COURSE DESCRIPTION

From cowrie shells to Bitcoin, from checks to PayPal, money pervades all cultures and has evolved beyond recognition. For millennia people counted their wealth in tangible tokens of precious metal. Today, we look at numbers on a phone screen confident that they represent something just as real. We will follow the transformation of money from Sumerian clay tokens, through Greek gold and silver coins, to printed paper, and ultimately to data in the “cloud”. We will see the development of banking; the origins and rise of international trade and capitalism; how control over money changed the fate of kings; a series of bubbles, crises, panics, and frauds; and the evolution of stocks, bonds, insurance, the Gold Standard, electronic money, and cryptocurrencies. We will learn strange terminology including pyx, scrivener, scutage, sceat, consols, tanner, and blockchain. The focus is on money rather than economics or finance, and also, on the Willie Sutton principle, on the US and the UK. Familiarity with cash is required.

Course One-Pager:
Please see the one-pager for this course linked here.

COURSE LEADER
Bernard Abramson, retired corporate Chief Information Officer, with international management and consulting experience, and former Adjunct Professor in the master of technology management program at Polytechnic University. Educated in the UK, he has degrees in mathematics and astrophysics.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Please note: This Evergreen Forum course offers a in-person experience only which means it will not be recorded. Any general questions or concerns about this event should be directed to CMAP at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by calling 609-751-9699.

SENIOR SCHOLARSHIPS are available. Please contact Johanna Peters, Director of Social Services at 609.751.9699, ext. 111 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to submit a request form by following the link here to apply.

EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION
CMAP requests that all participants within CMAP provide an emergency contact name and contact in case of an emergency before attending a program. If you need to add an emergency contact to your account or would like to see if you have on file, please view your Emergency Contact information in your member portal at https://engage.cmaprinceton.org/dashboard.

DISCLAIMER
By registering for this program, I hereby grant permission for CMAP to use photographs and/or video of me taken at the event/program in publications, news releases, online, and in other communications related to the mission of CMAP. Additionally, I acknowledge that my registration is for the individual and any and all participants should plan to individually register for this course.

REFUND INFORMATION
· We invite you to donate your refund to CMAP. Call us for more information
· Refund checks will be issued for cash, check, and credit card payments
· Payments made electronically will be refunded electronically
· Refund processing time is approximately 2 weeks
· Up to the start of the second week of an Evergreen Forum Course — refunds will be issued minus a $25 processing fee
· No refund will be offered after the second week of class.
· There will be a $25 processing fee for refunds to those who register for the same program more than once