Meaning of the word currency

A currency^[a] is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins.^[1][2]
A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money in common use within a specific environment over time, especially for people in a nation state.^[3] Under this definition, the British Pound Sterling (£), euros (€), Japanese yen (¥), and U.S. dollars (US$) are examples of (government-issued) fiat currencies. Currencies may act as stores of value and be traded between nations in foreign exchange markets, which determine the relative values of the different currencies.^[4] Currencies in this sense are either chosen by users or decreed by governments, and each type has limited boundaries of acceptance; i.e., legal tender laws may require a particular unit of account for payments to government agencies.

Other definitions of the term «currency» appear in the respective synonymous articles: banknote, coin, and money. This article uses the definition which focuses on the currency systems of countries.

One can classify currencies into three monetary systems: fiat money, commodity money, and representative money, depending on what guarantees a currency’s value (the economy at large vs. the government’s physical metal reserves). Some currencies function as legal tender in certain jurisdictions, or for specific purposes, such as payment to a government (taxes), or government agencies (fees, fines). Others simply get traded for their economic value.

Digital currency has arisen with the popularity of computers and the Internet. Whether government-backed digital notes and coins (such as the digital renminbi in China, for example) will be successfully developed and utilized remains dubious.^[5] Decentralized digital currencies, such as cryptocurrencies, are different because they are not issued by a government monetary authority; specifically, bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency and leader in terms of market capitalization, has a fixed supply and is therefore ostensibly deflationary. Many warnings issued by various countries note the opportunities that cryptocurrencies create for illegal activities such as scams, ransomware, money laundering and terrorism.^[6]
In 2014, the United States IRS issued a statement explaining that virtual currency is treated as property for Federal income-tax purposes, and it provide examples of how long-standing tax principles applicable to transactions involving property apply to virtual currency.^[7]

History[edit]

Early currency[edit]

Originally, currency was a form of receipt, representing grain stored in temple granaries in Sumer in ancient Mesopotamia and in Ancient Egypt.

In this first stage of currency, metals were used as symbols to represent value stored in the form of commodities. This formed the basis of trade in the Fertile Crescent for over 1500 years. However, the collapse of the Near Eastern trading system pointed to a flaw: in an era where there was no place that was safe to store value, the value of a circulating medium could only be as sound as the forces that defended that store. A trade could only reach as far as the credibility of that military. By the late Bronze Age, however, a series of treaties had established safe passage for merchants around the Eastern Mediterranean, spreading from Minoan Crete and Mycenae in the northwest to Elam and Bahrain in the southeast. It is not known what was used as a currency for these exchanges, but it is thought that oxhide-shaped ingots of copper, produced in Cyprus, may have functioned as a currency.

It is thought that the increase in piracy and raiding associated with the Bronze Age collapse, possibly produced by the Peoples of the Sea, brought the trading system of oxhide ingots to an end. It was only the recovery of Phoenician trade in the 10th and 9th centuries BC that led to a return to prosperity, and the appearance of real coinage, possibly first in Anatolia with Croesus of Lydia and subsequently with the Greeks and Persians. In Africa, many forms of value store have been used, including beads, ingots, ivory, various forms of weapons, livestock, the manilla currency, and ochre and other earth oxides. The manilla rings of West Africa were one of the currencies used from the 15th century onwards to sell slaves. African currency is still notable for its variety, and in many places, various forms of barter still apply.

Coinage[edit]

Main article: Coin

The prevalence of metal coins possibly led to the metal itself being the store of value: first copper, then both silver and gold, and at one point also bronze. Today other non-precious metals are used for coins. Metals were mined, weighed, and stamped into coins. This was to assure the individual accepting the coin that he was getting a certain known weight of precious metal. Coins could be counterfeited, but the existence of standard coins also created a new unit of account, which helped lead to banking. Archimedes’ principle provided the next link: coins could now be easily tested for their fine weight of the metal, and thus the value of a coin could be determined, even if it had been shaved, debased or otherwise tampered with (see Numismatics).

Most major economies using coinage had several tiers of coins of different values, made of copper, silver, and gold. Gold coins were the most valuable and were used for large purchases, payment of the military, and backing of state activities. Units of account were often defined as the value of a particular type of gold coin. Silver coins were used for midsized transactions, and sometimes also defined a unit of account, while coins of copper or silver, or some mixture of them (see debasement), might be used for everyday transactions. This system had been used in ancient India since the time of the Mahajanapadas. The exact ratios between the values of the three metals varied greatly between different eras and places; for example, the opening of silver mines in the Harz mountains of central Europe made silver relatively less valuable, as did the flood of New World silver after the Spanish conquests. However, the rarity of gold consistently made it more valuable than silver, and likewise silver was consistently worth more than copper.

