Before the introduction of paper currency, there were no
money clip wallets. They therefore emerged after the introduction of paper
currency, and the main reason was to secure the notes, unlike coins that could
be worn in form of chains by the Chinese. The coins, however, got too heavy to
wear, and therefore the Chinese began leaving the money with a person that they
could trust, rather than walking with it around. Due to shortage of copper to
make more coins, the need for paper currency arose, and so was the urge to
safeguard this new currency.
It is however believed that money clips were used as
fasteners in the ancient times. Because paper money was dominantly used in
Egypt in the Ptolemaic era, it is believed that Cleopatra’s Marc Antony and
Alexender the great became the first people to use money clip wallets as
carriers. However, theirs must have been made of precious metals and gold, adorned
with jewels, because there is evidence of the earliest gold and silver money
clips.
Next was in China, where emperors of the Yuan and Song
dynasties needed a way to fasten their belongings. There is likelihood that
legendary Kublai Khan used money clips, being the man who introduced currency
Chao to this region.
Moving to Europe, money clips trace their history to the
Netherlands, where the Prince of Orange used paper currency to provide for the
people’s needs. His money clip was made of leather, and he consequently became
one of the earliest people to possess a leather money clip wallet.
In the United States, however, money clip wallets have
maintained a constant face in the accessories section of men clothing as from
the early 1900’s. They have then maintained the position as clothing items, and
now they feature in most fashion trends.
Today, there is a variety of styles and types of money clip
wallets, made of different materials and metals. They have mostly been offered
as personal and corporal gifts, because they can be made either impersonal or
personal, according to the situational requirements.
They have also been used to read an extension of people’s
personalities, or to show affinity and affection to certain groups such as
sports teams and military units. The modern money clip wallet is bi-fold in
nature, and has multiple card slots. They were standardized at around 1950’s,
when the first credit cards were introduced, a reason why their slots are
called card slots because they are mostly used to hold these cards.
The traditional material was fabric and leather, but
flexible and flat-sheet materials have also been introduced, to aid in the
fabrication. Tyvek is also used nowadays, a non-woven textile, alongside woven
metals like copper and stainless steel, but in a fine mesh.
The wallets also had regional differences, which
are dying
down with the standardization of currency. In Europe for instance, a
number of
countries made use of large coins, and the money clip wallets in such
countries
had a coin purse as a separate compartment. However, the differences
have almost disappeared, and now money clip wallets are used all over
the world.
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