A sample picture of a fictional ATM card. The largest part of the world's money exists only as accounting numbers which are transferred between financial computers. Various plastic cards and other devices give individual consumers the power to electronically transfer such money to and from their bank accounts, without the use of currency.
Money is historically an emergent market phenomenon establishing a commodity money, but nearly all contemporary money systems are based on fiat money. Fiat money, like any check or note of debt, is without use value as a physical commodity. It derives its value by being declared by a government to be legal tender; that is, it must be accepted as a form of payment within the boundaries of the country, for "all debts, public and private".[better source needed]Counterfeit money can cause good money to lose its value.
The British farthing (derived from the Old Englishfeorthing, a fourth part) was a British coin worth a quarter of an old penny (1⁄960 of a pound sterling). It ceased to be struck after 1956 and was demonetised from 1 January 1961.
The British farthing is a continuation of the English farthing, struck by English monarchs prior to the Act of Union 1707, which unified the crowns of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain. Only pattern farthings were struck under Queen Anne as there was a glut of farthings from previous reigns. The coin was struck intermittently under George I and George II, but by the reign of George III, counterfeits were so prevalent the Royal Mint ceased striking copper coinage after 1775. The next farthings were the first struck by steam power, in 1799 by Matthew Boulton at his Soho Mint under licence. Boulton coined more in 1806, and the Royal Mint resumed production in 1821. The farthing was struck fairly regularly under George IV and William IV. By then it carried a scaled-down version of the penny's design, and would continue to mirror the penny and halfpenny until after 1936. Read more...
Oliver Christian Bosbyshell (January 3, 1839 – August 1, 1921) was Superintendent of the United States Mint at Philadelphia from 1889 to 1894. He also claimed to have been the first Union soldier wounded by enemy action in the Civil War, stating that he received a bruise on the forehead from an object thrown by a Confederate sympathizer while his unit was marching through Baltimore in April 1861.
Bosbyshell was born in Mississippi. His parents were of old Philadelphia stock, and he was raised in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. After briefly working on the railroad and then studying law, Bosbyshell enlisted in the Union cause on the outbreak of war. Following a brief period of service in the 25th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment, he joined the 48th Pennsylvania, remaining in that regiment for three years. He saw action in such battles as Second Bull Run and Antietam. He rose to the rank of major and led his regiment, but was mustered out upon the expiration of his term of service in October 1864, having been refused a leave of absence. Read more...
Smith studied social philosophy at the University of Glasgow and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was one of the first students to benefit from scholarships set up by fellow Scot John Snell. After graduating, he delivered a successful series of public lectures at the University of Edinburgh, leading him to collaborate with David Hume during the Scottish Enlightenment. Smith obtained a professorship at Glasgow, teaching moral philosophy and during this time, wrote and published The Theory of Moral Sentiments. In his later life, he took a tutoring position that allowed him to travel throughout Europe, where he met other intellectual leaders of his day. Read more...
The Octopus card has also grown to be used for payment in many retail shops in Hong Kong, including most convenience stores, supermarkets, and fast food restaurants. Other common Octopus payment applications include parking meters, car parks, petrol stations, vending machines, fee payment at public libraries and swimming pools, and more. The cards are also commonly used for non-payment purposes, such as school attendance and access control for office buildings and housing estates. Read more...
By the late 1880s, there were increasing calls for the replacement of the Seated Liberty design, used since the 1830s on most denominations of silver coins. In 1891, Mint DirectorEdward O. Leech, having been authorized by Congress to approve coin redesigns, ordered a competition, seeking a new look for the silver coins. As only the winner would receive a cash prize, invited artists refused to participate and no entry from the public proved suitable. Leech instructed Barber to prepare new designs for the dime, quarter, and half dollar, and after the chief engraver made changes to secure Leech's endorsement, they were approved by President Benjamin Harrison in November 1891. Striking of the new coins began the following January. Read more...
Mammon/ˈmæmən/ in the New Testament of the Bible is commonly thought to mean money, material wealth, or any entity that promises wealth, and is associated with the greedy pursuit of gain. The Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke both quote Jesus using the word in a phrase often rendered in English as "You cannot serve both God and mammon."
The time value of money explains why interest is paid or earned: interest, whether it is on a bank deposit or debt, compensates the depositor or lender for the time value of money. Read more...