Paper money[edit]

In premodern China, the need for lending and for a medium of exchange that was less physically cumbersome than large numbers of copper coins led to the introduction of paper money, i.e. banknotes. Their introduction was a gradual process that lasted from the late Tang dynasty (618–907) into the Song dynasty (960–1279). It began as a means for merchants to exchange heavy coinage for receipts of deposit issued as promissory notes by wholesalers’ shops. These notes were valid for temporary use in a small regional territory. In the 10th century, the Song dynasty government began to circulate these notes amongst the traders in its monopolized salt industry. The Song government granted several shops the right to issue banknotes, and in the early 12th century the government finally took over these shops to produce state-issued currency. Yet the banknotes issued were still only locally and temporarily valid: it was not until the mid 13th century that a standard and uniform government issue of paper money became an acceptable nationwide currency. The already widespread methods of woodblock printing and then Bi Sheng’s movable type printing by the 11th century were the impetus for the mass production of paper money in premodern China.

At around the same time in the medieval Islamic world, a vigorous monetary economy was created during the 7th–12th centuries on the basis of the expanding levels of circulation of a stable high-value currency (the dinar). Innovations introduced by Muslim economists, traders and merchants include the earliest uses of credit,^[8] cheques, promissory notes,^[9] savings accounts, transaction accounts, loaning, trusts, exchange rates, the transfer of credit and debt,^[10] and banking institutions for loans and deposits.^[10]

In Europe, paper currency was first introduced on a regular basis in Sweden in 1661 (although Washington Irving records an earlier emergency use of it, by the Spanish in a siege during the Conquest of Granada). As Sweden was rich in copper, many copper coins were in circulation, but its relatively low value necessitated extraordinarily big coins, often weighing several kilograms.

The advantages of paper currency were numerous: it reduced the need to transport gold and silver, which was risky; it facilitated loans of gold or silver at interest, since the underlying specie (money in the form of gold or silver coins rather than notes) never left the possession of the lender until someone else redeemed the note; and it allowed a division of currency into credit- and specie-backed forms. It enabled the sale of investment in joint-stock companies and the redemption of those shares in a paper.

But there were also disadvantages. First, since a note has no intrinsic value, there was nothing to stop issuing authorities from printing more notes than they had specie to back them with. Second, because this increased the money supply, it increased inflationary pressures, a fact observed by David Hume in the 18th century. Thus paper money would often lead to an inflationary bubble, which could collapse if people began demanding hard money, causing the demand for paper notes to fall to zero. The printing of paper money was also associated with wars, and financing of wars, and therefore regarded as part of maintaining a standing army. For these reasons, paper currency was held in suspicion and hostility in Europe and America. It was also addictive since the speculative profits of trade and capital creation were quite large. Major nations established mints to print money and mint coins, and branches of their treasury to collect taxes and hold gold and silver stock.

At that time, both silver and gold were considered a legal tender and accepted by governments for taxes. However, the instability in the exchange rate between the two grew over the course of the 19th century, with the increases both in the supply of these metals, particularly silver, and in trade. The parallel use of both metals is called bimetallism, and the attempt to create a bimetallic standard where both gold and silver backed currency remained in circulation occupied the efforts of inflationists. Governments at this point could use currency as an instrument of policy, printing paper currency such as the United States greenback, to pay for military expenditures. They could also set the terms at which they would redeem notes for specie, by limiting the amount of purchase, or the minimum amount that could be redeemed.

By 1900, most of the industrializing nations were on some form of gold standard, with paper notes and silver coins constituting the circulating medium. Private banks and governments across the world followed Gresham’s law: keeping the gold and silver they received but paying out in notes. This did not happen all around the world at the same time, but occurred sporadically, generally in times of war or financial crisis, beginning in the early 20th century and continuing across the world until the late 20th century, when the regime of floating fiat currencies came into force. One of the last countries to break away from the gold standard was the United States in 1971, an action which was known as the Nixon shock. No country has an enforceable gold standard or silver standard currency system.

Banknote era[edit]

A banknote or a bill is a type of currency and it is commonly used as legal tender in many jurisdictions. Together with coins, banknotes make up the cash form of a currency. Banknotes were initially mostly paper, but Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation developed a polymer currency in the 1980s; it went into circulation on the nation’s bicentenary in 1988.^[11] Polymer banknotes had already been introduced in the Isle of Man in 1983. As of 2016, polymer currency is used in over 20 countries (over 40 if counting commemorative issues),^[12] and dramatically increases the life span of banknotes and reduces counterfeiting.

Modern currencies[edit]

For a list of which currency or currencies are used by present-day countries or regions, see List of circulating currencies.

The currency used is based on the concept of lex monetae; that a sovereign state decides which currency it shall use. The International Organization for Standardization has introduced a system of three-letter codes (ISO 4217) to denote currency (as opposed to simple names or currency signs), in order to remove the confusion arising because there are dozens of currencies called the dollar and several called the franc. Even the «pound» is used in nearly a dozen different countries; most of these are tied to the pound sterling, while the remainder has varying values. In general, the three-letter code uses the ISO 3166-1 country code for the first two letters and the first letter of the name of the currency (D for dollar, for example) as the third letter. United States currency, for instance, is globally referred to as USD. Currencies such as the pound sterling have different codes, as the first two letters denote not the exact country name but an alternative name also used to describe the country. The pound’s code is GBP where GB denotes Great Britain instead of the United Kingdom.

