Currency History

Currency history - history of Japanese Yen

2010-10-06T07:22:00.000-07:00

The origin of Japanese currency can be traced to the Wu Zhu bronze coin of China, which was introduced under the Han Dynasty around 221 BC. Until the 8th Century the Japanese imported such coins from China. However, in 708 the Japanese government began minting their own silver and copper coins called the Wado Kaichin or Wado Kaiho, which imitated the Chinese Kai Yuan Tong Bao coin's size, shape, and weight.
Approximately 250 years later though, the Japanese government entered into a period of decline and as they could no longer mint their own currency, begun to import Chinese currency again. Over the next few centuries, the inflow of Chinese coins did not meet the demand for a monetary medium that resulted from the growing trade and economic expansion. To meet this demand, two privately minted Japanese coins (from the 14th - 16th century) Toraisen and the Shichusen entered into circulation.
Around the late 15th Century, warlords had accumulated large debts that needed to be paid off, which subsequently encouraged the minting of gold and silver coins known as the Koshu Kin. Under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Edo Period), gold coinage was made into a standard currency. The Tokugawa Shogunate Government then established a unified monetary system that consisted of these gold coins in addition to silver and copper. Minting took place in the Kinza Gold mints where the present head office of the Bank of Japan now stands.
Although some paper currency had been introduced previously (circa 1600), it was not until the Meiji Restoration that the first nationally accepted paper money was established. The Meiji Government wished to simplify and centralise all the various coins (holding different values) that came about under the Edo Period and thus created the Yen in 1871. The New Currency Act developed a monetary system similar to that of European countries, and made a decimal accounting system of Rin, Sen, and Yen.
Thus the gold standard was adopted and the round-shaped Yen replaced the previous gold and silver coinage. The first national Yen banknotes of the 1870s resembled US banknotes as they were printed by a US company. However, the 153 national banks of Japan of the late 19th century were to lose their authority when the official Bank of Japan was established in 1882.
The yen was introduced in 1872 as part of the modernization of the Japanese currency system. The value of the yen was originally linked directly to that of gold. After extensive devaluation resulting from World War II, the Bretton Woods system linked the yen to the US dollar. In turn, when the US started to abandon strict adherence to the gold standard in the early 1970s, the yen was allowed to float in 1973. However, since 1973, the Japanese government has maintained a policy of currency intervention, and the yen is therefore under a “dirty float” regime.

This intervention continues until today. The Japanese government focuses on a competitive export market, and tries to ensure a low yen value. The Plaza Accord of 1985 temporarily changed this situation and led to a peak value against the US dollar in 1995, effectively increasing the value of Japan’s GDP to almost that of the United States. Since that time, however, the yen has greatly decreased in value. The Bank of Japan maintains a policy of zero to near-zero interest rates and the Japanese government has an extreme anti-inflation policy.
The yen is widely regarded as undervalued, and the Japanese government cannot keep supporting this low level indefinitely. The current situation is very similar to 1998, when low interest rates also created an undervalued yen, and a few global economic shocks - relatively moderate in nature – cause the yen to rapidly appreciate. The increase in value had seriously negative effects on various industries that relied on a cheap yen.

Currency history - history of Italian lira

2010-10-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

The lira (plural lire) was the currency of the Italy between 1861 and 2002. Between 1999 and 2002, the Italian lira was officially a “national subunit” of the euro. However, physical payments could only be made in lire, as no euro coins and notes were available.
The lira was also the currency of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy between 1807 and 1814.
The term originates from the value of a pound weight of high purity silver and as such is a direct cognate of the British pound sterling; in some countries, such as Cyprus and Malta, the words lira and pound were used as equivalents, before the eurowas adopted in 2008 in the two countries. "L", sometimes in a double-crossed script form ("₤"), was usually used as the symbol. Until the Second World War, it was subdivided into 100 centesimi (singular: centesimo), which translates to "one hundredth".
The Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy issued coins between 1807 and 1813 in denominations of 1 and 3 centesimi and 1 soldo in copper, 10 centesimi in 20% silver alloy, 5, 10 and 15 soldi, 1, 2 and 5 lire in 90% silver and 20 and 40 lire in 90% gold. All except the 10 centesimi bore a portrait of Napoleon, with the denominations below 1 lira also showing a radiate crown and the higher denominations, a shield representing the various constituent territories of the Kingdom.
In 1861, coins were minted in Florence, Milan, Naples and Turin in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50 centesimi, 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 lire, with the lowest four in copper, the highest two in gold and the remainder in silver. In 1863, silver coins below 5 lire were debased from 90% to 83.5% and silver 20 centesimi coins were introduced. Minting switched to Rome in the 1870s.
Apart from the introduction in 1894 of cupro-nickel (later nickel) 20 centesimi coins and of nickel 25 centesimi pieces in 1902, the coinage remained essentially unaltered until the First World War.

In 1919, with a purchase power of the lira reduced to 1/5 of that of 1914, the production of all earlier coin types except for the nickel 20 centesimi halted, and smaller, copper 5 and 10 centesimi and nickel 50 centesimi coins were introduced, followed by nickel 1 and 2 lire pieces in 1922 and 1923, respectively. In 1926, silver 5 and 10 lire coins were introduced, equal in size and composition to the earlier 1 and 2 lire coins. Silver 20 lire coins were added in 1927.
In 1936, the last substantial issue of silver coins was made, whilst, in 1939, moves to reduce the cost of the coinage lead to copper being replaced by aluminium bronze and nickel by stainless steel. All issuance of coinage came to a halt in 1943.
In 1951, the government again issued notes, this time simply bearing the title "Repubblica Italiana". Denominations were of 50 and 100 lire (replacing the Bank of Italy notes) and they circulated until coins of these denominations were introduced in the mid 1950s. In 1966, 500 lire notes were introduced (again replacing Bank of Italy notes) which were produced until replaced in 1982 by a coin.
In 1967, 50,000 and 100,000 lire notes were introduced by the Bank of Italy, followed by 20,000 lire in 1975 and 500,000 lire in 1997.

Currency history - history of French franc

2010-10-06T05:52:00.000-07:00

The euro replaced the French Franc that had previously been the French currency.
The franc has a long history, dating back to the 14th century - it was introduced by King John II in 1360 and lasted (with a break in the middle) until the euro was introduced in 2002.
The symbol of the currency was simply 'F'.
The franc officially ceased to exist between 1641 and 1795, following its replacement by Louis XIII with the ecu and the Louis d'Or, but the name franc remained in common usage.
The French franc was reintroduced and became decimal in 1795, after the French revolution.
As the value of the franc diminished over the centuries, it was replaced by the 'new' franc in 1960, with 100 old francs being worth one new Franc. The old franc became the valid 'centime' coin after the devaluation of the currency, and continued to be for some years.
Forty years later, many older French still convert prices into 'old francs'. This is complicated for us newcomers who expect to hear a price of, say, 25 euros, and get told the price is 20,000 francs!

Currency history - history of Belgian franc

2010-10-06T00:08:00.000-07:00

The franc was the currency of Belgium until 2002 when the euro was introduced into circulation. It was subdivided into 100 centiem (Dutch), centimes (French) or Centime (German).
The conquest of most of western Europe by revolutionary and Napoleonic France led to the French franc's wide circulation. In the Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium), the franc replaced the kronenthaler. This was in turn replaced by the Dutch gulden when the Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed.
Following independence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the new Kingdom of Belgium in 1832 adopted its own franc, equivalent to the French franc, followed by Luxembourg in 1848 and Switzerland in 1850. Newly-unified Italy adopted the lira on a similar basis in 1862.
In 1865 France, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy created the Latin Monetary Union (to be joined by Greece in 1868): each would possess a national currency unit (franc, lira, drachma) worth 4.5 g of silver or 290.322 mg of fine gold, all freely exchangeable at a rate of 1:1. In the 1870s the gold value was made the fixed standard, a situation which was to continue until 1914.
In 1926, Belgium, as well as France, experienced depreciation and an abrupt collapse of confidence, leading to the introduction of a new gold currency for international transactions, the belga worth 5 francs, and the country's withdrawal from the monetary union, which ceased to exist at the end of the year. The belga was tied to the British pound at a rate of 35 belgas (175 francs) = 1 pound and was thus put on a gold standard of 1 belga = 209.211 mg fine gold. The 1921 monetary union of Belgium and Luxembourg survived, however, forming the basis for full economic union in 1932. In 1935, the Belgian franc was devalued by 28% to 150.632 mg fine gold and the link between the Luxembourg and Belgian francs was revised to 1 Luxembourgish franc = 1¼ Belgian francs.
Following Belgium's occupation by Germany in May, 1940, the franc was fixed at a value of 0.1 Reichsmark, reduced to 0.08 Reichsmark in July, 1940. Following liberation in 1944, the franc entered into the Bretton Woods system, with an initial exchange rate of 43.77 francs = US dollar set on October 5. This was changed to 43.8275 in 1946 and then to 50 following the devaluation of the British pound in September 1949. The Belgian franc was devaluated again in 1982.
Like 10 other European currencies, the Belgian/Luxembourgish franc ceased to exist in January 1, 1999, when it became fixed at 1 EUR= 40.3399 BEF/LUF, thus a franc was worth € 0.024789. Old franc coins and notes lost their legal tender status in February 28, 2002.

