Since banks make money by lending money, their opportunity to make a profit was limited by the finite supply of gold and silver. Once the coins that had been deposited with the bank were loaned out, no more loans could be made until more money was deposited or until money was received in payment on outstanding loans.

Bankers soon developed a scheme by which they could increase the amount of money that they had available for loans. The idea was to issue paper notes to depositors in exchange for their gold, silver, and other coins. There were several appealing features about this scheme. First, the paper notes were much more convenient than metal coins. They weighed less than coins and they could be carried in ways that were less conspicuous than coins. They were just more convenient than coins.

Next, the paper notes which were issued by the banks were supposed to be equal in value to the amount of money that was deposited. This meant that the people could use the paper notes to buy and sell items in the same way that they had used gold and silver coins. This created a false sense of value for the paper notes.

Once the bankers had gained the people’s confidence with this new form of currency, they began printing more notes than gold and silver held by the banks. This scheme provided bankers with an almost unlimited amount of money that could be loaned for profit. Everything was fine, until people attempted to redeem their silver and gold coins with the paper notes they had received from the banks. When the banks ran out of gold and silver coins, the people who were still holding paper notes were left with worthless paper, and their real money was gone.

Governments, like banks, realized that they too could print more notes than the value of the gold and silver that they held in reserve, which enabled them to spend greater and greater amounts of money. Yielding to the temptation of being able to spend more money than they actually had, governments began to issue notes which were supposed to be redeemable for gold or silver coins.

Again, the problem with this idea is that when people lost confidence in the paper money, they began to attempt to exchange their government issued paper notes for the gold and silver coins they were promised. Too late they found out that the government was unable to give them the silver or gold coins promised them. The paper notes then became worthless.

This has happened again and again in countries that have printed paper money without having the equivalent value of gold or silver in reserve. The more paper notes that are printed, the less the paper notes are worth.

Perhaps the most memorable collapse of such a system was in Germany following WW I, when so much paper money was created that it literally was not worth the paper on which it was printed.

It seems that no matter how well regulated, every monetary system using paper currency that is not supported by an equal amount precious metal held in reserve will eventually collapse. There are many instances of this happening throughout history. All that is necessary for a monetary collapse to take place is for the people to wake up one morning and realize that they have exchanged their wealth for worthless paper that has no real value.

It was in 1933 that the United States began to no longer honor the gold certificates that it had issued. All gold currency and gold certificates were to be surrendered to the Federal Reserve on or before April 28, 1933. Those who surrendered their gold and gold certificates were given paper Federal Reserve Notes that are backed by nothing of value. After that date, gold coins could no longer be legally used as currency and gold certificates could not be exchanged for gold. We can see clearly how this action has had the effect of constantly eroding of the value of the dollar. Simply compare the purchasing power of a dollar in 1933 to the value of a dollar today.

In 1968 the Federal government ceased honoring the silver certificates that it had issued. Soon after, silver was replaced in newly minted coins with almost worthless base metals.

Today the currency we use in the United States is in actuality worthless. It has no intrinsic value whatsoever. The only value it has is in the minds of the people receive it at the time it is given to them. The Federal Reserve Notes we use are paper and redeemable for nothing. The coins we use are made of base metals that have almost no value at all. One day people will realize this. When they do, there will be an economic collapse far worse that anything this country has ever seen.

We will see later how such a collapse of the paper monetary systems of the United States might be the means by which the transition to a closed cashless monetary system will be completed.

In the last century, we were introduced to a new way to conduct business, without using cash or checks. Enter the credit card. Convenient, and more secure than cash, the credit card quickly gained acceptance with many.

Today, with our modern digital communications systems, purchases may be made quickly and conveniently using your credit or debit card. You can make purchases from almost any business in the world using a credit or debit card.

In the last few years, advances in technology have transformed credit cards into multi-use financial transaction cards. The cards of today can be used not only to charge purchases, but also to immediately pay for them by debiting the amount of the purchase from one's bank account.

Imbedding a microchip in a financial transaction card allows for the storage of personal and financial data, enabling the card to communicate with the merchant's scanning device and its associated computers. A card with a computer chip imbedded in it is referred to as a "smart card", since it has an electronic memory which can exchange data with computers. In addition to storing personal and financial data, imbedding a memory chip in a financial transaction card also makes it possible to store actual monetary value in a card in the form of electronic data. This can be done by placing the smart card in a terminal and loading the desired amount of "money" to the card from a person's financial account. The amount of a purchase can then be transferred directly from the smart card to a merchant with the cost of the purchase being deducted from the monetary value stored on the card. When the "money" stored on the smart card is depleted, the card can be easily reloaded from any compatible terminal by once again transferring the desired amount of "money" from the cardholder's financial account.

