Gold & silver currency was invented by the state to feed the standing armies.
Get some gold, stamp your face on it, give it to soldiers and demand everyone to return some.
Voilà, you have the whole population feeding the army.
Discussion
wut
If that wasn’t the case kings could just take over the mines and make all the coins they need.
Ancient coins first sprouted in times of war and now are mostly found in the regions of war or alongside kingdom’s borders.
People didn’t attribute value to shiny metals just out of the blue.
I don’t understand anything about this theory. You’re saying gold as money emerged because of war?