Currency history - history of Polish zloty

2010-10-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

First Polish coins were struck in second half of X century. Earlier foreign money was used and barter transactions were made; along with Polish coins these two were still used concurrently till XIII century.
The first Polish duke - Mieszko I - begun to issue a silver coin. System was based on 1 pound = 367 grams of silver, of that 240 denars (called thick) were produced. During the political turmoil of XI century these coins lost the value and had to be replaced in the latter half of the century.
The new system was based on 1 grzywna (weight unit) = approx. ? Carolingian (French) pound. The system was 1 grzywna = 4 wiardunki = 24 skojce = 240 denars = 480 halfdenars (obol), but only denars (called thin) were struck. Value of denars was declining due to decreasing content of silver used. The thickness of coins was descending gradually also – in the end of XIII century they were so thin, that the only one side die was used – these were called bracteats (brakteat). Coins were neglected and seen as a way of making high profits for the issuer, therefore they were debased again.
Kazimierz the Great did the next recoinage in XIV century. The new, grosz (grosh) system was based on a European one. 1 Cracovian grzywna = 197 grams of silver = 4 wiarunki = 24 skojce = 48 groszy (grosh) = 96 polgroszy (half grosh) = 96 denars. The gold coinage of Hungary was used in valuable transactions. This system has also been debased. Foreign coins o less value were brought to Poland. Different systems were used in the parts of country – Prussia and Lithuania had completely different coinage. All these factors caused a lot of havoc to the trade.
Thorough reform has been made in 1526 – 1528, the new zloty system was implemented. 1 zloty = 5 szostakow (~six…) = 10 trojakow (~three…) = 30 grosh. 1 grosh = 2 half grosh = 3 szelag = 6 ternars = 18 denars. 1 grosh = 0.77 grams of silver. The system was implemented in Prussia in 1538 and in Lithuania in 1569. Gold ducats of 3.5 grams of gold were struck then. In 1564 silver talars were introduced, the coin was meant to be equal to golden ducat. 1 talar = 5 orts. The system was stable until the beginning of XVII century. When during the reign of Zygmunt III the coins were debased again, also worthless German coins were brought in and took place of melted Polish coins. The crisis occurred strongly after the war with Sweden in the half of XVII century – the coinage was debased even more. In 1659 Boratyni was granted a licence to strike copper szelags, he exceeded the amount agreed in the licence. In 1663 Tymf begun to issue low value zlotys, that consisted half of the silver then in the regal coinage. Those coins were then given an obligatory value over intrinsic one – this situation continued till the end of reign of Saxon elector kings in Poland (1763). During the seven-year war (1756 – 1763) Prussians got the genuine dies and struck fakes of very low intrinsic value.
Another thorough reform had to be made. In 1766 the new coinage was introduced; based on 1 Kolognian grzywna = 233.8 grams of silver = 10 talars = 80 zlotys (after 1786 83.5 zlotys). 1 gold ducat = 16.75 zlotys (after 1786 18 zlotys).
There was an attempt to issue first banknotes during the reign of Stanislaw August (1764 – 1795), it was realised during the uprising of Kosciuszko in 1795 – these were in circulation only for the short period of insurrection.
The previous coinage was continually struck in Warsaw Duchy since 1810.
In 1815 the system has been slightly changed: 1 Kolognian grzywna became 84 zlotys.
In 1834 the Kolognian grzywna has been replaced with Russian pound of 409.5 grams of silver. And double denominations were introduced: 10 zlotys = 1.5 rubles, 1 zloty = 30 grosh = 15 kopeek.
Russian rubles were implemented into circulation in 1842. This system lasted till the end of I World War. In the remaining two other parts of Poland under Prussian and Austrian domination the dominants’ coinages were used respectively.
All three countries introduced gold coin in the latter half of XIX century.
The monetary chaos of I World War lasted till 1922. Although since 1918 the Polish mark was a legal tender still Austrian, German and Russian money was used.
The hyperinflation of after war years was overcame in the 1924 with introduction of new zloty system (denomination structure lasts from then on): 1 zloty = 100 grosh = 0.1687 grams of gold. Before the war Polish zloty has been well stabilised. But the war had ruined the system again.
Germans had issued their own money (although it was based still on the proportion of 1 zloty = 100 grosh) for the General Government (eastern part of area of Poland occupied by German troops).
Polish banknotes were issued in 1945 and coins in 1949 (then under the name of republic of Poland, without Peoples).
Monetary system of socialistic Poland has, on several occasions, suffered from inflation and the governmental steps to fight it. In 1950 there was an unfair cut in peoples’ savings volume – to decrease the amount of money in circulation.
In 1995 there was the last change – the 10,000 old zlotys = 1 new zloty. New banknotes and coins had been issued earlier (since 1990 – coins and 1992 baknotes) but put into circulation on the Jaunary 1st 1995. The new reform brought coins back to life – as since early 1990’s they were non existent in the transactions due to very small value (with some exceptions of 10,000 zlotys and 20,000 zlotys coins that were commemorative but quite common).

Currency history - history of Egyptian Pound

2010-10-05T23:51:00.000-07:00

Since the beginning of the circulation of silver and gold coins in Egypt and until 1834, no specified monetary unit existed to serve as a basis for the monetary system. Only a few of the coins were minted locally. In 1834, a Decree was promulgated providing for issuing an Egyptian currency based on a bimetallic base, gold and silver. In 1836 the Egyptian pound was minted and put into circulation.
The Monetary Reform Law issued in 1885 which set gold standard to become the basis for the Egyptian monetary system, and the country had a unified currency, the Egyptian gold pound.
It was permitted to use some foreign gold coins, particularly the Sterling pound, at fixed legal rates. The Sterling gold pound, which was valued at more than its gold content compared to other foreign gold coins, became the main medium of exchange, and the Egyptian monetary system was based on the Sterling gold standard.
In 1898 the National Bank of Egypt was established and was granted, by the government, the privilege to issue Egyptian banknotes, payable in gold for a period of 50 years. The National Bank of Egypt started issuing banknotes on the 3rd of April 1899.
Consequently, the currency circulated in Egypt consisted of gold Sterling pounds and Egyptian banknotes convertible into gold. This situation continued up to 1914 when a special Decree was issued making Egyptian banknotes a legal tender and suspending their convertibility into gold. Thus, the Egyptian pound banknote became the basic currency unit, and the base of the Egyptian monetary system was changed to fiduciary paper money standard. Accordingly, gold coins were no longer used in circulation, with the result that the volume of note issue increased from LE 11.6 million at the end of 1915 to LE 3557.0 million at the end of 1980, and further to LE 38320.0 million at the end of 1999. In 1930, for the first time in the history of Egyptian banknotes, a watermark was used in issued banknotes. This was followed, towards the end of 1968, by using a metallic thread (in notes issued by the Central Bank of Egypt) as a guarantee against counterfeit instead of dependence on complexity of colors .Other features against counterfeit were found in the detailed specifications of each currency. Holograms are currently added to large denomination notes.
In July 1960 the Central Bank of Egypt was established and granted the right of issuing Egyptian banknotes. Several changes were introduced with respect to the watermark, the designs shown on the notes and the colors.
The Central bank of Egypt established a printing plant for banknotes in 1968 instead of printing them abroad. The Bank also served some Arab central banks in printing their banknotes.
In 1977 The Central Bank of Egypt issued notes of 20 and 100 pounds in 1979 and 50 pounds in 1993.

