The history as described by the research of Nick Szabo tells it differently, or some of it. The "assets" that were used as Medium of Exchange were collectibles, and because they were Stores of Value, they became the preferred Medium of Exchange. Because how could there be a social consensus develop around an "asset" to be a Medium of Exchange if the asset itself is not a Store of Value? Why would I trade my drugs with you if your Medium of Exchange is a common rock? If the rock has a Store of Value component, like a diamond, we can talk.
limited utility tribal communities of a small subset era are what you/he describe
i included kingdoms, empires and government controlled versions..
i think you forget to realise that many cultures of forms of kingdoms, empires and governments have existed for THOUSANDS of years
greeks had coins. romans, etc
oh and diamonds are not worth the PRICE you pay.
consumerism 100 years ago made useless diamonds appear as "valuable" when they done consumer advertising of suddenly suggesting that women want diamond rings as a wedding band and those rings needed to be worth over a few months salary. which then set the diamond speculation and increase of underlying value
..
its like restaurants thinking muscles escargot(snails) are a delicacy..
did you know that in the 1900's they were food for the poor.
as for the native american utility of shells(clams)
the colonists latched on to the medium of exchange.. becasue over thousands of years. native americans used it as one.. what you are forgetting is the development pre colonists that established the medium of exchange SoV
so here goes
midstate tribes were no where near oceans. where by having something rare(not found common in normal territoriality) was first seen as something worthy of showing off/displaying.. no money value at first. just something nice to have/own look at.
something unique decorative that is not common in that territory
which then grew into trading it. which then set the value based on how much effort must have gone into the previous owner obtaining it.
which when there were enough shells to make necklaces and trade of shells became common . then they set a SoV of a min value
yep even bitcoin took over 12 months (well into 2010) to start that ball rolling too
most non kingdom/empire/government money. starts off as rare items to display show off/ talk about at campfires.. that then drives demand of another person wanting it as a novelty so they can tell stories.. and then barter begins
then after barter, a set medium of exchange when one item becomes the popular one everyone prefers to use as a medium of exchange.
then to alleviate riots/squabbles fights and battles over disagreements of price. a set min value is then set by consensus or just common agreement of tradition
price is the random barter where some cant agree and can lead to disagreement and fight..
value is the min level all can agree, that sits at the bottom as a minimum guarantee/wall/limit..
and then speculate above that depending on demand/supply to add a premium ontop of value if its really wanted/desired.. where the premium is the price