It wasn’t always that we used paper currency as money. Contrary to popular beliefs, barter trade is unlikely to be the primary form of trade in any of the early societies in history. This is because it is difficult and rare for two people to have a coincidence of wants where one person has a product that he wishes to trade for a readily available commodity that another person is also willing to trade and vice versa. So instead of relying to the very limited possibilities of simple barter, people used commodity money where naturally scarce precious metals, shells and beads were used as objects of value to be traded for products.

Standards were then set for commodity money, such as certain weights for gold and silver. After that, metal alloys took over because some countries lacked the supply of precious metals, others minted coins with seals of their country to discourage their citizens from trading with foreigners. Coinage further evolved to bills of exchange; it is similar to an IOU note, which promises to pay the seller a certain amount of money which can then be exchanged to a merchant banker for money, gold, silver or the used commodity currency. Making a long story short, institutions such as banks came about, further backed by laws made by the government. These bills of exchange became very reliable and has then been standardized to become the most common type of physical money today – paper money also known as banknotes.

There were times when some countries had a shortage of their precious metals such as copper and other metals used for making money, hence paper was used and was guaranteed by the government. Moreover, the number of saleable commodities was increasing while scarce precious metals remained limited in amount. Hence if there were a shortage of the latter, trade would be problematic. The production of paper money is also much cheaper than the processing of precious and semi-precious metals. They are divisible, durable, and easier to carry than metals which can be very heavy especially if you need to use huge amounts. There are also many measures taken to ensure that money cannot be counterfeited, and so it also secure.

With an almost universal use of paper money as a means of trade, is it possible to be replaced by electronic or plastic money? Some say no because money, be it commodity or paper currency needs to be tangible as it is to be traded also for a product that is tangible. However, we can never be a hundred percent sure for there is also the advantages and convenience of your credit and debit cards. And like the gold and silver currency which dominated our economy for the longest of time, it can still be replaced by a better alternative.

The dividing lines among custom, vintage and collectible fountain pens often get blurred. A vintage pen can be customized and added to a collection. Collectible fountain pens may include vintage, custom-made and customized vintage pens. Any fountain pen, new or vintage, customized or ordinary, qualifies for collection if it appeals to the fountain pen collector. A simple and plain look, a gaudy design or an ancient technique can enthuse a pen collector. There is no limit to the criteria for a fountain pen collection. The reasons could be as varying as the number of fountain pens. Costs do not deter fountain pen lovers from possessing their objects of desire.

Collecting new pens is easier, just like buying coke from the supermarket. Vintage pen collecting is a bit like hunting. Estate sales and flea markets are the places frequented by fountain collectors. Old jewelers and stationers come up with collectible fountain pens sometimes. The best way to buy collectible fountain pens is from a pen show, where hobbyists and collectors buy and sell pens to each other. These shows started as a place to swap pens. But now these shows are complete conventions with advertisements, sales and auctions. And, of course, one can buy collectible fountain pens on the Internet.

An online auction is a way of buying collectible fountain pens. This is different from the regular auction. In online auctions, a third person might come from nowhere and take away the object of desire. The chances of the same thing happening are also present regular auctions, but there it’s a little more predictable. Buying collectible fountain pens online can be distressing as some facts or features of the pen may be misrepresented, and in the absence of testing, it may be difficult to vouchsafe the quality. Buying a collectible fountain pen from a dealer is the safest way.