Money is any object that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally, a standard of deferred payment.
Money therefore could be anything of value eg cotton, tobacco, cattle or goats.
Doesn’t Thomas Sowell define it as a certificate given as a certificate in exchange for the value of labor delivered ?
Money is blips on various electronic ledgers.
Currency has value because it's accepted as a valid substitute for something sold/bought, traded, or exchanged (including labor).
There's no magic to it.