Tim Murray has been a leading figure in promoting a global perspective for later historical archaeology, stressing the importance of seeing the way trans-oceanic connections in the modern world are forged and maintained through material culture. Money is a vital part of this network yet one that archaeologists have not always given much attention to. This contribution aims to explore an archaeology of money in the context of emergent global capitalism, especially focusing on its agentive power. Using archaeological case studies, connections will be drawn between Marx’s notion of commodity fetishism, debt, and the performative power of money and how it is seen to act.