An English monetary tale: For 600 years from the 12th century, prior to the invention of double entry book keeping, English sovereigns issued to their subjects loan tallies, notched wooden sticks split into two, down the middle, in exchange for coinage, goods and services. Coinage was minted from silver bullion via ‘free minting’. The Royal Mints took in silver bullion from individuals, typically merchants, and returned a slightly lesser amount of metal in coined form, creating the money supply in silver pennies.