BARTER, in commerce and political economy. a term used to express the exchange of one commodity for another, as contrasted with the sale of commodities for money. It is' usual to suppose that in the history of any community B.- preceded the other methods of commerce, as people would find the convenience of exchanging one article for another before they were acquainted with money or credit. In point of fact, ships visiting savage countries are generally to some extent freighted with weapons, tools, or ornaments, to be used in B., if it be desirable to carry on a trade with the inhabitants. Under old artificia, systems of political economy, there was much useless discussion about the question whether a B. trade or a money-payment trade was more advantageous to the community at large, and which of them should be encouraged while the other is depressed. On the one side, it was maintained that nothing but an export sale for cash was really profitable; on the other, that it was more advantageous to get goods in return, because thus there was a double transaction and double profit. See BALANCE OF
TRADE. But the simple doctrine of the present day, that whatever the merchant finds most profitable to himself will also be most profitable to the community, saves the neces sity of making these distinctions, and of acting upon them by interference with coin /tierce. B. is, in reality, one of the commonest forms of trade, taken at large in the present day. The exporter sends goods to his agent, who, without probably ever touch hard cash in the course of the transaction, lays in a cargo of import goods with the value, and these are literally brought home in exchange for those sent out.
i In law, BARTER, or EXCHANGE, as it is now more generally called in law-books, is a contract for transferring property, the consideration being some other commodity; or it may he described as a contract for the exchange of two subjects or commodities. It thus differs from sale, which is a contract for the transference of property in considera tion of a price in money. See EXCHANGE; SALE OF Goons.