s, in such
country, money, even though it ceases to be such, or to possess
any value, when passing into another country. In a word, an
article is determined to be money by reason of the performance by
it of certain functions, without regard to its form or substance.

Francis A. Walker says:

Money is that which freely passes from hand to hand through the
community in final discharge of debt and in full payment for
commodities, being accepted equally without reference to the
character or credit of the person who offers it, and without the
intention of the person who receives it, to consume it, or enjoy
it, or apply it to any other use than in turn to tender it to
others in discharge of debts or in payment for commodities.

It has been contended by certain economists that bank checks and bills
of exchange are money, or, at least, that they discharge the money
function and act on prices the same as money; but this definition
excludes checks and bills of exchange. A bill of exchange or bank
check is not accepted without reference to the character or credit of
the person who offers it. But Francis A. Walker leaves us in no doubt
on this question. On page 123 of his work on "Political Economy" he
says:

Money is a medium of exchange. Whatever performs this function,
does this work, is money, no matter what it is made of, and no
matter how it came to be a medium at first, or why it continues
to be such. So long as, in any community, there is an article
which all producers take freely and as a matter of course in
exchange for whatever they have to sell, instead of looking
about, at the time, for the particular things they, themselves,
wish to consume, that article is money, be it white, yellow, or
black, hard or soft, animal, vegetable, or mineral. There is no
other test of money than this. That which does the money work is
the money thing. It may do this well; it may do this ill. It may
be good money; it may be bad money; but it is money all the same.
We said _all_ producers, since it is not enough that a thing is
extensively used in exchange, to constitute it money. _Bank
checks are used in numerous and important transactions, yet are
not money._ It is essential to money that its acceptability
should be so nearly universal that practically every person in
the community who has a