6 know it today, has a very long history. There are several opinions about who the inventors of coins were. Many experts claim that the Lydians, 6) ........ who lived in the part of the world that is now Turkey, invented the first coins nearly 3,000 years ago. Paper money dates back to ancient China. A shortage of copper* made the Chinese start producing money made from paper. The first recorded use of paper money goes back around 1,300 years ago.