a Juan de la Cierva Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Historia, Teorías y Geografía Políticas of the Complutense University of Madrid.

Mario Schmidt is a senior research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology.

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