One clever way of foolproof authentication that was used back in the day, England had what were called Tally sticks, I think used for mortgages. They would split a piece of wood in two, they fit together only one way and the grain of course was unique.
It was Franklin (I think, or Jefferson) who said “Paper is not Money, it is the Ghost of Money”.
Finance was a lot different back then. I think lenders screwed over a lot of the founding fathers or colonists by demanding repayment in gold, interest rate fluctuations seasonally. Also in those days, an Estate passed on debts as well as assets, so the heir was on the hook for obligations incurred by dear old Dad.
And they had Debtor’s prisons. They’d have thrown all those college kids in Jail for not paying their loans off, probably. Sometimes, the old ways are best ways, eh?
> They’d have thrown all those college kids in Jail for not paying their loans off, probably. Sometimes, the old ways are best ways, eh?
Nah. They’d just use the time in prison to work on their masters and PhDs. Throw modern college kids in jail for not paying their debts and you’d wind up with more community organizers, environmental activists, and public defenders than you could ever possibly use.