The Coinage Act of 1965, Pub.L.89–81, 79 Stat.254, enacted July 23, 1965, eliminated silver from the circulating United States dime (ten-cent piece) and quarter dollar coins. It also reduced the silver content of the half dollar from 90 percent to 40 percent; silver in the half dollar was subsequently eliminated by a 1970 law.
There had been coin shortages beginning in 1959, and the United States Bureau of the Mint expanded production to try to meet demand. The early 1960s was a time of increased use of silver both in the coinage and in industry, putting pressure on the price of silver, which was capped at just over $1.29 per ounce by government sales at that price. The silver in a dollar's worth of quarters would be worth more as bullion than as money if the price of the metal rose past $1.38 per ounce, and there was widespread hoarding of silver coins. Demand for the Kennedy half dollar as a collectable drove it from circulation after its debut in 1964. The Bureau of the Mint increased production, helping reduce the coin shortages by May 1965, but government stocks of silver were being rapidly reduced, and threatened to run out by 1968. After extensive study by the Treasury Department, President Lyndon B. Johnson in June 1965 recommended that Congress pass legislation to allow for silverless dimes and quarters, and debased silver half dollars. Although there was some opposition, mainly from legislators representing Western mining states, the bill progressed rapidly through Congress, and was enacted with Johnson's signature on July 23, 1965. Read more...
Dynamic Intelligent Currency Encryption (DICE) is an AI-controlled securitytechnology, which devaluates banknotes and assets remotely that have been stolen or are illegal. The cash security system that is based on identifiable banknotes, was invented and first introduced in 2014 by AI-specialised British-Austrian technology company EDAQS. The system claims that its RFID-equipped banknotes and other securities are registered to a centralized and safe system and can be considered as unforgeable, which contributes to solve cash-related problems and helps in the fight against the black economy, crime and terrorism. One of the main goals of DICE is that the whole banking and retail sector, as well as all entities with regular cash circulation will participate in this passively controlled cash system. In a second note, the DICE procedure is meant to be an alternative to the abolition of cash by offering all benefits of a cashless economy, while driving down the global crime of violently obtaining cash. Similar to the IBNS, registered DICE banknotes that have been neutralized, cannot be brought back into circulation and can be directly linked to a crime related issue. Read more...
1792 portrait of Matthew Boulton
Matthew BoultonFRS (/ˈboʊltən/; 3 September 1728 – 17 August 1809) was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Wattsteam engines, which were a great advance on the state of the art, making possible the mechanisation of factories and mills. Boulton applied modern techniques to the minting of coins, striking millions of pieces for Britain and other countries, and supplying the Royal Mint with up-to-date equipment.
Born in Birmingham, he was the son of a Birmingham manufacturer of small metal products who died when Boulton was 31. By then Boulton had managed the business for several years, and thereafter expanded it considerably, consolidating operations at the Soho Manufactory, built by him near Birmingham. At Soho, he adopted the latest techniques, branching into silver plate, ormolu and other decorative arts. He became associated with James Watt when Watt's business partner, John Roebuck, was unable to pay a debt to Boulton, who accepted Roebuck's share of Watt's patent as settlement. He then successfully lobbied Parliament to extend Watt's patent for an additional 17 years, enabling the firm to market Watt's steam engine. The firm installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines in Britain and abroad, initially in mines and then in factories. Read more...
In 1930, President Herbert Hoover vetoed the Gadsden Purchase half dollar bill. Hoffecker had been the moving force behind that bid, and he sought another commemorative coin proposal that he could control if authorizing legislation was passed. He chose the travels of Spanish officer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in the early 16th century. Hoffecker took liberties both with the timing of Cabeza de Vaca's travels and their location; though Hoffecker's hometown of El Paso, Texas, is featured on the coin, Cabeza de Vaca came nowhere near its site. All this made little difference to Congress, which passed the Old Spanish Trail coin bill without opposition, and it was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Read more...
The Coinage Act or the Mint Act, passed by the United States Congress on April 2, 1792, created the United States dollar as the country's standard unit of money, established the United States Mint, and regulated the coinage of the United States. The long title of the legislation is An act establishing a mint, and regulating the Coins of the United States. This act established the silver dollar as the unit of money in the United States, declared it to be lawful tender, and created a decimal system for U.S. currency.
