--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tally sticks were quite explicitly IOUs…" description: "\"“Tally sticks were quite explicitly IOUs: both parties to a transaction would take a hazelwood twig, notch it to indicate the amount owed, and then spl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/david-graeber-4667_debt_tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious_2484632.png" --- # Tally sticks were quite explicitly IOUs: both parties to a… ![“Tally sticks were quite explicitly IOUs: both parties to a transaction would take a hazelwood twig, notch it to indicate the amount owed, and then split it in half. The creditor would keep one half, called "the stock" (hence the origin of the term "stock holder") and the debtor kept the other…” quote by David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/david-graeber-4667_debt_tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious_2484632.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/david-graeber-4667_debt_tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious_2484632.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/david-graeber-4667_debt_tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious_2484632.png) > ““Tally sticks were quite explicitly IOUs: both parties to a transaction would take a hazelwood twig, notch it to indicate the amount owed, and then split it in half. The creditor would keep one half, called "the stock" (hence the origin of the term "stock holder") and the debtor kept the other, called "the stub" (hence the origin of the term "ticket stub.)”” [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical tally sticks served as physical IOUs, splitting a marked twig between creditor and debtor, giving rise to terms like “stock” and “ticket stub.” **In simple terms:** Old tally sticks were early IOUs. Key Takeaway Recognize origins of financial terms. Themes history economics language Mood educational curious Type historical informative When to use this quote - teaching finance - historical research - legal contracts Key Concepts ancient accounting etymology Questions to Reflect On - How do ancient practices inform modern finance? - What other words have similar origins? A Different Perspective Modern digital records have largely replaced physical tokens. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Called Stub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-stub-901960/) [Debt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debt/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Owed Split](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/owed-split-901958/) [Stock Holder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stock-holder-901959/) [Stub Origin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stub-origin-901956/) [Tally Sticks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tally-sticks-901957/) ## Related quotes > [If history shows anything, it is that there's no better way to justify relations founded on violence, to make such relations seem moral, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/if-history-shows-anything-it-is-that-there-s-no-better-way-to-justify/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [If you imagine that everything is an exchange, then we're supposed to just transact and walk away. If we haven't walked away and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/if-you-imagine-that-everything-is-an-exchange-then-we-re-supposed-to/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“The criminalization of debt, then, was the criminalization of the very basis of human society. It cannot be overemphasized that in a small community,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-criminalization-of-debt-then-was-the-criminalization-of-the-very/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [People don't have an ongoing relation unless it's a form of debt because everything is an exchange, so ongoing relationships are incomplete exchanges, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-unless-it-s-a-form-of-debt/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [It is a well-settled principle of the international code that where one nation owes another a liquidated debt which it refuses or neglects to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/it-is-a-well-settled-principle-of-the-international-code-that-where/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [“The human eye is restricted to see the useen, because there’s a price to be paid to the rulers of this image and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-human-eye-is-restricted-to-see-the-useen-because-there-s-a-price/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [I love Black Sabbath. They made an amazing contribution to music today. Almost every band that made it big in the Nineties owed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/i-love-black-sabbath-they-made-an-amazing-contribution-to-music-today/) [Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/) > [Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/without-a-trace-of-irony-i-can-say-i-have-been-blessed-with-brilliant/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-roby/the-american-people-reject-the-idea-of-giving-washington-a-blank/) [Martha Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-roby/) > [It is perhaps my greatest hope, Mr. President, that some day we'll consider tax and spending measures with no one else in mind but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/it-is-perhaps-my-greatest-hope-mr-president-that-some-day-we-ll/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [“An honest man is a debtless man, he doesn't owe anyone anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-honest-man-is-a-debtless-man-he-doesn-t-owe-anyone-anything/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“Most people, given more money, only get into more debt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-kiyosaki/most-people-given-more-money-only-get-into-more-debt/) [Robert T. Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-kiyosaki/) > [Praise will come to those whose kindness leaves you without debt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/praise-will-come-to-those-whose-kindness-leaves-you-without-debt/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) ## More by David Graeber > [People don't have an ongoing relation unless it's a form of debt because everything is an exchange, so ongoing relationships are incomplete exchanges, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-unless-it-s-a-form-of-debt/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [I would like, then, to end by putting in a good word for the non-industrious poor. At least they aren’t hurting anyone. Insofar as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/i-would-like-then-to-end-by-putting-in-a-good-word-for-the-non/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“But if Smith was right, and gold and silver became money through the natural workings of the market completely independently of governments, then wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/but-if-smith-was-right-and-gold-and-silver-became-money-through-the/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“A revolution on a world scale will take a very long time. But it is also possible to recognize that it is already starting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/a-revolution-on-a-world-scale-will-take-a-very-long-time-but-it-is/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“money has no essence. It's not "really" anything; therefore, its nature has always been and presumably always will be a matter of political conten­tion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/money-has-no-essence-it-s-not-really-anything-therefore-its-nature/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [We don't live in a capitalist