Currency history - History of russian ruble

2010-10-05T23:47:00.000-07:00

The ruble has been the currency in Russia for 500 years. The name ‘rouble’ is thought to come from the Russian for ‘chop,’ literally referring to the way a section was cut off a silver ingot, which was the very first incarnation of the currency, with each section holding a different value depending on its weight.
There is no official symbol for the rouble although many options have been suggested over the years, including a ‘P’ with two horizontal stripes. However, the abbreviation ‘руб’ is often used in writing.
In 1710 the rouble was first divided into kopecs, 100 of which made up a rouble. Ten roubles are sometimes referred to as ‘chervonets’, in reference to the Soviet gold chervonets issued in 1923 that were the equivalent value.
There have been seven different incarnations of the rouble, due to various drastic changes in the currency’s value, with the most recent being released in 1998.
The FIRST rouble was in place for over 200 years up to 1921 when it fell dramatically in value.
The SECOND rouble was the first in the series of redenominations, swapping one ‘new’ rouble for 10,000 ‘old’ roubles. These were introduced in 1922.
A quick redenomination took place the year after, valuing the new rouble at 1 to 100 of the former roubles. This was the THIRD rouble.
In 1924, the FOURTH rouble, known as the ‘gold rouble’, was introduced and lasted until 1947. This one was valued at 50,000 of the previous issue of the rouble.
After the Second World War the government attempted to reduce the amount of money in circulation by imposing a confiscatory redenomination on paper money, which valued the new rouble at one tenth the value of the fourth rouble.
From 1961 to 1997, the SIXTH rouble was in circulation and the redenomination was based on the same terms as the 1947 redenomination. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the rouble remained the currency of the Russian Federation. During the early 1990s there was a period of hyper-inflation which meant the currency fell significantly in value.
In January 1998 the seventh rouble was introduced. It was valued at 1,000 of the previous roubles in what was simply a psychological step. Later in the same year, the rouble lost 70% of its value against the US dollar in just six months following the Russian financial crisis of 1998.
In the 18th century, the lower value roubles, such as half a kopek or a single kopec were made from copper, while five kopecs up to 50 kopecs and one rouble coins were made from silver. Five rouble coins were originally made from gold.
After the Russian civil war, silver was used for lower value coins with gold chervonets minted in 1923. In 1961 new materials such as aluminium bronze were introduced, along with cupro-nickel-zinc.
In 1991 more modern techniques were used, combining several types of metal to form new, bimetallic coins in denominations including ten roubles. New coins were again released after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Between 1769 and 1917 there were only Imperial issued bank notes, or ‘assignats.’ After 1917 the provisional government issued bank notes, called Kerenki. Soon after, in 1918 state credit notes were issued by the RSFSR, followed by currency notes the following year.

Currency history - History of Portuguese escudo

2010-10-05T23:44:00.001-07:00

The escudo was the currency of Portugal prior to the introduction of the Euro on 1 January 1999 and its removal from circulation on 28 February 2002. The escudo was subdivided into 100 centavos.
Amounts in escudos were written as escudos$centavos with the cifrão as the decimal separator (e.g. 25$00 means 25 escudos, 100$50 means 100 escudos and 50 centavos). Because of the conversion rate of 1000 réis = 1 escudo, three decimal places were initially used (1 escudo = 1$000).
The escudo was introduced on 22 May 1911, after the 1910 Republican revolution, to replace the real at the rate of 1,000 réis to 1 escudo. The term mil réis (thousand réis) remained a colloquial synonym of escudo up to the 1990s. One million réis was called one conto de réis, or simply one conto. This expression passed on to the escudo, meaning 1,000 escudos.

The escudo's value was initially set at 4$50 escudos = 1 pound sterling. After 1914, the value of the escudo fell, being fixed in 1928 at 108$25 to the pound. This was altered to 110$00 escudos to the pound in 1931. A new rate of 27$50 escudos to the U.S. dollar was established in 1940, changing to 25$00 in 1940 and 28$75 in 1949.
Inflation throughout the 20th century made centavos essentially worthless by its end, with fractional value coins with values such as $50 or 2$50 eventually withdrawn from circulation in the 1990s. With the entry of Portugal in the Eurozone, the conversion rate to the euro was set at 200$482 escudos to €1.

Currency history - history of Argentine peso

2010-10-05T23:41:00.000-07:00

"Peso" is a Spanish word, meaning "weight" and is termed as a unit of currency in the current scenario. Peso is quite a dominant currency in the South American continent as it forms part of the national currencies of most of the countries in the continent such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Uruguay and also Cuba and Philippines. Peso is used since the time as early as the colonial times when it referred to a Spanish coin, which was equivalent to 8 reales.

Argentine peso is a currency that has been making its way through hard struggle due to the frequent crises that had struck Argentina’s economy time and again. Contrastingly, peso was one of the most popular and highly traded currencies at one time. Among many economic crises that the country had been through, the toughest of them is said to be the one that struck in 1999 as the nation’s trade partner countries Mexico and Brazil were also into serious economic crisis. It led to the currency’s discontinuation of its peg to the US dollar and it was floated. Even floating the currency was not sufficient enough for the stabilization of its value and it depreciated to as low as about 80% of its value. The currency still maintains its exchange rate at around 4 pesos per dollar when before 2002 it was equivalent to the value of the dollar.
Peso was a currency of Spanish empire since the Spanish currency reforms in 1497. The country, with time, gained power and spread its area through acquiring colonies and states like other powerful European countries that resulted in making peso a world popular currency. the Spanish peso was adopted as the legal tender throughout its colonies, many of them were among the new world countries including Argentina. At that time, peso was known as the 8 reales coin.
In 1816, Argentina declared itself independent following the defeat of the Spanish king Fernando VII with the hands of Napoleon. Independent Argentina started to issue its own currency that was denominated in reales, soles and escudos. In 1826, two versions of Argentine peso were induced one of them being convertible and the other being unconvertible and were called "Peso Fuerte" and "Peso Moneda Corriente". These version of the currency operated till 1881 when the both of them were converted into a single currency i.e. "Peso Moneda Nacional". With this conversion, the currency was officially decimalized with the announcement of a fixed exchange rate that was 1 peso moneda nacional = 1 peso fuerte = 25 peso moneda corriente = 8 reales. Initially the coin for 1 unit of the new currency was made from silver known as patacon but the economic crisis in 1890 made sure that silver coin to be changed to any other metal. Also, paper currency that was convertible into gold termed as "peso oro sellado" was issued in 1881 but it had to be with drawn in 1929.
Peso moneda nacional remained the currency of the country till 1969 and in 1970 it was taken over by a new version of peso i.e. "Peso ley", the conversion rate being 1 peso ley = 100 peso moneda nacional. In 1983, the political system of Argentina was transformed into a democratic framework and that resulted in the introduction of a new peso currency "Peso Argentino" @ 1 peso argentino = 10000 peso ley. But soon after in 1985, it was replaced yet again by a new currency "Austral" as it itself lost its value drastically. Austral replaced peso argentino @ 1 austral = 1000 pesos. During the short life span of the austral, it suffered from hyperinflation, that resulted in steep rise of prices even up to 200% in a month and constant downfall of the value of currency. in 1992, with the election of the new president, the value of austral was stabilized and peso convertible was made the national currency of the Argentina. It was directly pegged to the US dollar @ 1 peso = 1 US dollar. Unluckily the country was again struck with an economic crisis in 1999 and it resulted in the abandonment of the fixed exchange rate system and since then, Argentine peso float its way and the value of the currency is derived from the market situations.

Currency history - History of Greek drachma

2010-10-05T23:36:00.000-07:00

Drachma was established on the island of Aegina during the 7 century BC. Depreciation was remarkably slow - about 50% over the following 200 years. Aristophanes (c. 448-380 BC) tells us that in his days one drachma was the average daily wage of a skilled labourer or a hoplite, while a juror earned half a drachma. Eight drachmas would buy a pair of shoes, 20 drachmas a quality tunic and 160 drachmas a slave (child slaves were a bargain at 72 drachmas). A family of four with slave spent 1,000 drachmas a year on living expenses. On the other hand, Xenophon claimed that half a drachma was the minimum required to provide a comfortable subsistence. More recently, some historians and economists estimated that in the 5th century BC a drachma had a rough value of 40 U.S. dollars (2006).
Shortly after the creation of the modern Greek state in 1827, after 400 years of Ottoman rule, a new currency was struck. The coins depicted a phoenix rising from the ashes to mark the kingdom's new-found freedom, under President John Capodistras (1827-31). They were minted on the island of Aegina, which served as the temporary capital of the newly-founded state, where - by coincidence - the first coinage system was introduced more than 2500 years ago!

The phoenix lasted only five years, and was replaced by the traditional drachma, showing the head of the first king of the independent state, Otto. The first coinage consisted of copper denominations of 1, 2, 5 and 10 lepta, silver denominations of 1/4, 1/2, 1 and 5 drachmae and a gold 20 drachmae. The drachma coin weighed 4.5 g and contained 90% silver, with the 20 drachmae coin containing 5.8 g of gold. The drachma of King George I (1863) was made as identical as possible in size and composition to its Attic forebear. The conceit backfired badly, as throughout the 19th century the modern drachma could gain nowhere near the solidity or prestige of the ancient. In 1868, Greece joined the Latin Monetary Union and the drachma became equal in weight and value to the French franc. The new coinage issued consisted of copper 1, 2, 5 and 10 lepta coins (with the 5 lepta coin bearing the name obolos and the 10 lepta, diobolon (two obols), silver coins of 20 and 50 lepta, 1, 2 and 5 drachmae and gold coins of 5, 10 and 20 drachmae. Very small numbers of gold 50 and 100 drachmae coins were also issued.
Overspending and overborrowing precipitated a national bankruptcy in 1893. An English financial specialist, Edward Law, helped to save the drachma from huge depreciation and his labours kept the currency intact for 50 years. In 1894, cupro-nickel 5, 10 and 20 lepta coins were introduced, the 1 and 2 lepta having not been issued since the late 1870s. Silver coins were last issued in 1911 and no coins were issued between 1912 and 1922, during which time the Latin Monetary Union collapsed due to the First World War. By the time the republic was declared in 1924, the number of coins in circulation had dwindled and there was a serious shortage of cash.
It was not until the late 1940s, after almost a decade of war and civil war, that the drachma again inflated with a vengeance. Inflation during World War II was dramatic in the extreme. In January 1941, 1 british pound was worth 1,200 drachma. By October 1944 that had spiralled to 1,219 billion drachmas. As in other countries, it required basketfuls of flimsy notes with a lot of zeros on them to buy basic provisions. A currency reform introduced a new drachma which was worth 50 billion of the old variety but nevertheless inflation continued.