The former currencies include the marks that were in circulation in Germany and Finland.^[13]

The International Monetary Fund uses a different system when referring to national currencies.

Alternative currencies[edit]

Distinct from centrally controlled government-issued currencies, private decentralized trust-reduced networks support alternative currencies such as bitcoin and Ethereum’s ether, which are classified as cryptocurrency since the transfer of value is assured through cryptographic signatures validated by all users. There are also branded currencies, for example ‘obligation’ based stores of value, such as quasi-regulated BarterCard, Loyalty Points (Credit Cards, Airlines) or Game-Credits (MMO games) that are based on reputation of commercial products, or highly regulated ‘asset-backed’ ‘alternative currencies’ such as mobile-money schemes like MPESA (called E-Money Issuance).^[14]

The currency may be Internet-based and digital, for instance, bitcoin^[15] is not tied to any specific country, or the IMF’s SDR that is based on a basket of currencies (and assets held).

Possession and sale of alternative forms of currencies is often outlawed by governments in order to preserve the legitimacy of the constitutional currency for the benefit of all citizens. For example, Article I, section 8, clause 5 of the United States Constitution delegates to Congress the power to coin money and to regulate the value thereof. This power was delegated to Congress in order to establish and preserve a uniform standard of value and to insure a singular monetary system for all purchases and debts in the United States, public and private. Along with the power to coin money, the United States Congress has the concurrent power to restrain the circulation of money which is not issued under its own authority in order to protect and preserve the constitutional currency. It is a violation of federal law for individuals, or organizations to create private coin or currency systems to compete with the official coinage and currency of the United States.^[16]

Control and production[edit]

Most traded currencies by value
Currency distribution of global foreign exchange market turnover^[17]

Rank	Currency	ISO 4217 code	Symbol or abbreviation	Proportion of daily volume, April 2019	Proportion of daily volume, April 2022
1	U.S. dollar	USD	US$	88.3%	88.5%
2	Euro	EUR	€	32.3%	30.5%
3	Japanese yen	JPY	¥ / 円	16.8%	16.7%
4	Sterling	GBP	£	12.8%	12.9%
5	Renminbi	CNY	¥ / 元	4.3%	7.0%
6	Australian dollar	AUD	A$	6.8%	6.4%
7	Canadian dollar	CAD	C$	5.0%	6.2%
8	Swiss franc	CHF	CHF	4.9%	5.2%
9	Hong Kong dollar	HKD	HK$	3.5%	2.6%
10	Singapore dollar	SGD	S$	1.8%	2.4%
11	Swedish krona	SEK	kr	2.0%	2.2%
12	South Korean won	KRW	₩ / 원	2.0%	1.9%
13	Norwegian krone	NOK	kr	1.8%	1.7%
14	New Zealand dollar	NZD	NZ$	2.1%	1.7%
15	Indian rupee	INR	₹	1.7%	1.6%
16	Mexican peso	MXN	$	1.7%	1.5%
17	New Taiwan dollar	TWD	NT$	0.9%	1.1%
18	South African rand	ZAR	R	1.1%	1.0%
19	Brazilian real	BRL	R$	1.1%	0.9%
20	Danish krone	DKK	kr	0.6%	0.7%
21	Polish złoty	PLN	zł	0.6%	0.7%
22	Thai baht	THB	฿	0.5%	0.4%
23	Israeli new shekel	ILS	₪	0.3%	0.4%
24	Indonesian rupiah	IDR	Rp	0.4%	0.4%
25	Czech koruna	CZK	Kč	0.4%	0.4%
26	UAE dirham	AED	د.إ	0.2%	0.4%
27	Turkish lira	TRY	₺	1.1%	0.4%
28	Hungarian forint	HUF	Ft	0.4%	0.3%
29	Chilean peso	CLP	CLP$	0.3%	0.3%
30	Saudi riyal	SAR	﷼	0.2%	0.2%
31	Philippine peso	PHP	₱	0.3%	0.2%
32	Malaysian ringgit	MYR	RM	0.2%	0.2%
33	Colombian peso	COP	COL$	0.2%	0.2%
34	Russian ruble	RUB	₽	1.1%	0.2%
35	Romanian leu	RON	L	0.1%	0.1%
36	Peruvian sol	PEN	S/	0.1%	0.1%
37	Bahraini dinar	BHD	.د.ب	0.0%	0.0%
38	Bulgarian lev	BGN	BGN	0.0%	0.0%
39	Argentine peso	ARS	ARG$	0.1%	0.0%
…	Other		1.8%	2.3%
Total[note 1]	200.0%	200.0%

In most cases, a central bank has the exclusive power to issue all forms of currency, including coins and banknotes (fiat money), and to restrain the circulation alternative currencies for its own area of circulation (a country or group of countries); it regulates the production of currency by banks (credit) through monetary policy.

