The First Wallet: How Was it Used and What did it Look Like?

A wallet is a common item that has a big impact on our everyday lives and needs no introduction. We all understand what a money clip wallet is: it’s a tiny leather or fabric case you slip into your pocket to carry your cash, cards, and other vital ID documents.

You can be certain that it’s one of your most important accessories, and you won’t leave the house without it, whether you’re using it in your daily life or not. A wallet gets us through our days and tells the world how we roll, from carrying our day-to-day items to making a fashion or lifestyle statement.

Do you enjoy the rush of extreme sports and need all-weather wallet protection, or do you prefer a minimalist buttery soft leather wallet for its own sake?

Whatever style you pick, it’s fascinating to learn that the wallet has a long history and development period, which has resulted in today’s popular designs.

Wallets have been around for a long time.

Many people believe that the invention of wallets occurred relatively recently and that its origins are firmly in the twentieth century. It’s surprising to learn, though, that wallets have been around since mankind began, and they’ve been necessary since early humans transported vital things.

So in this post, we’ll look at the wallet’s origins and how it evolved from a simple container for cash into one of the most essential items almost everyone has.

Let’s start at the beginning of the humble money clip card holder and where it all began…

What is the history of a wallet?

The wallet design that we all know today most likely originated around the time we started to use paper money. The bifold style, which is the first modern money holder, was created for folding paper bills in half for convenient storage.

However, the history of currency holders begins before the invention of paper bills. Although they weren’t in the conventional wallet form we are familiar with, leather money clip wallet were still utilized throughout history.

People have always needed ways to transport everything from food to money, and prior to the invention of paper money, they frequently utilized coin purses and tiny containers to store valuables. Coin purses and little containers were the most popular luggage items before the modern wallet and contemporary currency came into existence.  

Let’s look at where the term “wallet” comes from and why we still call a flat purse that contains money, cards, and critical IDs a “wallet.”

What is the origin of the wallet’s name?

The word “wallet” is such a common term that we don’t generally realize where it originated and why we use it to describe our cash, debit and credit cards, identity cards like drivers’ licenses, and other important belongings.

The wallet’s name is derived from its inventor, a British con artist named Benjamin Edlebrooke. The word Wallet comes from the ancient Greek term Kibisis, which was the term used to describe Hermes’ sack. The card wallet with money clip has historically been translated as Kinesis.

We realize that the modern usage of the word “wallet” for flat purses originated in 1834, and was primarily used by Americans.

The author of the 1931 book “The Boy, the Grapes, and the Foxes,” A. Y. Campbell, penned a great section that perfectly depicts the Wallet. He stated, “the wallet was the poor man’s portable larder….you kept food in it.”

Ancient wallets

One of the world’s oldest examples of a wallet, belonging to Otzi the Iceman, was a very unusual and fascinating ancient discovery that perfectly depicts early wallets. Experts believe this sample of ancient human existence dates from around 3,300 BC.

From a waist purse to a coin purse, these ancient human bones were discovered linked to his hip. Hunting and foraging for food were important activities in our ancestors’ past. It was certainly vital to be able to hunt hands-free, which is why this sort of wallet predecessor was so essential for early men.

Now that we’ve established that wallets have been a part of our daily lives for some time, albeit in different forms than the ones we use today, let’s look at what early wallet forms were and how they looked.

The Greeks and Romans used wallets.

Let’s take a look at how ancient man’s predecessors, the Greeks, and Romans, used and carried distinctive wallets.

Roman and Greek citizens frequently carried coin purses that were attached to their hips or cleverly concealed within their togas over thousands of years.

Despite the fact that some of the wallets have vanished, archaeologists have discovered proof in a variety of Greek and Roman sites. Surprisingly, despite the devastation of Pompeii, experts have identified different types of coin purses. This demonstrates how critical early forms of wallets were to ancient civilizations.

The Greeks and Romans would transport anything from reminder notes to smaller coins used for money. In Greek mythology, Hermes, among other gods, bore messages in coin purses and satchels.

So, what did early wallets look like? Let’s have a look at some of them.