In an effort to halt the inflation, Greece joined the Bretton Woods system in 1953. In 1954 the drachma was revalued for a second time at a rate of 1000 to 1 and the Finance Minister, Spyros Markezinis, dealt with the problem Alexander-fashion by chopping off three zeros. The new currency was pegged at 30 drachmae = 1 US dollar. Artists and writers who settled on the Greek islands in the inflation-free 1960s and early 1970s marvelled at how far the humble drachma - like the olive a symbol of national frugality - could stretch. In 1973, the Bretton Woods System was abolished and over the next 25 years the official exchange rate gradually declined due to growing urbanisation and EU-fuelled prosperity. Renewed inflation resulted in the exchange rate reaching 400 GRD = 1 USD and the situation was brought under control only in 1997, thanks to determined supply-side policies by the Government.

Currency history - history of Brazilian real

2010-10-04T01:18:00.000-07:00

Real had been an important currency in the South American continent for a very long time. The currency was first used by the Portuguese explorers who first settled in the new world and also by the Dutch in around mid 17th century when they occupied some part of Brazil.

Currently, real is the official currency of Brazil and that is why it is called the Brazilian real. The currency is denoted with the symbol "R$" and was adopted as country’s official currency in as early as 1690 till 1942 and was re-implemented on July 1, 1994. The Brazilian real has BRL as its currency code and 986 as its numeric code according to the ISO 4217 regulation. Real in plural terms is called "reais" and it replaced the interim currency "cruzeiro". The currency is divided into 100 equal subunits named "centavo" i.e. "centavos" in plural terms.
The history of the Brazilian real dates back to the early 16th century, the time when the new world was discovered courtesy Christopher Columbus and the Europeans started coming and settling on this new land. The concept of real as a currency was a Portuguese concept and later on picked up by the Dutch settlers who made the currency official in 1654. An interesting fact about the currency is at that time real did not have any subdivisions. It was made the official currency of Brazil in 1690 and since then it served as the legal tender in the country till 1942. All this while when Brazil faced huge changes initially being a colony to the various European countries, then as an imperial state and finally when it converted into a republic in 1889, the Brazilian real also underwent many changes.

The major change that affected the currency adversely during its long life span was inflation and due to extreme levels of inflation in real, even its base unit got shifted from 1 real to 1000 réis at once and also to 1 million réis at one time. Finally in 1942, the currency was replaced by "cruzeiro" @ 1000 réis = 1 cruzeiro. Cruzeiro served as the official currency of brazil till 1994 when it was replaced by real again. This time the currency was indirectly pegged to the United States dollar with a value close to it. initially the currency performed well and it even attained a higher value than the dollar at one time. but the appreciation turned out to be a short lived process and in 1995 a gradual depreciation commenced. In 1999, when the country faced a huge financial crises, the currency suffered the maximum devaluation and reached its lowest value i.e. R$ 4 = US$ 1 and as a result the peg to the US dollar was removed. In the current scenario, the currency has improved a bit and has showed signs of recovery.

Currency history - history of Australian dollar

2010-10-03T14:31:00.000-07:00

The first officially circulated form of currency was introduced in Australia in the early 1800s - the Holey Dollar and the Dump. These coins were created to resolve the coinage scarcity in the Australian colony of New South Wales. Such was the need for coins that Governor Lachlan Macquarie contributed his personal Spanish dollar collection, which was remodelled into two coins by punching out the centre of the coin: the inner coin or Dump was valued at 15 pence, and the outer Holey Dollar was valued at 5 shillings. By 1813, both designs had Australian currency references such as 'five shillings' stamped on to their surfaces. In 1852, the Government Assay Office issued gold pound coins and sovereigns that were minted by the Sydney and Melbourne mints.

The Commonwealth of Australia was established in 1901 when the British combined the colonies of Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales with Western Australia. As a result, the currency adopted by The Commonwealth of Australia comprised of British gold, silver and bronze coins in addition to notes issued by the various national Australian banks. The Queensland Treasury also printed notes, although these were restricted to use in Queensland.

In 1909, the wealth Constitution took control of the Australian currency through the Coinage Act, followed by the Australian Notes Act in 1910. Two years later, the Labour Government of Prime Minister Andrew Fisher prohibited the circulation of State notes and introduced a national currency called the Australian pound, which lead to the printing of the first ever Australian Pound notes. The Australian Pound's value was fixed to the British Pound Sterling and as a result, fluctuations in the British Pound Sterling greatly affected the Australian economy.

After years of planning, the Australian dollar was finally introduced on February 14, 1966 as the new decimal currency. All coins portray Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and are produced by the Royal Australian Mint.
In 1967 the Australian dollar effectively left sterling for the first time. When sterling devalued in 67 against the USA dollar, the new Australian dollar did not follow. It maintained its peg to the USA dollar at the same rate. For much of its history, Australia maintained a peg to the British pound reflecting historical ties as well as views about the stability of the British pound. From 46 to 71 Australia maintained a peg to the USA dollar under the Bretton Woods system, but it was effectively pegged to sterling until 67. With the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system in 71, Australia converted the mostly fixed peg to a moving peg against the USA dollar. In September 74 Australia moved to a peg against a basket of currencies called the TWI, trade weighted index, in an effort to reduce fluctuations associated with its dollar. The peg to the TWI was changed to a moving peg in November 76, causing the actual value of the peg to be periodically adjusted. In December 83, the Australian Labor government led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Treasurer Paul Keating "floated" the Australian dollar. From that point movements in the Australian dollar continued to reflect the strength of its terms of trade.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is responsible for formulating and implementing monetary policy. The Board's obligations with respect to monetary policy are laid out in the Reserve Bank Act. Section 10(2) of the Act, referred to as the Bank's 'charter', says: "It is the duty of the Reserve Bank Board, within the limits of its powers, to ensure the monetary and banking policy of the Bank is directed to the greatest advantage of the people of Australia and that the powers of the Bank ... are exercised in such a manner as, in the opinion of the Reserve Bank Board, will best contribute to: (a) the stability of the currency of Australia; (b) the maintenance of full employment in Australia; and (c) the economic prosperity and welfare of the people of Australia."

Since 1993, these objectives have found practical expression in a target for consumer price inflation, of 2-3 per cent per annum. Monetary policy aims to achieve this over the medium term and, subject to that, to encourage the strong and sustainable growth in the economy. Controlling inflation preserves the value of money. In the long run, this is the principal way in which monetary policy can help to form a sound basis for long-term growth in the economy.
Australian dollar is in the top six of Most traded currencies. The other currencies in this prestigious top are United States dollar USD $, Eurozone euro EUR €, Japanese yen JPY ¥, British pound sterling GBP £ and Swiss franc CHF.

What is a Eurodollar?

2010-09-30T06:23:00.001-07:00

A Eurodollar is a dollar denominated deposit held in a bank outside of the United States.

Being located outside the US, Eurodollars are not subject to regulation by the Federal Reserve Board. Being outside the jurisdiction of the Federal Reserve the deposits are subject to fewer regulations than withing the US, allowing for higher margins.

The name is derived from the fact that originally, these deposits were mostly held in Europe. Such deposits are held in many countries across the globe, but they are still referred to as Eurodollars.

The term Eurodollar also refers to the financial futures contract traded at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. It is one of the most actively traded futures contracts in the world, making it a highly liquid market.

History of the Euro Currency

2010-09-30T05:34:00.000-07:00

History of Euro The euro was launched (or better said "introduced" as an accounting currency) on 1 January 1999 in accordance with the Maastricht Treaty.

In 1999, several European nations adopted a single currency called the euro to strengthen and stabilize the continent's economy. While some goals of the euro have been realized, some remain out of reach.

History of Euro The euro was launched (or better said "introduced" as an accounting currency) on 1 January 1999 in accordance with the Maastricht Treaty.

First, participating countries fixed their domestic currencies to the euro. This means that their currencies were not allowed to fluctuate against the euro or against each other. In its history, euro was launched as an electronic and cash currency and became legal tender on 1 January 2002.

