Cash coins of different countries. Curious facts about the money of the world

Today, everything we buy, from bread to cars, costs money. It can be metal coins or paper bills when we pay in cash, various credit cards in case of cashless payment.


The history of money different countries is thousands of years old. appeared about 2500 years ago in the country of Lydia (currently part of Turkey). They were made from an alloy of silver and gold. Basic information about money has come down to us from ancient times. Even before the advent modern money, in almost all countries, the main instrument for exchange was a certain consumer product. That is, tea, furs, shells, stones and other items acted as "money".


Each country has its own information about money. For example, in Japan it is the yen, in the USA it is the American dollar, in many countries of Western Europe the single currency is the euro, and so on.

The main functions of money in different countries.

Despite the huge variety of types of money in different countries of the world, it is believed that modern coins and banknotes in all countries of the world have similar functions, the main of which are the following:

  1. money is a measure of value that sets the price of all services and goods;

  2. medium of circulation, which acts as an intermediary in the exchange of various goods;

  3. store of value; this function is performed by cash that participate in daily financial turnover;

  4. means of payment used in transactions with loans;

  5. world money - this function characterizes economic relations between states, legal entities and individuals.

The appearance of banknotes can often reflect certain events in the history of the state, contain images of some significant people who have done something significant for the development of the country's culture, and can also reflect certain cultural achievements of the country, people or state. A striking example is the currency of the countries of the European Union (the euro).


Each denomination bears images of various architectural styles - Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque, Classical, which characterize different eras in the development of the European people.


In general, the monetary systems of all countries in the world can be divided into two main groups:

  1. natural;
  2. Symbolic.

Any natural monetary unit has its useful value. But over time, this type of money gradually goes out of circulation, and is replaced by symbolic money. This type includes various coins, banknotes, bonds, electronic money, bank checks, etc.


The main value of symbolic money is not the cost of the material from which they are made, but their denomination, which is officially approved.

Money from different countries of the world.

Here are some examples of how money from different countries of the world can be called.
Asian money: Indian rupee, Vietnamese dong, Bhutanese ngultrum, Israeli shekel, Iranian rial, Syrian pound, Philippine peso, Japanese yen, Thai baht and so on.


African money: Tunisian dinar, Chadian franc, Malian franc, Liberian dollar, Egyptian pound, Nigerian naira, Ghanaian cedi, etc.


Money of America and Oceania: US dollar, Bahamian dollar, Argentine peso, Cuban peso, Vanuatu vatu, Australian dollar, etc.


Money of the CIS and Europe: euro, Danish krone, Russian ruble, Armenian dram, Kyrgyz som, Serbian dinar, Estonian krone, etc.


Thus, money is a universal payment system, which is recognized by all peoples and countries as the most convenient financial instrument.

Coins and paper money have always been the cause of various superstitions, myths and legends. But along with various beliefs, there have always been interesting facts related to money, paper and metal coins. This article presents information about money and coins of different countries, as well as the main functions of money. Almost always, by the appearance of money, it was possible to trace the main historical transformations in the life of the state. Basically, the money depicted important political figures who left their mark on the culture of this country, but sometimes some important events were depicted on money or banknotes. Money from different countries. Russia - Rubles; USA (America) - Dollar; Japan - yen; Western European countries - euro. The main types of functions of money and coins: A measure of value that characterizes the set price of all goods and services; Medium of circulation, acting as an intermediary in the exchange of goods; Means of accumulation; this function is performed by money involved in everyday financial circulation; a means of payment used in financial transactions with loans; a function of world money that characterizes economic relations between individuals, legal entities and states. Interesting facts about the money of different countries: The return of old English coins, to whom and why did it take? So, for example, in 1993, the Royal Mint of England issued a series of coins that went out of circulation in 1970. And this was done on a special occasion, which even all the British do not know about. But the fact was that the guitarist of the legendary band Queen, the well-known Brian May, preferred to use a sixpence coin instead of a pick, the issue of which was discontinued back in 1970. At the request of Brian May, a whole series of sixpence coins was issued specifically for the needs of the popular group. Coin "old copper nose" - what is it? In general, a lot of different facts are connected with the coins of England. For example, there is the concept of “old copper nose”, the so-called coin issued in the 8th century by King Henry. This coin is significant in that for the first time a silver coin began to be issued from copper, and a thin layer of silver was applied on top of the copper base. During operation, it was very quickly erased, especially on the protruding parts of the coin. Thus, on the King Henry depicted on the coin, silver was first erased on the nose. That is why these coins gradually began to be called the "old copper nose". What does it mean to "contribute"? Many have heard the expression "do your bit" but not everyone knows where this stable expression came from. And the point is that in Ancient Greece the smallest change coin was precisely the coins called "lepta". And in the Gospel there was a parable about how a lonely poor woman gave her last two mites for the construction of the temple. This is where the term “do your bit” comes from. What does the concept of "Polkpeyki" mean In the ranking of old coins of the USSR, the most noble place is occupied by a coin with a denomination of half a penny. These coins were minted from 1925-1927. In those years, a lot of coins had to be printed, so in order to save copper, it was decided to mint coins from an alloy of copper and zinc. If you wish, you can find many facts related to the money of different countries. Indeed, since antiquity, money has accompanied a person everywhere, and it is in them that the most important and mysterious historical intrigues and mysteries are often connected.

