From wikipedia:
Contrary to popular conception, there is no evidence that societies relied only on barter before using money for trade.[73] Instead, non-monetary societies operated primarily along the principles of gift economics, and in more complex economies, on debt.[74][75][76] When barter occurred, it was usually between strangers or would-be enemies.[77]
His last book, “Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real LIbertalia” is pretty good if you haven’t read it, if you don’t mind a lot of Malagasy names.