On July 1, 2002, the German Mark, French Franc, Italian Lira and other currencies ceased to exist, and on the same day, also the European Central Bank begun running the monetary policy of the countries which were using the common currency.

When looking at the history of euro, we can see that attempts to create a single currency go back some 20 years. The chart below shows the value of the euro against the US dollar. Before 1999, history of euro is shown as a basket of the 11 legacy currencies.

Per history of euro, originally twelve (12) of the 15 EU countries (Germany, France, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland, Greece and Ireland) were members of the so-called Eurozone. Euro history tells us that these states were joined later by Slovenia (2007), Cyprus (2008), Malta (2008), and Slovakia (2009).

The history of euro is that on 1 January 2002 the euro replaces the old national currencies. We can see in the history of euro chart above that European currencies have always fluctuated against the dollar, even as debates have raged about the euro. The euro became the single currency of 12 European states in 2002.

local job search

2010-09-30T05:29:00.000-07:00

local job search
This website has a lot of features which can help to a lot of you, online surfers, looking for their local job. You can simply use this website to find exactly what are you looking for. Here is your place and when you use it, you will be glad that you have find it.

Spanish peseta

2010-09-29T02:09:00.000-07:00

The peseta was introduced in 1869 after Spain joined the Latin Monetary Union in 1868. The Spanish Law of June 26, 1864 decreed that in preparation for joining the Latin Monetary Union (set up in 1865), the peseta became a subdivision of the peso with 1 peso duro = 5 pesetas. The peseta replaced the escudo at a rate of 5 pesetas = 1 peso duro = 2 escudos.

The peseta was equal to 4.5 grams of silver, or 0.290322 gram of gold, the standard used by all the currencies of the Latin Monetary Union. From 1873, only the gold standard applied.

The political turbulence of the early twentieth century caused the monetary union to break up, although it was not until 1927 that it officially ended.

In 1959, Spain became part of the Bretton Woods System, pegging the peseta at a value of 60 pesetas = 1 U.S. dollar. In 1967, the peseta followed the devaluation of the British pound, maintaining the exchange rate of 168 pesetas = 1 pound and establishing a new rate of 70 pesetas = 1 U.S. dollar.

The peseta was replaced by the euro in 2002, following the establishment of the euro in 1999. The exchange rate was 1 euro = 166.386 pesetas.

Traditionally, there was never a single symbol nor special character for the Spanish peseta. Common abbreviations were "Pt", "Pta", "Pts" and "Ptas", and even using superior letters: "Ptas".

Common earlier Spanish models of mechanic typewriters had the expression "Pts" in a single type (₧), as a shorthand intended to fill a single type space (₧) in tables instead of three (Pts).

Later, Spanish models of IBM electric typewriters also included the same type in its repertoire.

In 1869 and 1870, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 & 50 céntimos, 1, 2 and 5 pesetas. The lowest 4 denominations were struck in copper (replaced by bronze from 1877), with the 50 céntimos, 1 & 2 pesetas struck in .835 silver & the 5 pesetas struck in .900 silver. Gold 25 pesetas coins were introduced in 1876, followed by 20 pesetas in 1878. In 1889, 20 pesetas coins were introduced, with production of the 25 pesetas ceasing. In 1897, a single issue of gold 100 pesetas was made. Production of gold coins ceased in 1904, followed by that of silver coins in 1910. The last bronze coins were issued in 1912.

In 1874, the Banco de España introduced notes for 25, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 pesetas. Except for the 250 pesetas notes only issued in 1878, the denominations produced by the Banco de España did not change until the Civil War, when both the Republicans and Nationalists issued Banco de España notes.

In 1936, the Republicans issued 5 and 10 pesetas notes. The Ministry of Finance (Ministerio de Hacienda) introduced notes for 50 céntimos, 1 and 2 pesetas in 1938, as well as issuing stamp money (consisting of postage or revenue stamps affixed to cardboard disks) in denominations of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 45, 50 and 60 céntimos.

Indian Rupee

2010-09-29T00:29:00.000-07:00

The currency symbol for Indian rupee is RS. Denominations have past RS are those - The Indian currency is called the Indian Rupee, and the coins are called the paise. One Indian Rupee is made up of 100 paise. Paper money comes in allotments of Rs.5, Rs.10, Rs.20, Rs.50, Rs.100, Rs.500 and Rs.1000. Coins come in allotments of 10 paise, 20 paise, 25 paise, 50 paise, one rupee, two rupees and five rupees. According to the Reserve Bank of India Act (1934), coins can be issued up to Rs. 1000, and bank notes can be issued in denominations of Rs. 1000, Rs. 5000, Rs. 10000, or any other value that the Central Government may specify.

History of the Rupee is following - India was one of the first issuers of coins (circa: 6th Century BC), and as a result it has seen a wide range of monetary units throughout its history. There is some historical evidence to show that the first coins may have been introduced somewhere between 2500 and 1750 BC. However, the first documented coins date from between the 7th/6th century BC to the 1st century AD. These coins are called 'punch-marked' coins because of their manufacturing technique.

Over the next few centuries, as traditions developed and empires rose and fell, the country's coinage designs reflected its progression and often depicted dynasties, socio-political events, deities, and nature. This included dynastic coins, representing Greek Gods of the Indo-Greek period followed by the Western Kshatrapa copper coins from between the 1st and the 4th Century AD.

In 712 AD, the Arabs conquered the Indian province of Sindh and brought their influence and coverage with them. By the 12th Century, Turkish Sultans of Delhi replaced the longstanding Arab designs and replaced them with Islamic calligraphy. This currency was referred to as 'Tanka' and the lower valued coins, 'Jittals'. The Delhi Sultanate attempted to standardise this monetary system and coins were subsequently made in gold, silver and copper.

In 1526, the Mughal period commenced, bringing forth a unified and consolidated monetary system for the entire Empire. This was heavily influenced by the Afghan Sher Shah Suri (1540 to 1545) who introduced the silver Rupayya or Rupee coin. The princely states of pre-colonial India minted their own coins, all which mainly resembled the silver Rupee, but held regional distinctions depending on where they were from. During the late 18th Century when political unrest occurred, agency houses developed banks such as the Bank of Bengal and Bahar, The Bank of Hindustan, Orient Bank Corporation and The Bank of Western India. These banks also printed their own paper currency in the Urdu, Bengali and Nagri languages.

It was only in 1858 when the British Crown gained control of the one hundred Princely states, and subsequently ended the Mughal Empire, that the coin's native images were replaced by portraits of the Monarch of Great Britain to indicate British Supremacy. In 1866, when the financial establishments collapsed, the control of paper money also shifted to the British Government. This was subsequently passed to the Mint Masters, the Accountant Generals and the Controller of Currency. In 1867, the Victoria Portrait series of bank notes was issued in honour of Queen Victoria.

After gaining its independence in 1947 and becoming a republic in 1950, India's modern Rupee reverted back to the design of the signature Rupee coin. The symbol chosen for the paper currency was the Lion Capital at Sarnath which replaced the George VI series of bank notes. In 1996, the Mahatma Gandhi Series of Paper notes was introduced.

Private Number Plates

2010-09-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

Search for your perfect registration here ... Supplying private number plates to U.K. motorists since 1995. Here you can find most of what are you looking for. All you need is here

Private Number Plates

The history of currency or history of money

2009-11-25T04:46:00.000-08:00

History of currency is a wide concept. In all the history of the world currency evolution is marked with lots of changes. First of all we were trading with commodity money. Many cultures around the world eventually developed the use of commodity money. Ancient China and Africa used cowrie shells. Trade in Japan's feudal system was based on the koku - a unit of rice per year. The shekel was an ancient unit of weight and currency. The first usage of the term came from Mesopotamia circa 3000 BC and referred to a specific weight of barley, which related other values in a metric such as silver, bronze, copper etc. A barley/shekel was originally both a unit of currency and a unit of weight.

After commodity money we were passing through standardized coinage. Coinage was widely adopted across Ionia and mainland Greece during the 6th century B.C., eventually leading to the Athenian Empire's 5th century B.C., dominance of the region through their export of silver coinage, mined in southern Attica at Laurium and Thorikos. A major silver vein discovery at Laurium in 483 BC led to the huge expansion of the Athenian military fleet. Competing coinage standards at the time were maintained by Mytilene and Phokaia using coins of Electrum; Aegina used silver. It was the discovery of the touchstone which led the way for metal-based commodity money and coinage. Any soft metal can be tested for purity on a touchstone, allowing one to quickly calculate the total content of a particular metal in a lump. Gold is a soft metal, which is also hard to come by, dense, and storable. As a result, monetary gold spread very quickly from Asia Minor, where it first gained wide usage, to the entire world.

Right next standardized coinage are coming representative money. Representative money refers to money that consists of a token or certificate made of paper (legal tender). The use of the various types of money including representative money, tracks the course of money from the past to the present.