By the Act, the Mint was to be situated at the seat of government of the United States. The five original officers of the U.S. Mint were a Director, an Assayer, a Chief Coiner, an Engraver, and a Treasurer (not the same as the United States Secretary of the Treasury). The Act allowed that one person could perform the functions of Chief Coiner and Engraver. The Assayer, Chief Coiner and Treasurer were required to post a $10,000 bond with the Secretary of the Treasury. Read more...
The silver half dime, equal to five cents, had been issued since the 1790s. The American Civil War caused economic hardship, driving gold and silver from circulation; in response, in place of low-value coins, the government at first issued paper currency. In 1865, Congress abolished the five-cent fractional currency note after Spencer M. Clark, head of the Currency Bureau (today the Bureau of Engraving and Printing), placed his own portrait on the denomination. After the successful introduction of two-cent and three-cent pieces without precious metal, Congress also authorized a five-cent piece consisting of base metal; the Mint began striking this version in 1866. Read more...
The Castaing machine is a device used to add lettering and decoration to the edge of a coin. Such lettering was necessitated by counterfeiting and edge clipping, which was a common problem resulting from the uneven and irregular hammered coinage. When Aubin Olivier introduced milled coinage to France, he also developed a method of marking the edges with lettering which would make it possible to detect if metal had been shaved from the edge. This method involved using a collar, into which the metal flowed from the pressure of the press. This technique was slower and more costly than later methods. France abandoned milled coinage in favour of hammering in 1585.
England experimented briefly with milled coinage, but it wasn't until Peter Blondeau brought his method of minting coins there in the mid-seventeenth century that such coinage began in earnest in that country. Blondeau also invented a different method of marking the edge, which was, according to him, faster and less costly than the method pioneered by Olivier. Though Blondeau's exact method was secretive, numismatists have asserted that it likely resembled the later device invented by Jean Castaing. Castaing's machine marked the edges by means of two steel rulers, which, when a coinage blank was forced between them, imprinted legends or designs on its edge. Castaing's device found favour in France, and it was eventually adopted in other nations, including Britain and the United States, but it was eventually phased out by mechanised minting techniques. Read more...
Title page of the 1735 Works. The author is in the Dean's chair receiving the thanks of Ireland. The motto reads, "I have made a monument more lasting than bronze." The word "Ære" means "bronze" or "metal" or "honor" or "air" in Latin and may be a pun on the Irish word for Ireland Éire so that a parallel meaning could mean "I have made a monument to Ireland Forever." Swift was familiar with the Irish language, and translated at least one poem by Carolan, "O'Rorke's Feast." The phrase comes from Horace's Carmina.
Drapier's Letters is the collective name for a series of seven pamphlets written between 1724 and 1725 by the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, Jonathan Swift, to arouse public opinion in Ireland against the imposition of a privately minted copper coinage that Swift believed to be of inferior quality. William Wood was granted letters patent to mint the coin, and Swift saw the licensing of the patent as corrupt. In response, Swift represented Ireland as constitutionally and financially independent of Britain in the Drapier's Letters. Since the subject was politically sensitive, Swift wrote under the pseudonym M. B., Drapier, to hide from retaliation.
Although the letters were condemned by the Irish government, with prompting from the British government, they were still able to inspire popular sentiment against Wood and his patent. The popular sentiment turned into a nationwide boycott, which forced the patent to be withdrawn; Swift was later honoured for this service to the people of Ireland. Many Irish people recognised Swift as a hero for his defiance of British control over the Irish nation. Beyond being a hero, many critics have seen Swift, through the persona of the Drapier, as the first to organise a "more universal Irish community", although it is disputed as to who constitutes that community. Regardless of to whom Swift is actually appealing what he may or may not have done, the nickname provided by Archbishop King, "Our Irish Copper-Farthen Dean", and his connection to ending the controversy stuck. Read more...
Ancient Chinese coins
Ancient Chinese coinage includes some of the earliest known coins. These coins, used as early as the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE), took the form of imitations of the cowrie shells that were used in ceremonial exchanges. The Spring and Autumn period also saw the introduction of the first metal coins; however, they were not initially round, instead being either knife shaped or spade shaped. Round metal coins with a round, and then later square hole in the center were first introduced around 350 BCE. The beginning of the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BCE), the first dynasty to unify China, saw the introduction of a standardised coinage for the whole Empire. Subsequent dynasties produced variations on these round coins throughout the imperial period. At first the distribution of the coinage was limited to use around the capital city district, but by the beginning of the Han Dynasty, coins were widely used for such things as paying taxes, salaries and fines.