An exchange rate is a price at which two currencies can be exchanged against each other. This is used for trade between the two currency zones. Exchange rates can be classified as either floating or fixed. In the former, day-to-day movements in exchange rates are determined by the market; in the latter, governments intervene in the market to buy or sell their currency to balance supply and demand at a static exchange rate.

In cases where a country has control of its own currency, that control is exercised either by a central bank or by a Ministry of Finance. The institution that has control of monetary policy is referred to as the monetary authority. Monetary authorities have varying degrees of autonomy from the governments that create them. A monetary authority is created and supported by its sponsoring government, so independence can be reduced by the legislative or executive authority that creates it.

Several countries can use the same name for their own separate currencies (for example, a dollar in Australia, Canada, and the United States). By contrast, several countries can also use the same currency (for example, the euro or the CFA franc), or one country can declare the currency of another country to be legal tender. For example, Panama and El Salvador have declared US currency to be legal tender, and from 1791 to 1857, Spanish dollars were legal tender in the United States. At various times countries have either re-stamped foreign coins or used currency boards, issuing one note of currency for each note of a foreign government held, as Ecuador currently does.

Each currency typically has a main currency unit (the dollar, for example, or the euro) and a fractional unit, often defined as 1⁄100 of the main unit: 100 cents = 1 dollar, 100 centimes = 1 franc, 100 pence = 1 pound, although units of 1⁄10 or 1⁄1000 occasionally also occur. Some currencies do not have any smaller units at all, such as the Icelandic króna and the Japanese yen.

Mauritania and Madagascar are the only remaining countries that have theoretical fractional units not based on the decimal system; instead, the Mauritanian ouguiya is in theory divided into 5 khoums, while the Malagasy ariary is theoretically divided into 5 iraimbilanja. In these countries, words like dollar or pound «were simply names for given weights of gold».^[18] Due to inflation khoums and iraimbilanja have in practice fallen into disuse. (See non-decimal currencies for other historic currencies with non-decimal divisions.)

Currency convertibility[edit]

Subject to variation around the world, local currency can be converted to another currency or vice versa with or without central bank/government intervention. Such conversions take place in the foreign exchange market. Based on the above restrictions or free and readily conversion features, currencies are classified as:

Fully convertible

When there are no restrictions or limitations on the amount of currency that can be traded on the international market, and the government does not artificially impose a fixed value or minimum value on the currency in international trade. The US dollar is one of the main fully convertible currencies.

Partially convertible

Central banks control international investments flowing into and out of a country. While most domestic transactions are handled without any special requirements, there are significant restrictions on international investing, and special approval is often required in order to convert into other currencies. The Indian rupee and the renminbi are examples of partially convertible currencies.

Nonconvertible

A government neither participates in the international currency market nor allows the conversion of its currency by individuals or companies. These currencies are also known as blocked, e.g. the North Korean won and the Cuban peso.

According to the three aspects of trade in goods and services, capital flows and national policies, the supply-demand relationship of different currencies determines the exchange ratio between currencies.

Trade in goods and services

Through cost transfer, goods and services circulating in the country (such as hotels, tourism, catering, advertising, household services) will indirectly affect the trade cost of goods and services and the price of export trade. Therefore, services and goods involved in international trade are not the only reason affecting the exchange rate. The large number of international tourists and overseas students has resulted in the flow of services and goods at home and abroad. It also represents that the competitiveness of global goods and services directly affects the change of international exchange rates.

Capital flows

National currencies will be traded on international markets for investment purposes. Investment opportunities in each country attract other countries into investment programs, so that these foreign currencies become the reserves of the central banks of each country. The exchange rate mechanism, in which currencies are quoted continuously between countries, is based on foreign exchange markets in which currencies are invested by individuals and traded or speculated by central banks and investment institutions. In addition, changes in interest rates, capital market fluctuations and changes in investment opportunities will affect the global capital inflows and outflows of countries around the world, and exchange rates will fluctuate accordingly.

National policies

The country’s foreign trade, monetary and fiscal policies affect the exchange rate fluctuations. Foreign trade includes policies such as tariffs and import standards for commodity exports. The impact of monetary policy on the total amount and yield of money directly determines the changes in the international exchange rate. Fiscal policies, such as transfer payments, taxation ratios, and other factors, dominate the profitability of capital and economic development, and the ratio of national debt issuance to deficit determines the repayment capacity and credit rating of the country. Such policies determine the mechanism of linking domestic and foreign currencies and therefore have a significant impact on the generation of exchange rates.

Currency convertibility is closely linked to economic development and finance. There are strict conditions for countries to achieve currency convertibility, which is a good way for countries to improve their economies. The currencies of some countries or regions in the world are freely convertible, such as the US dollar, Australian dollar and Japanese yen. The requirements for currency convertibility can be roughly divided into four parts:

Sound microeconomic agency

With a freely convertible currency, domestic firms will have to compete fiercely with their foreign counterparts. The development of competition among them will affect the implementation effect of currency convertibility. In addition, microeconomics is a prerequisite for macroeconomic conditions.