Token money may be called “representative money” in the sense that, say, a piece of paper might 'represent' or be a claim on a commodity also. Gold certificates or Silver certificates are a type of representative money which were used in the United States as currency until 1933.

Fiat money are next in historical plan. Fiat money refers to money that is not backed by reserves of another commodity. The money itself is given value by government fiat (Latin for "let it be done") or decree, enforcing legal tender laws, previously known as "forced tender", whereby debtors are legally relieved of the debt if they (offer to) pay it off in the government's money. By law the refusal of "legal tender" money in favor of some other form of payment is illegal, and has at times in history (Rome under Diocletian, and post-revolutionary France during the collapse of the assignats) invoked the death penalty.

Governments through history have often switched to forms of fiat money in times of need such as war, sometimes by suspending the service they provided of exchanging their money for gold, and other times by simply printing the money that they needed. When governments produce money more rapidly than economic growth, the money supply overtakes economic value. Therefore, the excess money eventually dilutes the market value of all money issued. This is called inflation.

These days no one can live without credit money. Credit money often exists in conjunction with other money such as fiat money or commodity money, and from the user's point of view is indistinguishable from it. Most of the western world's money is credit money derived from national fiat money currencies.

In a modern economy, a bank will lend to borrowers in excess of the reserve it carries at any time, this is known as fractional reserve banking. In doing so, it increases the total money supply above that of the total amount of the fiat money in existence (also known as M0). While a bank will not have access to sufficient cash (fiat money) to meet all the obligations it has to depositors if they wish to withdraw the balance of their cheque accounts (credit money), the majority of transactions will occur using the credit money (cheques and electronic transfers).

Swiss Franc History

2009-11-23T08:57:00.000-08:00

The Swiss Franc is the national currency for both Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The much smaller Principality of Liechtenstein does however retain the ability to mint its own currency, the Liechtenstein Frank, which it does occasionally for commemorative or emergency purposes.

The Swiss Franc is known as a 'hard currency'. The franc holds this reputation as, until May 2000 fiscal laws required a 40 per cent gold cover for currency in circulation. This enabled the currency to remain very stable, thus making Swiss banks more attractive to international investors.

In the first half of the nineteenth century, the Swiss franc was unregulated and as such was considered to be a highly variable and complicated currency. Before the currency was regulated in 1850 by the Swiss Federal Constitution, the country had 75 entities and 25 cantons - all of which produced their own individual coins. The situation was further complicated by private banks distributing their own banknotes, thus adding to the lack of uniformity amongst the currency.

The introduction of the Swiss Federal Constitution of 1848 and the Federal Coinage Act of 1850 ensured that only the Federal government could distribute currency and that the Franc became the nationally recognised currency.

It would not be until 1907 when the first Swiss banknotes would be printed. Since then, eight different series of banknotes have been distributed. The notes differ in size, colour and design so as to distinguish the value of the notes. The banknotes also feature the four national languages of Switzerland: German, Romansh, French, and Italian.

History of Danish Krona

2009-11-23T08:54:00.001-08:00

The currency system in Denmark came into existence in 1625 when rigsdaler was made the official currency of the country. It had 3 subunits to it namely mark, skilling and pfennig with a complex exchange among them i.e. 1 rigsdaler = 6 mark, 1 mark = 16 skilling, 1 skilling = 12 pfennig. This complex rate regime continued over a long period of time with some small corrections in the mean while. In 1873, Scandinavian Monetary Union was established constituting of two countries i.e. Sweden and Denmark.
The purpose of this union was to revalue the currencies of the member countries to put them at par with each other and fixing them against gold. It was due to this monetary union that krone was introduced in Denmark and became the legal tender in the country. The currency got onto the gold standard with a fixed exchange rate of 2480 kroner = 1 kilogram of fine quality gold. During the First World War, the gold rate of all the currencies was abandoned and krone too, was affected by it. The Scandinavian Monetary Union was dissolved and krone was brought down but it was decided that the name of their now separate currencies wont be changed. Denmark once again fixed its currency to the gold standard in 1924 but it had quit it permanently in 1931. Krone was pegged to the German reichsmark during the German occupation from the year 1940 to 1945 but after the Second World War was over it was pegged to the British pound and US dollar. When in 1999, the European common currency, euro was launched, most of the European countries opted in favor of the currency but Denmark moved out of the Maastricht treaty so that it could protect its own currency.

Swedish Krona history

2009-11-23T08:50:00.000-08:00

Sweden was using riksdaler as its currency till 1873 when the currently prevailing currency that is the Swedish krone replaced it. The riksdaler served as the country’s national currency for a long time as it was being used since 17th century.

The name riksdaler was taken from the German word "thaler", from which the names of other European currencies were also taken such as "Reichstaler" (German currency), "Rijksdaalder" (currency of Austria-Hungary) and "Rigsdaler" (currency of Denmark-Norway). This old currency had a complex subunit division system consisting of mark, öre, penning and later on skillingar and runstycken. In 1885, the Swedish currency adopted the decimal system with the introduction of a new version of the currency that was the "riksdaler riksmynt". Swedish krona came into existence when the country agreed to join the Scandinavian Monetary Union, the other members being Denmark and Norway. These three countries fixed the value of their respective currencies against gold to gain monetary stability. This union lasted until the World War I resulting the countries to lose their pegs to gold. Sweden held on to the same currency and same name of the currency even after the monetary union was discarded. The same currency is in operation till date even though the other two currencies of the union have switched over to the euro in recent times.

Currency History

2009-11-23T08:46:00.000-08:00

In economics, the term currency can refer either to a particular currency, for example the US dollar, or to the coins and banknotes of a particular currency, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply. The other part of a nation's money supply consists of money deposited in banks (sometimes called deposit money), ownership of which can be transferred by means of cheques or other forms of money transfer such as credit and debit cards. Deposit money and currency are money in the sense that both are acceptable as a means of exchange, but money need not necessarily be currency.

Historically, money in the form of currency has predominated. Usually (gold or silver) coins of intrinsic value commensurate with the monetary unit (commodity money), have been the norm. By contrast, modern currency, as fiat money, is intrinsically worthless. The prevalence of one type of currency over another in commodity money systems has arisen, usually when a government designates through decrees, that only particular monetary units shall be accepted in payment for taxes.

France, 1 franc minted by Napoleon I in Paris, 1810

2006-11-17T14:47:00.000-08:00

Due to its decimal structure the franc can only be a creation of the French Revolution. One of the fathers of the new coin is the gentleman shown here: Napoleon Bonaparte - general, emperor and, at the end of his life, an exile on the island of St. Helena. The French currency had been weakened by inflation and the constant degradation of the metals used for centuries. At the beginning of the French Revolution the inflation increased and saved assets continued losing value. People took their gold and silver abroad to save them. As a result emergency currencies and paper bills were issued. In 1794 the leaders decided in Paris that the French monetary system had to be reorganised and reformed. One year later, in 1795, the new currency, the franc based on 5 grams of silver was officially issued. This is fine but it does make one ask the following question: Where did the finances come from to enable this reform? This is where the little man from the island of Corsica comes in. The French finances vastly profited from Napoleon's victorious military campaigns and wars. In 1797 the French treasury received over 50 million francs only from the booty of Napoleon's Italian campaign.

Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, Rijder 1763, Dordrecht

2006-11-15T14:59:00.000-08:00

Holland was the most important of the seven provinces of the northern Netherlands. Its economic focus was the city of Amsterdam – also known as the Venice of the North, because it was built on piles and traversed by canals. In 1622, it already numbered 100,000 inhabitants. Amsterdam made thriving progress, principally in the 17th century, through world trade, and grew to be the pre-eminent trade metropolis of Europe. The Dutch East India and West India trading companies both had their headquarters here. The rijder, which owes its name to its obverse design, was added to the circulating ducat in 1606 as a second, larger gold denomination. In its standard it was modeled on the unite, which had been introduced a few years before by the English king James I (1603-1625). Between 1640 and 1650, the production of rijders was halted, but 100 years later the provinces took up its issue again, as shown by our example of 1763. That was for withdrawing the worn and clipped Netherlands ducats, which were flowing back into the country, from circulation. Unlike the ducats, which were traded on daily gold prices, the rijider had a fixed price, which between 1748 and 1765 was established at 14 guilders.

History of U.S. Currency - more

2006-11-13T06:38:00.000-08:00

Franklin's Unique Counterfeit Deterrent
1739

Benjamin Franklin's printing firm in Philadelphia printed colonial notes with nature prints---unique raised impressions of patterns cast from actual leaves. This process added an innovative and effective counterfeit deterrent to notes, not completely understood until centuries later.

British Ban
1764

Following years of restrictions on colonial paper currency, Britain finally ordered a complete ban on the issuance of paper money by the Colonies.