Ancient Chinese coins are markedly different from their European counterparts. Chinese coins were manufactured by being cast in molds, whereas European coins were typically cut and hammered or, in later times, milled. Chinese coins were usually made from mixtures of metals such copper, tin and lead, from bronze, brass or iron: precious metals like gold and silver were uncommonly used. The ratios and purity of the coin metals varied considerably. Most Chinese coins were produced with a square hole in the middle. This was used to allow collections of coins to be threaded on a square rod so that the rough edges could be filed smooth, and then threaded on strings for ease of handling. Read more...
Foreign exchange reserves assets can comprise banknotes, deposits, bonds, treasury bills and other government securities of the reserve currency. Some countries hold a part of their reserves in gold, and special drawing rights are also considered reserve assets. Often, for convenience, the cash or securities are retained by the central bank of the reserve or other currency and the "holdings" of the foreign country are tagged or otherwise identified as belonging to the other country without them actually leaving the vault of that central bank. From time to time they may be physically moved to the home or other country. Read more...
A selection of metal coins.
A coin is a small, flat, (usually, depending on the country or value) round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a government. Coins often have images, numerals, or text on them.
Coins are usually metal or an alloy, or sometimes made of manmade materials. They are usually disc shaped. Coins made of valuable metal are stored in large quantities as bullion coins. Other coins are used as money in everyday transactions, circulating alongside banknotes. Usually the highest value coin in circulation (excluding bullion coins) is worth less than the lowest-value note. In the last hundred years, the face value of circulation coins has occasionally been lower than the value of the metal they contain, for example due to inflation. If the difference becomes significant, the issuing authority may decide to withdraw these coins from circulation, possibly issuing new equivalents with a different composition, or the public may decide to melt the coins down or hoard them (see Gresham's law). Read more...
Burn Your Money, an interactive artwork at Center Camp, Burning Man was later burned at the Burn Wall Street artwork on the playa
Money burning or burning money is the purposeful act of destroying money. In the prototypical example, banknotes are destroyed by literally setting them on fire. Burning money decreases the wealth of the owner without directly enriching any particular party. Money is usually burned to communicate a message, either for artistic effect, as a form of protest, or as a signal. In some games, a player can sometimes benefit from the ability to burn money (battle of the sexes). Burning money is illegal in some jurisdictions. Read more...
The United States Assay Commission was an agency of the United States government from 1792 to 1980. Its function was to supervise the annual testing of the gold, silver, and (in its final years) base metal coins produced by the United States Mint to ensure that they met specifications. Although some members were designated by statute, for the most part the commission, which was freshly appointed each year, consisted of prominent Americans, including numismatists. Appointment to the Assay Commission was eagerly sought after, in part because commissioners received a commemorative medal. These medals, different each year, are extremely rare, with the exception of the 1977 issue, which was sold to the general public.
The Mint Act of 1792 authorized the Assay Commission. Beginning in 1797, it met in most years at the Philadelphia Mint. Each year, the President of the United States appointed unpaid members, who would gather in Philadelphia to ensure the weight and fineness of silver and gold coins issued the previous year were to specifications. In 1971, the commission met, but for the first time had no gold or silver to test, with the end of silver coinage. Beginning in 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed no members of the public to the commission, and in 1980, he signed legislation abolishing it. Read more...
By 1916, the dime, quarter, and half dollar designed by Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber had been struck for 25 years, and could be replaced by the Treasury, of which the Mint is a part, without Congressional authorization. Mint officials were under the misapprehension that the designs had to be changed, and held a competition among three sculptors, in which Barber, who had been in his position for 36 years, also took part. Weinman's designs for the dime and half dollar were selected. Read more...
The apsar (Abkhazian: аҧсар, āpsār) is a currency of Abkhazia. So far, only coins in denominations of 1, 10, 25, 50, and 100 apsars and banknote for 500 apsars have been issued. While the coins are legal tender in the Republic of Abkhazia, their usage is very limited, and the coins are mostly made for collectors. In Abkhazia, the Russian ruble is used in practice. The first apsar coins were introduced in 2008.
The name derives from the Apsars, a tribe mentioned in The Georgian Chronicles who inhabited the region in the Middle Ages and who are believed to be the ancestors of the Abkhaz people. Read more...
