Currency is the unit of money used by the people of a country or a union of countries for buying and selling goods and services .
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(December 2023 )
Song dynasty Jiaozi, the world's earliest paper money
Certain currencies are said to be "pegged" or "fixed" to something, usually another currency. A fixed or pegged currency is one that has a constant value compared to what it is pegged to. For example, the Cape Verdian escudo is pegged to the Euro . If the value of the Euro goes up 1% compared to another form of currency, the value of the escudo also goes up 1% compared to that same currency.
Many countries have used systems where their currency was pegged to a commodity rather than to another currency. Most used either gold or silver . When they did this, as the value of gold increased, so did the value of their money. This was called the "gold standard" or "silver standard". Most countries stopped using silver and gold standards in the 20th century.
Some well-known currencies are:
This list appears in alphabetical order :
Afghani - Afghanistan
Baht - Thailand
Balboa - Panama (U.S. dollar used for paper money)
Birr - Ethiopia
Bolívar - Venezuela
Boliviano - Bolivia
Cedi - Ghana
Colón - Costa Rica
Cordoba - Nicaragua
Crown - Czech Republic (koruna ), Denmark (krone ), Estonia (kroon ), Iceland (króna ), Norway (krone ), Sweden (krona ). See also: British Crown (coin)
Dalasi - The Gambia
Dinar - Algeria , Bahrain , Iraq , Jordan , Kuwait , Serbia , Tunisia
Denar - North Macedonia
Dirham - Morocco , United Arab Emirates , Libya , Qatar , Jordan
Dollar - Many countries, including the United States , Canada , Australia , New Zealand , Hong Kong , and others
Dong - Vietnam
Drachma - (Greece —now uses euro )
Dram - Armenia
Escudo - Cape Verde , (Portugal —now uses euro )
Euro
European Union (as an organisation; the euro is not legal tender in every EU country.)
EU members: Austria , Belgium , Estonia , Finland , France (except Pacific territories using CFP Franc ), Germany , Greece , Ireland , Italy , Latvia , Lithuania , Luxembourg , Netherlands , Portugal , Slovakia , Spain .
Countries that have made legal agreements with the EU to use the euro: Andorra , Monaco , San Marino , Vatican City .
Countries that unilaterally use the euro: Montenegro and Kosovo .
Currencies pegged to the euro: Cape Verdian escudo , CFA franc , CFP Franc , Comoran francs , Bulgarian lev , Danish krone , the convertible marka of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Forint - Hungary
Franc
Swiss franc - Switzerland , Liechtenstein .
CFA franc - Benin , Burkina Faso , Burundi , Cameroon , Central African Republic , Chad , Côte d'Ivoire , Democratic Republic of the Congo , Equatorial Guinea , Gabon , Guinea , Guinea-Bissau , Republic of the Congo ,
CFP Franc - France's Pacific territories of New Caledonia , French Polynesia , Wallis and Futuna .
Comoran francs - Comoros (pegged to the French franc, then the euro).
Djiboutian franc - Djibouti (pegged to the US dollar since 1973).
Formerly using Begian-luxembourgish franc - Belgium , Luxembourg .
Formerly using French franc: Andorra , Monaco , France (including: French Guiana , Guadeloupe , Martinique and La Réunion , Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Mayotte ).
Gourde - Haiti
Guilder - Aruba , Netherlands Antilles (Netherlands —now uses euro )
Iranian real - Iran
Kina - Papua New Guinea
Koruna - Czech Republic (Slovakia now uses euro )
Kroon - Estonia
Krona - Iceland , Sweden
Krone - Denmark , Faroe Islands , Greenland , Norway
Kuna - Croatia
Kwacha - Zambia and Malawi
Kwanza - Angola
Kyat - Burma
Lari - Georgia
Lats - Latvia
Lek - Albania
Lempira - Honduras
Leone - Sierra Leone
Leu - Romania , Moldova
Lev - Bulgaria
Lira - (Cyprus , Italy , San Marino , Vatican City —now use euro )
Litas - Lithuania
Manat
Mark - (Germany —now uses euro )
Marka - Bosnia and Herzegovina
Markka - (Finland now uses euro )
Nakfa - Eritrea
Namibian dollars - Namibia
Ngultrum - Bhutan
Pataca - Macau
Peseta - (Andorra , Spain —now use euro )
Peso - Argentina , Chile , Colombia , Cuba , Dominican Republic (Dominican peso , Mexico , Philippines , Uruguay
Pound - Cyprus , Egypt , Falkland Islands , Gibraltar , Guernsey , Jersey , United Kingdom (Ireland —now uses euro )
Pula - Botswana
Quetzal - Guatemala
Rand - South Africa
Real - Brazil
Renminbi - People's Republic of China
Riel - Cambodia
Ringgit - Malaysia
Riyal - Saudi Arabia
Rouble - Belarus , Russia
Rufiyah - Maldives
Rupee - Republic of India , Mauritius , Nepal , Pakistan , Seychelles , Sri Lanka
Rupiah - Indonesia
Schilling - (Austria —now uses euro )
Shekel - Israel , Gaza Strip , West Bank
Shilling - Kenya
Sol - Peru
Som - Kyrgyzstan
Sucre - Ecuador
Taka - Bangladesh
Tenge - Kazakhstan
Tolar - Slovenia
Toman - Iran
Vietnam ~ Dong (DVN)
Won - North Korea , South Korea
Yen - Japan
Yuan - People's Republic of China
Zloty - Poland