The macroeconomic situation and policies are stable

Since currency convertibility is the cross-border flow of goods and capital, it will have an impact on the macro economy. This requires that the national economy be in a normal and orderly state, that is, there is no serious inflation and economic overheating. In addition, the government should use macro policies to make mature adjustments to deal with the impact of currency exchange on the economy.

A reasonable and open economy

The maintainability of international balance of payments is the main performance of reasonable economic structure. Currency convertibility not only causes difficulties in the sustainability of international balance of payments but also affects the government’s direct control over international economic transactions. To eliminate the foreign exchange shortage, the government needs adequate international reserves.

Appropriate exchange rate regime and level

The level of exchange rate is an important factor in maintaining exchange rate stability, both before and after currency convertibility. The exchange rate of freely convertible currency is too high or too low, which can easily trigger speculation and undermine the stability of macroeconomic and financial markets. Therefore, to maintain the level of exchange rate, a proper exchange rate regime is crucial.

Local currency[edit]

In economics, a local currency is a currency not backed by a national government and intended to trade only in a small area. Advocates such as Jane Jacobs argue that this enables an economically depressed region to pull itself up, by giving the people living there a medium of exchange that they can use to exchange services and locally produced goods (in a broader sense, this is the original purpose of all money). Opponents of this concept argue that local currency creates a barrier that can interfere with economies of scale and comparative advantage and that in some cases they can serve as a means of tax evasion.

Local currencies can also come into being when there is economic turmoil involving the national currency. An example of this is the Argentinian economic crisis of 2002 in which IOUs issued by local governments quickly took on some of the characteristics of local currencies.

One of the best examples of a local currency is the original LETS currency, founded on Vancouver Island in the early 1980s. In 1982, the Canadian Central Bank’s lending rates ran up to 14% which drove chartered bank lending rates as high as 19%. The resulting currency and credit scarcity left island residents with few options other than to create a local currency.^[20]

List of major world payment currencies[edit]

The following table are estimates of the 20 most frequently used currencies in world payments in February 2023 by SWIFT.^[21]

20 Major Currencies in World Payments (in % of World)

Rank	Currency	February 2023
	World	100.00%
1	United States dollar	41.10%
2	Euro	36.43%
3	Pound sterling	6.58%
4	Japanese yen	2.98%
5	Chinese renminbi	2.19%
6	Canadian dollar	1.72%
7	Australian dollar	1.43%
8	Hong Kong dollar	1.41%
9	Swiss franc	0.86%
10	Swedish krona	0.70%
11	Norwegian krone	0.67%
12	Polish złoty	0.57%
13	Danish krone	0.36%
14	New Zealand dollar	0.33%
15	Singapore dollar	0.32%
16	Malaysian ringgit	0.31%
17	Mexican peso	0.24%
18	Hungarian forint	0.22%
19	Chilean peso	0.17%
20	Czech koruna	0.15%

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

What Is Currency?

Currency is a medium of exchange for goods and services. In short, it’s money, in the form of paper and coins, usually issued by a government and generally accepted at its face value as a method of payment.

Currency is the primary medium of exchange in the modern world, having long ago replaced bartering as a means of trading goods and services.

In the 21st century, a new form of currency has entered the vocabulary and realm of exchange: the virtual currency, also known as cryptocurrency. Virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, have no physical form or government backing in the United States. They are traded and stored electronically.

Understanding Currency

Currency in some form has been in use for at least 3,000 years. At one time only in the form of coins, currency proved to be crucial to facilitating trade across continents.

A key characteristic of modern currency is that it is worthless in itself. That is, bills are pieces of paper rather than coins made of gold, silver, or bronze.

The concept of using paper as a currency may have been developed in China as early as 1000 BC, but the acceptance of a piece of paper in return for something of real value took a long time to catch on. Modern currencies are issued on paper in various denominations, with fractional issues in the form of coins.

Money vs. Currency

The terms money and currency are often thought to mean the same thing. However, while related, they have different meanings.

Money is a broader term that refers to an intangible system of value that makes the exchange of goods and services possible, now and in the future. Currency is simply one, tangible form of money.

Money is used in a variety of ways, all related to its future use in some kind of transaction. For example, money is a store of value. This means that it has and maintains a certain value that supports ongoing exchanges. People know that the money they received today essentially will have the same value next week when they need to make a purchase or pay a bill.

Money is also referred to as a unit of account. That means it can be used to account for changes in the value of items over time. Businesses use money as a unit of account when they prepare a budget or give assets a value. Profits and losses are established and relied upon using money as a unit of account.

Money also has certain properties that allow for the smooth exchange of goods:

• It is fungible, or, exchangeable, so that it doesn’t need to be re-valued for every transaction.
• It is durable so that it lasts for many exchanges over time.
• It is convenient to carry and divide.
• It is recognizable so that people can trust it and confidently complete their exchanges of goods and services.
• The supply of money should be stable so that its value is reliable.

Understanding what money is clarifies the meaning of currency. It’s a form of money used every day by people all over the world. Checks are another form of money (known as money substitutes). Cigarettes have even been a form of money, as they were for soldiers during the Second World War.