The Russian ruble or rouble (Russian: рубльrublʹ; sign: ₽, руб; code: RUB) is the currency of the Russian Federation, the two partially recognised republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the two unrecognised republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. The ruble is subdivided into 100 kopeks (sometimes written as kopecks or copecks; Russian: копе́йкаkopeyka, plural: копе́йкиkopeyki).
The Flowing Hair dollar was the first dollar coin issued by the United States federal government. The coin was minted in 1794 and 1795; its size and weight were based on the Spanish dollar, which was popular in trade throughout the Americas.
In 1791, following a study by Alexander Hamilton, Congress passed a joint resolution calling for the establishment of a national mint. Later that year, in his third State of the Union address, President George Washington urged Congress to provide for a mint, which was officially authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792. Despite the authorization, silver and gold coins were not struck until 1794. The Flowing Hair dollar, designed by Robert Scot, was initially produced in 1794, and again in 1795. In October 1795 the design was replaced by the Draped Bust dollar. Read more...
The silver center cent is an Americanpattern coin, one of the precursors to the large cent and an early example of a bimetallic coin. Less than a dozen specimens are known to exist today, and they generally fetch substantial prices; an uncirculated silver center cent sold at auction for $414,000 in January 2002. That price was eclipsed by an example graded PCGS MS61 offered at auction in April 2012, with a price tag of more than $1 million. Read more...
The sovereign is a gold coin of the United Kingdom, with a nominal value of one pound sterling. Struck from 1817 until the present time, it was originally a circulating coin accepted in Britain and elsewhere in the world; it is now a bullion coin and is sometimes mounted in jewellery. In most recent years, it has borne the well-known design of Saint George and the Dragon on the reverse; the initials (B P) of the designer, Benedetto Pistrucci, are visible to the right of the date.
The coin was named after the English gold sovereign, last minted about 1603, and originated as part of the Great Recoinage of 1816. Many in Parliament believed a one-pound coin should be issued rather than the 21-shilling (1.05 pounds) guinea struck until that time. The Master of the Mint, William Wellesley Pole, had Pistrucci design the new coin, and his depiction was also used for other gold coins. Originally, the coin was unpopular as the public preferred the convenience of banknotes, but paper currency of value £1 was soon limited by law. With that competition gone, the sovereign not only became a popular circulating coin, but was used in international trade and in foreign lands, trusted as a coin containing a known quantity of gold. Read more...
The one hundred euro note (€100) is one of the higher value euro banknotes and has been used since the introduction of the euro (in its cash form) in 2002. The note is used daily by some 343 million Europeans and in the 23 countries which have it as their sole currency (with 22 legally adopting it). In August 2019, there were approximately 2,939,000,000 hundred euro banknotes in circulation in the eurozone. It is the third most widely circulated denomination, accounting for 12.7% of the total banknotes.
It is the third largest note measuring 147 millimetres (5.8 in) × 82 millimetres (3.2 in) and has a green colour scheme. The hundred euro notes depict bridges and arches/doorways in the Baroque and Rococo style (between the 17th and 18th century). The hundred euro note contains several complex security features such as watermarks, invisible ink, holograms and microprinting that document its authenticity. Read more...
The dram (Armenian: դրամ; sign: ֏; code: AMD) is the monetary unit of Armenia and the neighboring unrecognized Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). It was historically subdivided into 100 luma (Armenian: լումա). The word "dram" translates into English as "money" and is cognate with the Greek drachma and the Arabic dirham, as well as the English weight unit dram. The first instance of a dram currency was in the period from 1199 to 1375, when silver coins called dram were issued. Read more...
The concept of the yen was a component of the Meiji government's modernization program of Japan's economy, which postulated the pursuit of a uniform currency throughout the country, modelled after the European decimal currency system. Before the Meiji Restoration, Japan's feudal fiefs all issued their own money, hansatsu, in an array of incompatible denominations. The New Currency Act of 1871 did away with these and established the yen, which was defined as 1.5 g (0.048 troy ounces) of gold, or 24.26 g (0.780 troy ounces) of silver, as the new decimal currency. The former han (fiefs) became prefectures and their mints private chartered banks, which initially retained the right to print money. To bring an end to this situation, the Bank of Japan was founded in 1882 and given a monopoly on controlling the money supply. Read more...
