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 simply a primitive form of exchange carried on in countries in which the use of money has not yet been introduced or is not prevalent. It was an economic stage through which all communities must have passed. Even yet in many rude countries barter is very common; and European travellers find it convenient to take with them weapons, tools, and ornaments to exchange with the natives for their commodities. In civilised communities barter is a very exceptional thing, having been superseded by the use of money in various forms.
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 be 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 consideration of a price in money. See EXCHANGE; SALE OF GOODS.