Money seems to have a big role in our society; not much gets accomplished without it. Money is valuable in different ways, even when it is not physically present with its owner. In today’s society we must have faith in big corporations – the government, the banking system – that our money is being handled in the proper manner. If we knew otherwise we’d be hiding all of our money under the mattress, or around the house. Banking has always been a mystery; it’s hard to know exactly what goes on with our money. It always seemed quite simple; we either have money or we don’t, that’s it. However, by being introduced to this assignment and having it compare the Yap Fei with the US and France gold trade in 1933, and the Brazilian cruzeros, it all seemed somewhat similar. One actually sees his money being transferred. When we get paid, we don’t get a check or get paid even in cash, it’s all directly transferred to our bank accounts. A lot of trust is involved that we’ll get our money.