"Penuria Argenti" e innovazione finanziaria. Moneta/merce e derivazione di valore agli albori della crescita economica dell'Occidente

The idea and use of “fractional currency” concerns fundamental steps in market economy development. Fractional coin refers to the spread of trade in Western Europe between Middle Ages and the Renaissance and, at the same time, to the need to ensure a balance for the monetary system among two requirements: stability and elasticity to avoid deflation and loss of value with inflation. Fractional currency also relates to the distinction between big and small coin, between currency for international relations and currency for small exchanges. This set of phenomena relates to certain components of trade relations: the trust/reputation pair of subjects; the derivation of value with the substitution of monetary securities; the guarantor role of the political institution, seigniorage; and, finally, legal tender and "fiat" money. Broken money is thus a juncture in the transition from money/commodity to money/sign.