Money originated around 100,000 years ago when items were used for trading. The Lydians were the first to use actual coin money made of silver and gold. After World War II, most governments backed their currencies with the US dollar, establishing fiat currencies not directly backed by gold. Money facilitates the exchange of goods and services instead of direct bartering. The US Mint uses a six-step process to produce coins, starting with cutting coin blanks from metal sheets and ending with counting and bagging the finished coins.