Greetings,
I'm not an economics major and I don't know if this is the right place to ask, but for the sake of writing a fictional story I want to learn the nature of renaissance banks. Specifically I want to know 1.) Why they came into prominence as they did, 2.) How they managed to influence the economy and generated income 3.) Who were most likely to become bankers, and their societal significance as a class (if bankers could indeed be called a class).
As a last minute inquiry I would like to learn how currency came to be. What little I read tells me the Roman denari(?) was a more convenient way to pay their soldiers salaries. What factors should I be looking for in creating a currency for my fictive civilization based on historical fact?
Looking forward to replies.
Addendum:
How does an economy move towards fiat currency as opposed to currency based on commodity?
Hi there - we're happy to approve your question related to your creative project, and we are happy for people to answer. However, we should warn you that many flairs have become reluctant to answer questions for aspiring novelists and the like, based on past experience: some people working on creative projects have a tendency to try to pump historians for trivia while ignoring the bigger points they were making, while others have a tendency to argue with historians when the historical reality does not line up with what's needed for a particular scene or characterization. Please respect the answers of people who have generously given you their time, even if it's not always what you want to hear.
Additionally, as amazing as our flair panel is, we should also point out that /r/AskHistorians is not a professional historical consultation service. If you're asking a question here because you need vital research for a future commercial product such as a historical novel, you may be better off engaging a historical consultant at a fair hourly rate to answer these questions for you. We don't know what the going rate for consultancy work would be in your locality, but it may be worth looking into that if you have in-depth or highly plot-reliant questions for this project. Some /r/AskHistorians flairs could be receptive to working as a consultant in this way. However, if you wish for a flair here to do this work for you, you will need to organize this with them yourselves.