22 lines
722 B
Markdown
22 lines
722 B
Markdown
<!-- generated: provider=openrouter model=arcee-ai/trinity-large-preview:free date=2026-02-19 source=book-1-chapter-04 -->
|
|
|
|
# Unstamped Bars
|
|
|
|
## Definition
|
|
|
|
Raw metal in bar form without official certification of weight or fineness, requiring individual weighing and assaying for each transaction, creating significant inconvenience and opportunities for fraud in commercial exchange.
|
|
|
|
## Source Chapter
|
|
|
|
Book I, Chapter 4
|
|
|
|
## Context
|
|
|
|
Smith describes how early commerce used unstamped metal bars before the invention of coinage, noting the two major inconveniences: the trouble of weighing and the difficulty of assaying, which made transactions cumbersome and vulnerable to deception.
|
|
|
|
## Economic Domain
|
|
|
|
Exchange
|
|
|
|
---
|