Money is the basis of the economy and not only of each state, but of the world as a whole. For all the time, from the appearance and during the development of these payment instruments, a lot of interesting facts have accumulated. So much fun in what we use every day!
Modern man is accustomed to the fact that money is paper and metal. However, from time immemorial to the present day, they have changed their appearance more than once. So in Burma the role of money was played by brick tea and salt, in China it was pieces of silk, and in Mexico it was cocoa beans. For a long time in various countries, coins and banknotes replaced tobacco, corn and rice grains, and dried fish.


One of the curious facts is the use of leather as a material for making money. It was not so long ago: in Alaska, the Russian-American Company recorded leather versions released in 1816, 1826, 1834.




But even today, not everywhere money is made from metal and paper. In Australia, Malaysia, Brazil, Thailand, Brunei, New Zealand, Romania, Western Samoa and Papua New Guinea, polymer plastic is used.

Initially, such instances were purely memorable, for certain memorable events. For example, in 1988, a banknote appeared in honor of the 200th anniversary of the founding of the first British colony in Australia. In 1999, Romania already produced a similar one, with a face value of 2000 lei, which was dedicated to the solar eclipse of the same year. This banknote depicted a geographical map of the country with marked places where the eclipse was most pronounced.

Paper banknotes were "born" in China, even before new era. They were used only in the funeral ceremony: near the grave of the deceased, money was burned on a fire, believing that this way they get to the deceased in afterworld and make life easier for him. In everyday life, paper bills spread much later.



In Canada, the first paper banknotes were playing cards. The administration of the northern territory of New France in 1685 was faced with a shortage of coins to pay salaries to employees and workers. The quartermaster got out of this situation with the help of ordinary cards, cutting them into different shapes and signing monetary denominations on each piece. After the ships from the Old World arrived in Canada, everyone exchanged these "bills" for real coins. This solution method was used several more times in the early 18th century.
In the United States, the first paper money appeared in 1861. The reason, as in Canada, was the lack of coins.
The most popular banknote in the world is the 500 euro banknote. Because of this, the production of this paper copy had to be almost doubled. But the euro is the youngest currency in the world, it turns out, not the most common unit of the payment instrument. The franc is used as the national currency in 34 countries around the world.

The US dollar is also considered unique. His name is the currency of 27 countries, not much less than the euro. The dollar is also the most conservative, because its design has not changed since the beginning of the last century. It is also considered the winner of the "most monotonous banknote" nomination, since all of its banknotes are the same size and differ only in denomination and the portrait of the depicted president. The dollar, moreover, is most often counterfeited: either it is poorly protected or highly valued in criminal circles. Another very interesting fact: in the United States it is forbidden to use portraits of living people on banknotes. The dollar also has an entertaining symbolism on the reverse side: it depicts a 13-step pyramid. It means the power of the state, its steps are the first states, and the absence of the top symbolizes the desire to work further.

The names of most monetary units are associated with measures of weight. An example of this is the British pound sterling: a silver coin was called sterling, 240 of these coins weighed exactly one pound. A similar origin has a currency called the lira: it is also the Italian equivalent of the pound. In the Middle Age Western Europe used a mark to measure the weight of silver, which was a little lighter than a pound. From her came the Deutschmark. And finally, in Ancient Rus' hryvnia was pronounced as "hryvnia kun" or "hryvnia of silver" and denoted a certain number of coins, performing the same function as the mark and the pound.






IN Russian Federation The most expensive money is gold coins weighing 1 kg. They are issued by the Central Bank of Russia twice a year. The denomination of each coin is ten thousand rubles.

Abaz, Iranian silver coin, widespread in the 16th-17th centuries. in countries Caucasus, Middle East and Central Asia. Got its name from the Iranian Shah Abbas I(1587-1628), under which its release began.