totality. Capitalism couldn't survive as a totality anyway. We live in this complex system and we already live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/we-don-t-live-in-a-capitalist-totality-capitalism-couldn-t-survive-as/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“About the only thing we can imagine is catastrophe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/about-the-only-thing-we-can-imagine-is-catastrophe/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [The working poor are the people suffering out subprime mortgages and fatal loans and more and more of our money - you know, capitalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-working-poor-are-the-people-suffering-out-subprime-mortgages-and/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“Solitary pleasures will always exist, but for most human beings, the most pleasurable activities almost always involve sharing something: music, food, liquor, drugs, gossip,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/solitary-pleasures-will-always-exist-but-for-most-human-beings-the/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“IMF is really designed to protect creditors not debtors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/imf-is-really-designed-to-protect-creditors-not-debtors/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“The criminalization of debt, then, was the criminalization of the very basis of human society. It cannot be overemphasized that in a small community,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-criminalization-of-debt-then-was-the-criminalization-of-the-very/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [If you imagine that everything is an exchange, then we're supposed to just transact and walk away. If we haven't walked away and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/if-you-imagine-that-everything-is-an-exchange-then-we-re-supposed-to/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“As Pierre Bourdieu was later to point out in describing a similar economy of trust in contemporary Algeria: it’s quite possible to turn honor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/as-pierre-bourdieu-was-later-to-point-out-in-describing-a-similar/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [ \[A\] great embarrassing fact… haunts all attempts to represent the market as the highest form of human freedom: that historically, impersonal, commercial markets originate… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/a-great-embarrassing-fact-haunts-all-attempts-to-represent-the-market/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“As the events of 2011 reveal, the age of revolutions is by no means over. The human imagination stubbornly refuses to die. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/as-the-events-of-2011-reveal-the-age-of-revolutions-is-by-no-means/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Explore all 106 David Graeber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) ## More Debt quotes > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Praise will come to those whose kindness leaves you without debt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/praise-will-come-to-those-whose-kindness-leaves-you-without-debt/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [“Most people, given more money, only get into more debt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-kiyosaki/most-people-given-more-money-only-get-into-more-debt/) [Robert T. Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-kiyosaki/) > [“An honest man is a debtless man, he doesn't owe anyone anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-honest-man-is-a-debtless-man-he-doesn-t-owe-anyone-anything/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [It is perhaps my greatest hope, Mr. President, that some day we'll consider tax and spending measures with no one else in mind but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/it-is-perhaps-my-greatest-hope-mr-president-that-some-day-we-ll/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-roby/the-american-people-reject-the-idea-of-giving-washington-a-blank/) [Martha Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-roby/) > [Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/without-a-trace-of-irony-i-can-say-i-have-been-blessed-with-brilliant/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [I love Black Sabbath. They made an amazing contribution to music today. Almost every band that made it big in the Nineties owed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/i-love-black-sabbath-they-made-an-amazing-contribution-to-music-today/) [Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/) > [“The human eye is restricted to see the useen, because there’s a price to be paid to the rulers of this image and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-human-eye-is-restricted-to-see-the-useen-because-there-s-a-price/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [It is a well-settled principle of the international code that where one nation owes another a liquidated debt which it refuses or neglects to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/it-is-a-well-settled-principle-of-the-international-code-that-where/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [Student loans have been helpful to many. But they offer neither incentive nor assistance to those students who, by reason of family or other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/student-loans-have-been-helpful-to-many-but-they-offer-neither/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [Our sins are debts that none can pay but Christ. It is not our tears, but His blood; it is not our sighs, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/our-sins-are-debts-that-none-can-pay-but-christ-it-is-not-our-tears/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [Instead of explaining the sober facts of mechanics and electricity, I want to say a few words about the debt which we owe to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-bloch/instead-of-explaining-the-sober-facts-of-mechanics-and-electricity-i/) [Felix Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-bloch/) > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) [Browse all 2,345 Debt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Tally sticks were quite explicitly IOUs: both parties to a transaction would take a hazelwood twig, notch it to indicate the amount owed, and then split it in half. The creditor would keep one half, called \"the stock\" (hence the origin of the term \"stock holder\") and the debtor kept the other, called \"the stub\" (hence the origin of the term \"ticket stub.)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious-both-parties-to-a-transaction/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Debt" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious-both-parties-to-a-transaction/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/david-graeber-4667_debt_tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious_2484632.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/david-graeber-4667_debt_tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious_2484632.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/david-graeber-4667_debt_tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious_2484632.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Tally sticks were quite explicitly IOUs: both parties to a transaction would take a hazelwood twig, notch it…” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Graeber", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Tally sticks were quite explicitly IOUs:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious-both-parties-to-a-transaction/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious-both-parties-to-a-transaction/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```