Nepalese silver mohar in the name of king Bhupatindra malla (ruled 1696-1722) of Bhadgaon (Bhaktapur), dated Nepal Era 816 ( = AD 1696), obverse. Silver mohars of this type were also exported to Tibet where they circulated along with other Malla mohars.
The mohar was the currency of the Kingdom of Nepal from the second half of the 17th century until 1932. Silver and gold mohars were issued, each subdivided into 128 dams. Copper dams were also issued, together with copper paisa worth 4 copper dams. The values of the copper, silver and gold coinages relative to one another were not fixed until 1903. In that year, the silver mohar became the standard currency, divided into 50 paisa. It was replaced in 1932 by the rupee, also called the mohru (Moru), at a rate of 2 mohars = 1 rupee. Read more...
The lari (Georgian: ლარი; ISO 4217: GEL) is the currency of Georgia. It is divided into 100 tetri. The name lari is an old Georgian word denoting a hoard, property, while tetri is an old Georgian monetary term (meaning 'white') used in ancient Colchis from the 6th century BC. Earlier Georgian currencies include the maneti, abazi, and Georgian coupon. Read more...
The europa was a token coinage created in 1928 by Joseph Archer [fr], a politician and industrialist from the Nièvre region of France. The currency was promoted by Philibert Besson [fr], the elected deputy for the Haute-Loire who, along with Archer, was an important figure in the early European federalist movement. The coins were minted in the name of a hypothetical "Federated States of Europe" (États Fédérés d'Europe). Unlike contemporary currencies that were based on the gold standard, the europa was intended to derive its notional value from labour.
The currency never circulated except unofficially between federalists of the Nièvre region. Two denominations were produced, both depicting Louis Pasteur and a map of Europe on the obverse and reverse respectively: one valued at 1 europa and another at 1/10 of a europa. Read more...
The Soviet ruble (Russian: рубль; see below for other languages of the USSR) was the currency of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). One ruble was divided into 100 kopeks (Russian: копе́йка, pl. копе́йки – kopeyka, kopeyki). Many of the ruble designs were created by Ivan Dubasov. The production of Soviet rubles was the responsibility of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise, or Goznak, which was in charge of the printing of and materials production for banknotes and the minting of coins in Moscow and Leningrad. In addition to regular currency, some other currency units were used, such as several forms of convertible ruble, transferable ruble, clearing ruble, Vneshtorgbank cheque, etc.; also, several forms of virtual rubles (called "non-cash ruble" or "cachless ruble": "Безналичный рубль" beznalichny rubl) were used for inter-enterprise accounting and international settlement in the Comecon zone. In 1991, after the breakup of the USSR, the Soviet ruble continued to be used in the post-Soviet states, forming a "ruble zone", until it was replaced with the Russian ruble by 1993. Read more...
The Canadian dollar (symbol: $; code: CAD; French: dollar canadien) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or sometimes CA$, Can$ or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents (¢).
Owing to the image of a loon on the one-dollar coin, the currency is sometimes referred to as the loonie by English-speaking Canadians and foreign exchange traders and analysts, or as the huard (the word for the common loon in French) by French-speaking Canadians. Read more...
Reverse FERNANDVS ET ELISABET DEI GR[ATIA] "Ferdinand and Elisabeth, by the Grace of God" Displays the arms of the Catholic Monarchs post 1492, with Granada in base. Letter S on the left is the sign of the mint of Seville and VIII on the right i.e. eight in roman numerals.
The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight (in Spanish: Real de a ocho or Peso), is a silvercoin of approximately 38 mm (1.5 in) diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497.
The Spanish dollar was widely used by many countries as the first international currency because of its uniformity in standard and milling characteristics. Some countries countersigned the Spanish dollar so it could be used as their local currency. Read more...
The economic turmoil of the American Civil War caused government-issued coins, even the non-silver Indian Head cent, to vanish from circulation, hoarded by the public. One means of filling this gap was private token issues, often made of bronze. The cent at that time was struck of a copper-nickel alloy, the same diameter as the later Lincoln cent, but somewhat thicker. The piece was difficult for the Philadelphia Mint to strike, and Mint officials, as well as the annual Assay Commission, recommended the coin's replacement. Despite opposition from those wishing to keep the metal nickel in the coinage, led by Pennsylvania Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1864, authorizing bronze cents and two-cent pieces. Read more...
