Principles of Economics by Greg Mankiw is the intro text at most universities, it's very well written.

[0]: https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Economics-7th-Mankiws/dp/1...

> yours may have had unorthodox views

We read Greg Mankiw's Principles of Economics [1]. It's the Harvard undergraduate text--orthodox as they come.

Saying barter plays a limited role in virtually all economies, modern and historic, is different from saying it was money's progenitor, as Adam Smith wrongly speculated. The former is true. The latter is not.

TL; DR Money and banking isn't always taught in introductory economics. The "bartering noble savage" myth is not something economists cling to.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Economics-7th-Mankiws/dp/1...