The local natives gave Peter Minuit the island
of Manhattan in exchange
for some hatchets, cloth, and beads with the approximate
value of one and a half pounds of silver.

In 1690, the first paper money
in the history of Western civilization
was issued by the Massachusetts Bay Company.

President Andrew Jackson purchased
the Louisiana Territory (828,000 square miles)
for three cents an acre.

The material value of a 1982 penny is two
and a half times it’s face value.