Recently, an investment advisor and Bitcoin proponent tweeted the claim that “[f]or most of human history” the “[s]eparation of money and state was the norm, even if the state stamped their ruler's face on the coin.” Some strong disagreement (and some strong support) followed the tweet. The most categorical criticism asserted: “Money is and always has been a creation of government.” A somewhat milder challenge asserted that “Private moneys have seldom been main media of exchange.” First, let’s clarify the object of the discussion. If we define "money" the way that economists usually do, to...