A more recent development in technology now enables credit and debit card users to use their cards without having to pass them through a card reader. The card holder simply "waves" the card near a terminal which reads the data stored on the card. This relatively new feature is made possible by adding circuitry and a tiny antenna to the memory chip which is imbedded in the card. This technology is generally referred to as Radio Frequency Identification, or "RFID". New technology will soon enable credit and debit card users to make purchases without removing their card from their pocket or purse.

RFID chips are accessed for the storage or retrieval of data by using a low power radio signal. When pulsed by the radio signal, the chip responds and identifies itself by sending data to the scanner’s radio receiver. This data includes encoded personal identifiers which allow a merchant's terminal and associated computers to identify the card that is being used, and allows access to the customer's financial accounts for completing the desired transaction.

The popularity of credit and debit cards is a testimony to the fact that we truly are becoming acclimated to the idea of virtual money. Electronic "money" is truly the most portable, secure, and convenient currency yet. The advent of “e--money” has brought us to the place where we are in the midst of a fundamental change in the way we pay for goods and services. We are very near the completion of a metamorphosis from the old system of coins, paper notes and checks, to the new digital electronic cashless monetary system. We are witnessing the birth of a totally new economic system.

Most people have become very comfortable in the brave new world of electronic commerce, and are accustomed to frequent changes in the way we do business, including changes in the design of money. We are told that the changes that have been made in the appearance of paper money are to thwart counterfeiting. From time to time, proposals are made to modify or even completely change the design of our currency for various reasons.

These changes may also serve another not so apparent purpose. I believe that these frequent changes in the appearance of money are being used to make us accustomed to the idea of currency being changed so we will be prepared to accept a change in the very nature of our currency. These changes, I believe, are paving the way for acceptance of the cashless monetary system.

Once we enter the new cashless society more changes will quickly follow and the people of the world will one day realize that the chains of our bondage have been forged not of steel, but of computer chips.

The next giant step towards the mark of the beast will be hailed by most, and embraced by all but a few. While many are taking the next step in the transition voluntarily, the final step into the cashless system will not be voluntary but mandatory.

Coins and paper currency are on their way out. This will happen sooner than most people realize. In the place of our present system of commerce there will be an electronic system using credits stored in computers for currency instead of coins and paper notes. When the point is reached where only a relatively few people continue to do business by using cash, it will be necessary to take the final step, which will bring everyone into the completely cashless monetary system. I believe the next step could be taken in one of several ways.

One way is that the new electronic system of commerce will continue to be promoted by the government, banks, and businesses until it becomes the overwhelmingly most popular and, therefore the dominant form of currency. At this point the last vestiges paper currency, coins, and checks will simply be phased out.

When the final step is taken, a deadline would be set for everyone to surrender their coins and Federal Reserve notes for conversion to electronic credits. This would be similar to what was done when the U.S. government required people to surrender their gold coins and gold certificates in exchange for Federal Reserve notes.

While this scenario would cause a minimum of disruption, it requires a great deal of patience on the part of those who are working to implement the cashless system. I’m not certain that they are willing to wait for the length of time that it would take for things to run their course. If, however, they are not willing to wait until nearly all of the people voluntarily accept the new cashless monetary system, then another sequence of events intended to complete the transition to the cashless society could be played out.

Another possibility is that the next step towards the mark of the beast will come as a result of a catastrophic event, such as war, a pandemic, terrorist attacks, or some other disaster that might harm or even destroy our present economic system. If such an event caused the American people to lose confidence in their currency, then out of necessity our present system wouldhave to be replaced.

A more likely way that we will be brought into the completely cashless monetary system could be by a collapse of our present economic system that will leave our present currency completely worthless. Already we have considered the fact that our paper currency is supported by nothing, except the confidence of those who use it. Our coins are manufactured from metals that have little, if any, value. Inflation has consumed most of the purchasing power of the dollar since it was divorced from the value of gold. Budget deficits, trade deficits and other pressures on our economy could cause an economic collapse at any time.

What better reason could be used to persuade the people to let go of the antiquated system of paper and coins? After a monetary collapse, all currency will be worthless, but…if you surrender your currency to the banks, it will be replaced with electronic credits that have value. You will be given the opportunity to reclaim at least a portion of your lost wealth. We must be persuaded to let go of the old so we can embrace the new. We will see later that there will be quite a few strings attached to membership in the new economic order.