Paper Currency With Background Color
1905

The last U.S. paper currency printed with background color was the $20 Gold Certificate, Series 1905, which had a golden tint and a red seal and serial number.

The first $10 Federal Reserve Notes
1914

The first $10 Federal Reserve notes were issued. These notes were larger than today’s notes and featured a portrait of President Andrew Jackson on the face.

Currency Redesign
1996

In the first significant design change in 67 years, U.S. currency was redesigned to incorporate a series of new counterfeit deterrents. The new notes were issued beginning with the $100 note in 1996, followed by the $50 in 1997, the $20 in 1998 and the $10 and $5 notes in 2000. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing announced that new designs would be undertaken every 7-10 years to stay ahead of currency counterfeiters.

Secret Service Integrated Into Homeland Security Department
2003

Protecting the security of the dollar against counterfeiting takes its place side-by-side with other homeland security efforts, as the U.S. Secret Service is integrated into the new U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The New Color of Money: Safer. Smarter. More Secure.
The New $20 Note
2003

To stay ahead of currency counterfeiters, the U.S. government announced the new Series 2004 designs to be issued. For the first time since the Series 1905 $20 Gold Certificate, the new currency featured subtle background colors, beginning with the new $20 note on October 9, 2003. In this series, different colors are used for different denominations. This will help everyone – particularly those who are visually impaired – to tell denominations apart. The $20 note features subtle background colors of green, peach and blue, as well as symbols of freedom representing icons of Americana – in the case of the $20 note, images of the American eagle.

The New $50 Note
2004

A redesigned $50 note was issued on September 28, 2004. Similar to the redesigned $20 note, the new $50 note also featured subtle background colors and historical symbols of Americana – specific to the $50 note are subtle background colors of blue and red, and images of a waving American flag and a small metallic silver-blue star.

The New $10 Note
2006

The currency redesigns continue with the $10 note as the Series 2004A, which was issued on March 2, 2006. The “A” in the series designation indicates a change in some feature of the note, in this case, a change in the Treasurer’s signature. Like the new $20 and $50 notes, the redesigned $10 note features subtle shades of color and Symbols of Freedom – specific to the $10 note are background colors of orange, yellow and red along with images of the Statue of Liberty’s torch and the words “We the People” from the United States Constitution.

Viceroyalty of New Spain, Philip V (1724-1746), Real de a ocho (Peso) 1738, Mexico City

2006-11-11T19:23:00.000-08:00

"VTRAQUE VNUM" (Together they are one), this inscription reflected the worldwide power of the Spanish crown as well as the motif on the coin: the two columns of Heracles enclose the world hemispheres and connect the Old World with the New. A Spanish crown holds the two hemispheres together.

Such pieces of 8 reales (Spanish: real de a ochos, so-called pesos) depicting the pillars of Heracles were minted in Mexico from local silver ores for the first time in 1732. They rapidly became an internationally accepted currency. After 1750, other Spanish-American mints such as Lima, Santa Fé and Potosí thus changed their motifs and started minting pesos as well.

Most of the coins minted in the Spanish colonies were made from silver, and only about 4 per cent were gold or bronze coins. In the years between 1537 and 1888, the Mexican mints struck approximately about 3 billion pesos. These coins, known as Spanish milled dollars, or – referring to their picture – as pillar dollars, circulated in North America until the middle of the 19th century.

Holy Roman Empire, Maria Theresia (1740-1780), Taler 1780 (Continued Coinage), Günzburg

2006-11-10T05:15:00.000-08:00

From 1751 on, talers showing the bust of the Habsburg empress Maria Theresia were struck in a new weight standard, the so-called 20-gulden standard. Coins in this standard were called convention talers. Through coffee trade, the Maria Theresia taler spread quickly to the Ottoman Empire and Abissinia. The coin was so appreciated in the Orient that its minting continued even after Maria Theresia's death in 1780 whereas the dies dated 1780 were still used after that, making those talers a numismatic curiosity. In Eritrea and Ethiopia, Maria Theresia talers were minted until the mid 20th century – all of them dated 1780. Today, those talers can be seen as necklaces on African women, as jewelry and lucky charms.

2006-11-09T17:13:00.000-08:00

Technorati Profile

France, 2nd Empire, Napoleon III (1852-1870), 100 Francs 1869

2006-11-09T16:20:00.000-08:00

The franc was introduced as a currency during the French revolution in 1795, replacing the French livre as a basis for weighing and calculating. During the 19th century the franc became one of the world's leading currencies.
Because of its decimal structure the franc was adopted by Belgium in 1832 and later, by Switzerland in 1850.
Even the German mark was strongly influenced by the franc. The coin shown here is worth 100 francs. It was struck under Napoleon III (1852 - 1870).
Coins of such high value could only be minted after the Californian gold rush in 1849, explaining the comparatively low price of gold.

United Kingdom, George III (1760-1820), Sovereign 1817

2006-11-09T15:10:00.000-08:00

In 1816, Great Britain enacted a coinage reform with momentous impact. The monetary politic of the first economic world power underwent a radical change and demonstrated to all other nations, how bimetallism could be given up in favor of pure gold standard. For after long years of shortage – first of silver, and then of gold – the British government recognized, that the stability of currency could only be guaranteed if rated after one single base metal. The rest of the currency became loan money and thus was underweighted.

The weigh of the new gold coin corresponded to one pound sterling. This gave the sovereign the form in which – on account of the leading role played by Britain in the world economy – it became the most important world coin up to World War I.

The new sovereign was minted in huge quantities. Its value equaled the earlier unit of account, the pound. The coin's device, a picture of St George slaying the dragon, is the work of the coin engraver Benedetto Pistrucci (*1784, †1855), who was highly respected at the court in London. The depiction of St George enjoys great popularity in England up to this day and appears on many recent gold coins as well as on the silver crowns.

Chinese Currency History – from Cowrie to Cash

2006-11-09T03:28:00.000-08:00

In contrast to the early European coins, the Chinese coins were not used for propoganda, but for trade – that is visibly shown by their composition and layout. No royal portraits in gold and silver, but objects for daily use in copper dominate. At the early stage, it is the cowry shell: it serves as jewelry, as unit of account and as money. At the later stage, it is the equipment money, such as spade- and knife-money used in barter trade. The oldest round and stamped coins are regularly used in China only shortly later than in Europe; but a mutual induction is unlikely.

Coins in China are mass produced: until modern times, coins are cast – a prodecure which easily allows a mass production. An artistic layout is not strived for. For that reason, Chinese coins are not subject to fashion. That is one of the main reasons for their constancy over time.

China, Shang dynasty (1530-1100 BC), cowrie shell Cypraea Annulus, value 3 shu

The cowrie shell has been regarded as an origin of the divine in China from the earliest time. To protect against evil, one carried it as an amulet and put it into the grave of deceased. When queen Fu Hao, wife of powerful king Wu Ting, died around 1300 BC, 6880 kauri mussels were put into her gave. In addition, over 200 valuable bronze vessels, 6000 small sculptures made of jade and 16 people, probably from her own staff, were found.

Over time, the function of the cowrie sea shell expanded - after 1530 BC, documents show that Kauri sea shells are used as a reward, too. The cowrie shown here dates approximately from this time.

No money form lasts longer in the Chinese empire: cowrie are known and used since the Zhang dynasty (1500-1045 BC; the Zhang dynasty founded the first period of a uniform culture and sovereign territory in China, writing art and bronze processing flourished) up

to their demonetization in 1578 AC. Regionally, they are used even until the 20th century.

Netherlands, Duchy of Gelderland, Philip II. of Spanin 1555-1581, Philippstaler 1557

2006-11-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

Did you know you were looking at the coin that anticipated the American dollar and actually gave it its name? So the Dutch philippusdaalder was the forerunner of the dollar? But the Netherlands weren’t that important overseas!

Quite right, but since 1482 Holland was ruled by the Habsburg dynasty and that included Emperor Charles V and his son Philip II. The latter ruled the Netherlands as from 1555 and also acceded to the Spanish throne a year later. In short: Philip of Spain was the most powerful man of the Old and New Worlds. In the Netherlands Philip introduced the philippusdaalder or the Philip taler worth 35 stuiver. And, you may well ask, what has that got to do with the dollar?

The Dutch used the term, daalder (taler) for the Philip taler and for the Spanish 8 real coin (Real de a ocho) which provided them with the silver for striking the coins. The term, daalder returned to the American colonies via the 8 real coin. There the Spanish colonialists called it the ‘dollaro’. So daalder gave ‘dolaro’ and etymologically seen it’s only a tiny step to the dollar. However, it needed quite some patience to wait until the first dollar piece saw the light of day in the United States of America. The first US dollar to leave the mint was in 1794.

History of Greek coins

2006-11-08T14:29:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder why our coins today look the way they do? How the basis for the decoration of coins developed? Today, most bills and coins alike share the common pattern of depicting the profile or bust of a ruler on the obverse, while the reverse bears the image of an important civic symbol - be it a building or an animal. This tradition began with the ancient Greeks.

