A merchant in Italy has to settle a large sum with a supplier at a fair far to the north. Why would he use a written instrument such as a bill of exchange instead of sending the money itself?

Explanation

A written order to pay let value travel as a document that a partner or agent could honour at the far end, so the merchant avoided moving heavy and easily stolen metal along the roads. Treating it as government money fails because these papers were private commercial agreements between named parties, not currency issued by a state.