Types of Currency

The United States Mint defines currency as money in the form of paper and coins that’s used as a medium of exchange. Currencies are created and distributed by individual countries around the world.

U.S. currency in paper form is issued by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing as $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills. The $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 bills are no longer issued but those still in circulation are redeemable at full face value. Currency issued in 1861 or earlier is no longer valid and would not be redeemable at full face value.

U.S. currency in the form of coins is issued by the Mint in denominations of 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, and $1.

There are over 200 national currencies currently in circulation. Including the U.S., 42 countries either use the U.S. dollar or peg their currencies directly to the dollar. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the dollar makes up 58.8% of the foreign exchange reserves.

Most countries issue their own currencies. For example, Switzerland’s official currency is the Swiss franc, and Japan’s is the yen. An exception is the euro, which has been adopted by most countries that are members of the European Union.

Some countries accept the U.S. dollar as legal tender in addition to their own currencies, like the Bahamas, Zimbabwe, and Panama. For some time after the founding of the U.S. Mint in 1792, Americans continued to use Spanish coins because they were heavier and presumably felt more valuable.

There are also branded currencies, like airline and credit card points and Disney Dollars. These are issued by companies and are used only to pay for the products and services to which they are tied.

Currency Trading

The exchange rate is the current value of any currency relative to another currency. As a result, rates are quoted for currency pairs, such as the EUR/USD (euro to U.S. dollar). Exchange rates fluctuate constantly in response to economic and political events.

These fluctuations create the market for currency trading. The foreign exchange market where these trades are conducted is one of the world’s largest markets, based on sheer volume. All trades are in large volumes, with a standard minimum lot of 100,000. Most currency traders are professionals investing for themselves or for institutional clients that include banks and large corporations.

The foreign exchange market has no physical address. Trading is entirely electronic and goes on 24 hours a day to accommodate traders in every time zone.

For the rest of us, currency exchange typically is done at an airport kiosk or a bank before we go on a trip or while traveling.

Consumer advocates say that travelers get the best value by exchanging cash at a bank or at an in-network ATM. Other options may have higher fees and unattractive exchange rates.

Last Updated:
27 Mar 2023
— Updated example sentences

As soon as facebook developers’ allotted banner ad space dries up, or the virtual currency/survey model dries up, the only thing left to monetize in the realm will be virtual gifts (* not virtual currency*), and being that Facebook already has a gift shop, they’ll be slopping up all the revenue. ❋ Michael Arrington (2005)

Although the term «currency board» is somewhat contemporary, the Bank of England used this mechanism to manage its gold standard system in the 18th century. ❋ Unknown (2011)

Mr. Mantega, who popularized the term «currency war» a year ago to describe the political impact on emerging market countries to keep the value of their exports competitive amid a declining U.S. dollar, said he doesn’t believe the wars are over. ❋ Erin McCarthy (2011)

The phrase «currency board linked to gold» drives some hard-money advocates batty. ❋ Unknown (2011)

Oddly, the vision I have of the newly divorced woman flinging herself onto a bed covered in currency is not born out by the figures. ❋ Newmania (2007)

Brazil’s sharp-tongued Finance Minister Guido Mantega quickly became an international sensation when he coined the phrase «currency wars» to refer to excessive currency manipulation in these times of high volatility and dollar debasement. ❋ Agustino Fontevecchia (2011)

Mantega coined the phrase «currency wars» — AFP/Getty Images via @daylife ❋ Agustino Fontevecchia (2011)

Though Kerouac and Ginsberg each sought to elevate the term «Beat Generation» into something «beatific,» John Clellon Holmes, who gave the term currency in a 1952 article, paraphrased Kerouac saying, «It involves a sort of nakedness of mind, and ultimately, of soul,» a feeling of being beaten down to the bedrock of consciousness. ❋ Unknown (2010)

Senators Bob Casey, Charles Schumer and Debbie Stabenow said Monday they will introduce legislation to address what they call currency «misalignments» that «unfairly» harm U.S. trade. ❋ Unknown (2011)

Or was it a self-contained barter economy wherein the currency is the art of medicine, and the medicine of art? ❋ Alexandra Marvar (2010)

Actually drdumb, about the time God was added to our currency is about the same time we started our journey to hell in a hand-basket. ❋ Unknown (2010)

The tensions in currency markets, which some have called a currency war, are expected top the agenda when finance ministers from Group of 20 nations gather in South Korea later this month. ❋ P.R. Venkat (2010)

Finance officials from the group’s member economies also agreed at a meeting here to take a closer look at what they called currency misalignments, a move clearly aimed at frequent complaints about an undervalued Chinese yuan. ❋ Sudeep Reddy (2011)

There truly in a revolution brewing where people are starting to understand that the real value of our currency is approaching the paper it is printed on — a few cents. ❋ Canadian Silver Bug/Green Assassin Brigade (2008)

«We’re going to start with currency products, but we’re going to [move on] to planning products.”- [Bryan] [Wiener], 2018 at ❋ Redefining_the_wheel (2019)