The South Korean won (/wʌn/; Korean: 원, Korean pronunciation: [wʌn]; symbol: ₩; code: KRW) or Korean Republic won (Korean: 대한민국 원) is the official currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and appears only in foreign exchange rates. The won is issued by the Bank of Korea, based in the capital city of Seoul. Read more...
The Lincoln cent (sometimes called the Lincoln penny) is a one-cent coin that has been struck by the United States Mint since 1909. The obverse or heads side was designed by Victor David Brenner, as was the original reverse, depicting two stalks of wheat (thus "wheat pennies", struck 1909–1958). The coin has seen several reverse, or tails, designs and now bears one by Lyndall Bass depicting a Union shield. All coins struck by the United States government with a value of 1/100 of a dollar are called cents because the United States has always minted coins using decimals. The penny nickname is a carryover from the coins struck in England, which went to decimals for coins in 1971.
In 1905, sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens was hired by the Mint to redesign the cent and the four gold coins, which did not require congressional approval. Two of Saint-Gaudens's proposed designs for the cent were eventually adapted for the gold pieces, but Saint-Gaudens died in August 1907 before submitting additional designs for the cent. In January 1909, the Mint engaged Brenner to design a cent depicting the late president Abraham Lincoln, 1909 being the centennial year of his birth. It was the first widely circulating design of a U.S. president on a coin, an idea that had been seen as too monarchical in the past, namely by George Washington. Nevertheless, Brenner's design was eventually approved, and the new coins were issued to great public interest on August 2, 1909. Read more...
The renminbi (abbreviated RMB; simplified Chinese: 人民币; traditional Chinese: 人民幣; pinyin: rénmínbì; literally: 'people's currency'; symbol: 元/¥; code: CNY) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China, and one of the world's major reserve currencies. The yuan (Chinese: 元; pinyin: yuán) is the basic unit of the renminbi, but is also used to refer to the Chinese currency generally, especially in international contexts where "Chinese yuan" is widely used to refer to the renminbi. The distinction between renminbi and yuan is that renminbi is the name of the currency and yuan refers to its primary unit. One yuan is subdivided into 10 jiao (Chinese: 角; pinyin: jiǎo), and a jiao in turn is subdivided into 10 fen (Chinese: 分; pinyin: fēn). The renminbi is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of China.
The renminbi is sometimes referred to as the redback in the US financial press. Read more...
Issuance of banknotes ৳10 and larger is controlled by Bangladesh Bank, and for the ৳2 and ৳5 banknotes, which are the responsibility of the ministry of finance of the government of Bangladesh. The most commonly used symbol for the taka is "৳" and "Tk", used on receipts while purchasing goods and services. ৳1 is subdivided into 100 poysha. Read more...
The British florin, or two shilling coin, was issued from 1849 until 1967, with a final issue for collectors dated 1970. Valued at one tenth of a pound (24 old pence), it was the last coin circulating immediately prior to decimalisation to be demonetised, in 1993, having for a quarter of a century circulated alongside the ten pence piece, identical in specifications and value.
The florin was introduced as part of an experiment in decimalisation that went no further at that time. The original florins, dated 1849, attracted controversy for omitting a reference to God from Queen Victoria's titles; that type is accordingly known as the "Godless florin", and was in 1851 succeeded by the "Gothic florin", for its design and style of lettering. Throughout most of its existence, the florin bore some variation of either the shields of the United Kingdom, or the emblems of its constituent nations on the reverse, a tradition broken between 1902 and 1910, when the coin featured a windswept figure of a standing Britannia. Read more...
Tibetan silver tangka with Ranjana (Lantsa) script, dated 15-28 (= AD 1894), obverse
Tibetan undated silver tangka, struck in 1953/54, reverse.
Tibetan undated silver tangka (2nd half of 18th century) with eight times the syllable "dza" in vartula script,obverse
Sino Tibetan silver tangka, dated 58th year of Qian Long era, reverse. Weight 5.57 g. Diameter: 30 mm
Tibetan "gaden" Tangka, undated (ca. AD 1840), obverse
Tibetan undated silver tangka (2nd half of 18th century) with eight times the syllable "dza" in vartula script,reverse
A check, used as a means of converting funds in a demand deposit to cash
Banknotes of different currencies with a face value of 5000
A sample picture of a fictional ATM card. The largest part of the world's money exists only as accounting numbers which are transferred between financial computers. Various plastic cards and other devices give individual consumers the power to electronically transfer such money to and from their bank accounts, without the use of currency.
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