Altyn, old russian monetary unit. The term comes from the Tatar word alty - six, because initially altyn was equal to 6 money.

balboa, monetary unit of Panama. Named in honor of the conquistador, discoverer of the Pacific Ocean Vasco Nunez de Balboa.

Bolivar, currency unit Venezuela, and formerly Uruguay. Named after the fighter for the independence of Latin America Simon Bolivar.

Dirham (dirham), the name of coins and monetary units, mainly in Arab countries. The name goes back to Greek.

Penny, plural form of the English word penny(). At the same time, the word penny used when denoting a multiple denomination, for example two pennies - twopenny coin, as opposed to the expression two pennies, which is used to represent two 1p coins.

Peseta, the name of the coin and the modern monetary unit of Spain. spanish word peseta literally means small.

centimo, the name of a bargaining chip equal to 1/100 of the national currency in a number of Spanish-speaking countries. The etymology of the name is the same as y.

centavo, the name of a bargaining chip equal to 1/100 of the national currency in a number Portuguese-speaking countries. The etymology of the name is the same as y.

Sucre, The monetary unit of Ecuador is named after Antonio José de Sucre, a fighter for the independence of the Spanish colonies in America.

Cent, the name of a bargaining chip equal to 1/100 of the national currency (usually) in a number of countries. The etymology of the name is the same as y.

centesimo, the name of the Italian small coin, equal to 1/100. The etymology of the name is the same as y.

Chervonets, the name that was originally given in Russia to foreign high-grade coins (made from pure gold). Then Russia began issuing its own gold coins and the name chervonets passed on to them.

Shekel, monetary unit in ancient Judea and modern Israel. The name comes from the Semitic word saqal - weigh.

Shilling, the name of the coin and the monetary unit of a number of countries. Known in Europe since the Middle Ages. The name comes from the name of an ancient Roman coin solid.

ecu, old french gold coin. The name of the coin comes from the French word ecu-shield.

Escudo, the name of Spanish and Portuguese gold coins, as well as the modern monetary unit of Portugal and some other countries. The name comes from the Spanish word escudo - shield.

Today, whatever we buy, from food to an apartment or a car, costs a certain amount of money. Both paper bills and metal coins act as them, and in Lately even credit cards. But different. Each country has its own currency, and therefore the perception of the whole is rather complicated. In this article you will find basic information about the money of different countries, as well as interesting facts about the means of payment, their circulation.

The history of money

The main cost of such symbolic (essentially modern) money is not the cost of the material from which they are made, but their symbolic face value, officially approved by the country's leadership.

The name of the money of different countries of the world

As already mentioned, each country has different money for many reasons. In order to have basic information about the money of different countries, they should be classified and mentioned.

Monetary units of Africa: Liberian dollar, Nigerian naira, Egyptian pound, Chadian franc, Ghanaian cedi, Malian franc, Tunisian dinar, etc.

Monetary units of Asia: Vietnamese dong, Israeli shekel, Syrian pound, Japanese yen, Indian rupee, Philippine peso, Bhutanese ngultrum, Thai baht and many others.

Monetary units of America and Oceania: Argentine peso, US dollar, Cuban peso, Bahamian dollar, Vanuatu vatu and others.

Monetary units of Europe and the CIS: Danish krone, euro, Russian ruble, Armenian dram, Serbian dinar, Kyrgyz som, Kazakh tenge, Estonian krone, etc.

As you can see, money is a universal payment system that has developed historically and is recognized by all countries and peoples as a convenient means of payment. These are the basic information about the money of different countries.


In June 1993, the Royal Mint of Great Britain issued obsolete coins that were withdrawn from circulation 20 years ago. And this was done deliberately and on a special occasion, which most of the British do not even know about. The whole point of the matter was that the guitarist of the legendary rock band Queen, Brian May, did not use a plectrum while playing the guitar, but a penny of the 1970 release. At his personal request, the issue of an outdated series of sixpence coins was organized.

Coin "old copper nose"

Quite an odd name for a coin. But it was indeed published in England at the end of the 8th century by King Henry. It is famous for being the first coin of its kind, which was cast not from silver, but from copper (later they were covered with silver). In the process of circulation, the silver layer on the coin was quickly erased, especially on the protruding part. That is, on the image of the king, the nose was first erased. Therefore, the name “old copper nose” was assigned to the coin.


Half a penny

Perhaps the most curious coin that has ever circulated in the USSR. Half kopecks were minted in 1926-1927, and there was talk about them for half a century. The fact is that in the Union, in order to save copper, it was decided to mint coins from an alloy of copper and zinc.

We reviewed the basic information about the money of different countries and illustrated them interesting facts. But this information is only enough for a general idea. What kind of money in different countries, we tried to briefly consider.