[Jennifer] [flashed] her currency all over [the bar] ❋ Joeyjoejo1200 (2011)

1. Yo, when you [hit that] shot…Currency.
2. I have it [in the bag], it’s Currency.
3. Yo, that chick is Currency
4. Haha, thats [mad funny]. Currency yo, Currency. ❋ Mercedes Benz And MC Avninder (2004)

[Denny’s] [hashbrowns] are so good. [Shit’s] currency, dude. ❋ Chamby (2007)

i was [shootin] some [hoops] wit [my g’s] and yelled out currency when i made the shot ❋ SNAH (2007)

when was [last] time you had [digital currency] by yo [side]??? ❋ Basedoverloras (2019)

For most of [the last] [half century], most money used [around the world] has been floating currency. ❋ Abu Yahya (2008)

I haven’t been [trading] much decentralized currency [lately]. ❋ Undertheradar (2019)

Retailers use branded currency to [get new] [customers] and grow [loyalty]. ❋ LovesWords (2018)

Person 1: [How are you] [gonna] [pay] me?
Person 2: With Jett Currency;) ❋ IsuCkATspeLiNG (2021)

валюта, деньги, денежное обращение, употребительность

существительное ↓

Словосочетания

the currency of a slang term — распространённость жаргонного выражения  
wildcat currency issued by irresponsible banks — нелегальные денежные знаки, выпущенные безответственными банками  
counterfeit currency — поддельная валюта  
free currency — свободно конвертируемая валюта  
currency devaluation — девальвация денег  
gold currency — золотая валюта  
silver currency — серебряные деньги  
sound currency — твёрдая (устойчивая) валюта  
speculative currency trading — игра на колебаниях курса валют  
stabilization of currency, stabilization of exchange — стабилизация валюты  
weak currency — слабая валюта  
internationalization of a currency — интернационализация валюты  

Примеры с переводом

Возможные однокоренные слова

concurrency  — совпадение, согласованность, согласие, стечение обстоятельств
xenocurrency  — валюта, имеющая обращение на международном кредитном рынке

Формы слова

noun
ед. ч.(singular): currency
мн. ч.(plural): currencies

1	1   0 money or other resource that can be used to buy goods and services.

2	0   0 Currency Money.

3	0   0 Currency Numéraire

4	0   0 Currency 1[countable, uncountable] the system of money that a country uses trading in foreign currencies a single European currency You’ll need some cash in local currency but you can also use your credit [..]

5	0   0 Currency 1650s, «condition of flowing,» from Latin currens, present participle of currere «to run» (see current (adj.)); the sense of a flow or course extended 1699 (by John Locke) to » [..]

6	0   0 Currency Paper usually issued by the national government that are used as money. Metal coins are also frequently included under the generic heading of currency. Currency in the U.S. economy is issued by the Fe [..]

7	0   0 Currency the metal or paper medium of exchange that is presently used general acceptance or use; "the currency of ideas" currentness: the property of belonging to the present time; &a [..]

8	0   0 Currency 1. The money used by a country; e.g., the national currency of Japan is the yen. 2. The physical embodiment of money, in the forms of paper bills or notes, and metal coins.

9	0   0 Currency Currency refers to banknotes and coins that are in circulation as a medium of exchange.

10	0   0 Currency Definition Any form of money that is in public circulation. Currency includes both hard money (coins) and soft money (paper money). Typically currency refers to money that is legally designated as suc [..]

11	0   0 Currency The resource that is being maximized in an optimality model; usually assumed to be energy in an optimal foraging model. current

12	0   0 Currency The quality of being in progress, recent, or up-to-date. In information retrieval, the extent to which the content of a document or source reflects the existing state of knowledge about the subject. I [..]

13	0   0 Currency is the broad term used to define the form of money used in circulation in any given country. In the United States the currency is the US Dollar and in the UK it’s British Pounds and Sterling. Alm [..]

14	0   0 Currency The form of money that a person uses in order to pay. People from different countries typically have different currencies.

15	0   0 Currency Currency in which the underlying index returns are calculated. Euros: The returns are calculated, and there is no currency conversion; resulting statistics result purely from the returns of the equiti [..]

16	0   0 Currency The money in circulation in any country.

17	0   0 Currency Notes and coins that are the current medium of exchange in a country.

18	0   0 Currency A generally accepted form of money, which is issued by a government and circulated within an economy. Used as a medium of exchange for goods and services, currency is the basis for trade.

19	0   0 Currency A currency is a generally accepted form of money — coins and bills — used in a country or a group of countries issued by their governments, central banks, or monetary authorities.

20	0   0 Currency Government-issued coins and paper notes that may be used to exchange goods and services; essentially, the physical representation of money.

21	0   0 Currency Notes and coins that are the current medium of exchange in a country.

22	0   0 Currency Money, usually made from some type of paper-like material.

23	0   0 Currency is a medium of exchange for goods or services within an economy.