The historical portraits on early Greek coins are a significant contribution to the history of art. Within them they reflect the highest ideals of the traditional art of the day, as well as provide exact replicas of images of many sacred and important buildings and temples, making their historical importance incalculable. From their very beginnings, coins were not merely chunks of metal to be used in commerce, but important tools for the expression of art and the communication of religious devotion and civic pride.

The pre-Numismatic Age

In order to facilitate trade and business transaction, various metallics (diverse in weight and shape) circulated among the then known world in the pre-numismatic age. "Tripodes", "axes", "skewers" are among the names given to the above mentioned objects. The world's first coins appeared simultaneously in two places - China and the kingdom of Lydia in what is now western Turkey at the end of the seventh century BC.

The father of History, Herodotus, vaguely referred to the fact that the Lydians were the first, to mint coins around 600 B.C. No-one knows what the Lydians called their coins, but not long after the Lydian ruler Croesus was minting his legendary fortune. Around one hundred and fifty years later, increased commerce and civic pride had facilitated the spread of this currency around the Greek city-states.

The Coinage system

The Athenians of that era employed the obol as a currency, which was nothing more than a small iron rod. About six obols could fit into the average adult grasp, and therefore six obols became the drachma by a rule of grammar. The word derives quite logically from the Greek verb dratto - to grasp. Thus drachma in old Greek really means "the graspable" (or a handful).

Pheidon, who was the Head of the Amphyctiony (the confederation of the 7 Doric Greek city-States) Aegina included, was also at that period the president of the Olympic Games. He was the first to determine weights and measures for both liquids and dry goods. On the island of Aegina he minted the first silver coins, whose shapes were either elongated or round. The "turtles" the emplem of the city was impressed on one side and on the reverse was a square depression. In his reign coins representing the sea-wolf were also minted and with the passing of time the coinage system became universal.

Numismatic System of Aegina

Pheidon applied his own coinage system known as the Aeginitian numismatic system which is as follows:

1 Talent = 60 Mnas
1 Mna = 100 Drachmas
1 Drachma = 6 Obols

Pheidon preserved the ancient names of the Pre-coinage, the names of obol, Drachma and homeric Talent. The talent was only a conventional standard. Its standard weight, together with its value, varied from place to place. Another standard was also in existence, known as the semitalent. The talents were gold, silver and bronze. When not otherwise specified, the ancients reffered to the silver talent.

One of Pheidon's actions, in accordance with the religious believes of those days, was his offering to the goddess Hera (at the temple in Argos). It was a collection of various small metal objects used in the pre-coinage times, but he also offered, as a symbol of the new "numismatic" period which begins with his reign, one of the first coins minted in Aegina. This offering was discovered in 1906 during the excavations of the Argive Heraeum and is now held at the Numismatic Museum in Athens.

By 600BC, well before Pericles, the distinctive Attic drachma with the owl's head stamped on it had become established as Athens's unshakeable currency. It was made of 96% pure Laurion silver and weighed a little over 4 grams. Before long drachmas were being minted at Greek settlements in southern Italy, with the result that the Romans switched from using bronze bars to coins in about 300 BC. And at roughly the same time Philip of Macedonia and his son Alexander the Great were producing huge quantities of coins to finance their military conquests.

Interesting and Amusing

2006-11-06T17:33:00.000-08:00

Americans Required to Hand Over All Gold Certificates and Gold Coin
Imagine waiting in a bank line for hours--to turn in all of your money. This was the scene in many American cities in March 1933 when United States residents were required to exchange gold certificates and gold coin for Federal Reserve notes. Americans who refused to hand over all gold currency and coin could be fined up to $10,000 or imprisoned for up to 10 years. An exception was made for gold jewelry and rare coins. As part of the Emergency Banking Act, the exchange of gold for Federal Reserve notes took place to stop the public's hoarding of gold bullion. The Great Depression had caused an international shortage of gold, resulting in a worldwide abandonment of the gold standard. The United States remained on a modified gold standard until President Nixon suspended the dollar's link to gold in 1971. In 1974, President Ford restored Americans' right to hold gold bullion.

Many investors predicted a substantial increase in the demand for gold as soon as the restrictions were eased. In 1974, dealers began stocking up on gold coins in anticipation of consumer buying sprees. Surprisingly, consumers did not purchase anything close to the predicted quantity of gold, even when dealers offered discounts as high as 10 percent. Many consumers who had grown accustomed to stable gold prices from 1933 to 1970 were not willing to pay the new higher prices of gold. From 1933 to 1970, the price of gold hovered at about $35 an ounce. The price of gold had remained constant for almost 40 years, while inflation had increased over three times during the same period. In 1974, the average price of gold had increased to over $150 per ounce. During most of the 1980s the price of gold continued to increase and reached an all-time high of $850 per ounce on January 21, 1980. Since then, the price of gold has largely remained in the $300 to $400 range. Most central banks store gold bars that weigh 400 onces each and are valued in excess of one hundred thousand dollars.

America Currency History

2006-11-06T17:08:00.000-08:00

The History of U.S. Paper Money - In the early days of the nation, before and just after the revolution, Americans used English, Spanish, and French money.

1690 Colonial Notes
The Massachusetts Bay Colony issued the first paper money in the colonies which would later form the United States.

1775 Continental Currency
American colonists issued paper currency for the Continental Congress to finance the Revolutionary War. The notes were backed by the "anticipation" of tax revenues. Without solid backing and easily counterfeited, the notes quickly became devalued, giving rise to the phrase "not worth a Continental."

1781 Nation's First Bank
Also to support the Revolutionary War, the continental Congress chartered the Bank of North America in Philadelphia as the nation's first "real" bank.

1785 The Dollar
The Continental Congress determined that the official monetary system would be based on the dollar, but the first coin representing the start of this system would not be struck for several years.

1791 First U.S. Bank
After adoption of the Constitution in 1789, Congress chartered the First Bank of the United States untill 1811 and authorized it to issue paper bank notes to eliminate confusion and simplify trade. The bank served as the U.S. Treasury's fiscal agent, thus performing the first central bank functions.

1792 Monetary System
The federal monetary system was established with the creation of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. The first American coins were struck in 1793.

1816 Second U.S. Bank
The second Bank of the United States was chartered for 20 years until 1836.

1836 State Bank Notes
With minimum regulation, a proliferation of 1,600 local state-chartered, private banks now issued paper money. State bank notes, with over 30,000 varieties of color and design, were easily counterfeited. That, along with bank failures, caused confusion and circulation problems.

1861 Civil War
On the brink of bankruptcy and pressed to finance the Civil War, Congress authorized the United States Treasury to issue paper money for the first time in the form of non-interest bearing Treasury Notes called Demand Notes.

1862 Greenbacks
Demand Notes were replaced by United States Notes. Commonly called "Greenbacks," they were last issued in 1971. The Secretary of the Treasury was empowered by Congress to have notes engraved and printed, which was done by private banknote companies.

1863 The Design
The design of U.S. currency incorporated a Treasury seal, the fine line engraving necessary for the difficult-to-counterfeit itaglio printing, intricate geometric lathe work patterns, and distinctive linen paper with embedded red and blue fibers.

1865 Gold Certificates
Gold Certificates were issued by the Department of the Treasury against gold coin and buillion deposits and were circulated until 1933.

1865 Secret Service
The Department of the Treasury established the United States Secret Service to control counterfeits, at that time amounting to one-third of circulated currency.

1866 National Bank Notes
National Bank Notes, backed by U.S. government securities, became predominant. By this time, 75 percent of bank deposits were held by nationally chartered banks. As State Bank Notes were replaced, the value of currency stabilized for a time.

1877 Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The Department of the Treasury's bureau of Engraving and Printing started printing all U.S. currency, although other steps were done outside.

1878 Silver Certificates
The Department of the Treasury was authorized to issue Silver Certificates in exchange for silver dollars. The last issue was in the Series of 1957.

1910 Currency Production Consolidated
The Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing assumed all currency production functions, including engraving, printing, and processing.

1913 Federal Reserve Act
After 1893 and 1907 financial panics, the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 was passed. It created the Federal Reserve System as the nation's central bank to regulate the flow of money and credit for economic stability and growth. The system was authorized to issue Federal Reserve Notes, now the only U.S. currency produced and 99 percent of all currency in circulation.

1929 Standardized Design
Currency was reduced in size by 25 percent and standardized with uniform portraits on the faces and emblems and monuments on the backs.

1957 In God We Trust
Paper currency was first issued with "In God We Trust" as required by Congress in 1955. The inscription appears on all currency Series 1963 and beyond.

1990 Security Thread and Microprinting
A security thread and microprinting were introduced, first in $50 and $100 notes, to deter counterfeiting by advanced copiers and printers.