I think there are many examples in the history of mankind where the concept of money makes for interesting and odd stories. (A salary being called a salary because of salt… )

You mention energy, and I think this is where it gets interesting. Sorry to stay in recent times…

The petrodollar. Energy. Portable energy needed to fuel entire nations. Forced to be attached to the dollar. USD gets a whole lot of its “value” from petrol and other sources of power.

Electric money. The money for the new energy, which has become and will become even more portable. You can harness it yourself at home, you can create it and many ways and the competition for cheap prices will do wonders in the long term.

Energy is a huge factor in that attempt at transitioning to another form of money.