24	0   0 Currency The temptation is to use double to handle currency. The problem is the inherent imprecision. You will forever be out by a penny unless you are extremely careful. Using double may, even so, still be th [..]

25	0   0 Currency The state of being up-to-date. Some sources are frequently revised or kept current.

26	0   0 Currency A system of money accepted within a country, eg sterling, or an area, eg euros

27	0   0 Currency Australia has a decimal system of currency, based around dollars and cents. There are coins (5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1, $2) and notes ($5, $10, $20, $50, $100). Australian notes are made of polymer, so ca [..]

28	0   0 Currency (n) the metal or paper medium of exchange that is presently used(n) general acceptance or use(n) the property of belonging to the present time

29	0   0 Currency Route data is known as a currency. There is a currency for each advertising medium (eg. BARB for television). By creating a common measure of all formats equally, and giving a specific value to each, media space may be planned, traded, evaluated and reported based on the currency.

30	0   0 Currency n. divisa (extranjera)

31	0   0 Currency Banknotes and coins that are in circulation as a medium of exchange.

32	0   0 Currency A medium of exchange of value, defined by reference to the geographical location of the authorities responsible for it.

33	0   0 Currency Currency regulations are given for import and export of currency based on normal travelling and hotel expenses. For regulations concerning current payments and capital payments consult the national bank of the country concerned.

34	0   0 Currency Cash, cheques etc. which circulate in an economy as an accepted means of exchange e.g. Pound, Dollar, euro.

35	0   0 Currency Paper currency, a medium of exchange, stands out as an important landmark in the evolution of payment system for various transactions, from the pr [..]

36	0   0 Currency Money — anything used as a common medium of exchange. In practice, currency means cash, particularly paper money. Bankers often use the phrase «coin and currency» to refer to cents and doll [..]

37	0   0 Currency Paper money that consists mainly of Federal Reserve notes. Other types of currency that were once issued by the United States but are now obsolete include silver certificates, United States notes and national bank notes. (See History of Money.)

38	0   0 Currency Any currency or goodwill (checks, drafts, letters of exchange, payment orders and special drawing rights) that is internationally accepted as a payment means.

39	0   0 Currency The type of money that a country uses. It can be traded for other currencies on the foreign exchange market so each currency has a value relative to another, which is the basis for trade.

40	0   0 Currency Paper money and coin.

41	0   0 Currency Money (emphasizes the medium of exchange function of money).

42	0   0 Currency  a system of money in general use in a particular country.

43	0   0 Currency Official unit of monetary payment in a country.

44	0   0 Currency Currency refers to banknotes and coins that are in circulation as a medium of exchange. Source: Glossary of the FATF Recommendations

45	0   0 Currency The currency associated with the amount of a transaction.

46	0   0 Currency Money or other items used to facilitate transactions. »Wampum was used as a currency by Amerindians.» (more,_|specifically) Paper money. * »’1943»’,takes greatness of kingdoms according to [..]

47	0   0 Currency Money.

48	0   0 Currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money [..]

49	0   0 Currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money [..]

50	0   0 Currency A currency is a particular authorized monetary system, monetized in specific units (e.g., euros, dollars, pesos, etc.) which may be given international value by their exchange values in foreign exchan [..]

51	0   0 Currency Currency is a 2009 Malayalam crime film by directed by Swathi Bhaskar starring Mukesh, Jayasurya, Kalabhavan Mani and Meera Nandan. The film is inspired from the film The Man Who Copied.

52	0   0 Currency Currency lads and lasses (collectively known as currency or the currency) were the first generations of native-born white Australians. They were the children of the British settlers and convicts who a [..]

53	0   0 Currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money [..]

54	0   0 Currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money [..]

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Medieval Latin currentia, from Latin currēns, from currō.

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkʌɹ.ən.si/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkʌɹ.ən.si/, /ˈkɝ.ən.si/
• (accents with the «Hurry-furry» merger)

Noun[edit]

currency (countable and uncountable, plural currencies)

1. Money or other items used to facilitate transactions.

2. (more specifically) Paper money.
   • 1943, William Saroyan, The Human Comedy, chapter 3,

     Spangler went through his pockets, coming out with a handful of small coins, one piece of currency and a hard-boiled egg.

3. The state of being current; general acceptance or recognition.

4. (obsolete) Current value; general estimation; the rate at which anything is generally valued.

   • a. 1627 (date written)​, Francis [Bacon], “Considerations Touching a VVarre vvith Spaine. […]”, in William Rawley, editor, Certaine Miscellany VVorks of the Right Honourable Francis Lo. Verulam, Viscount S. Alban. […], London: […] I. Hauiland for Humphrey Robinson, […], published 1629, →OCLC:

     He […] takes greatness of kingdoms according to their bulk and currency, and not after intrinsic value.

   • 1819 July 31​, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “English Writers on America”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number II, New York, N.Y.: […] C. S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, page 112:

     The bare name of Englishman […] too often gave a transient currency to the worthless and ungrateful.

5. (obsolete) fluency; readiness of utterance

Derived terms[edit]

[edit]

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

• Category:Currency symbols