It may be true that money makes the world go around, but there is more to it than that. Different places in the world use different types of money. U.S. currency, the dollar, is useless in Europe or Asia unless you find a place to exchange it for their type of money. Why is this? Each of the types of money has a different value. One dollar in the United States might be worth only sixty-three pounds in the United Kingdom. While the information below won’t teach you the value of a dollar, you will learn a lot about the different types of money and where they are used in the world.
The U.S. Dollar
Represented by the symbol $, the U.S. Dollar was instituted by the Coinage Act of 1792. It was originally based on the Mexican peso and was equal in value. Dollars existed in coin form, and the next value higher was a quarter-eagle, which was equivalent to two-and-a-half dollars. A half eagle coin was five dollars and an eagle was ten. U.S. money stayed as coins exclusively until 1862 when the government began issuing paper money to finance the Civil War. The bills were supposed to be temporary representations of money, while “real” money was being used elsewhere. By the 1880s, the U.S. began printing these representations as money. While other values exist, the major items of U.S. currency today are as follows.
Name of Coin/Bill | Value (if not obvious) | Person Depicted |
Penny | One cent or 1/100 of a dollar | Abraham Lincoln |
Nickel | Five cents or 1/20 of a dollar | Thomas Jefferson |
Dime | Ten cents or 1/10 of a dollar | Franklin Delano Roosevelt |
Quarter | Twenty-five cents or ¼ dollar | George Washington |
One Dollar Bill | George Washington | |
Five Dollar Bill | Abraham Lincoln | |
Ten Dollar Bill | Alexander Hamilton | |
Twenty Dollar Bill | Andrew Jackson | |
Fifty Dollar Bill | Ulysses S. Grant | |
One-hundred Dollar Bill | Benjamin Franklin |
- Coins and Currency: The official website for the U.S. Department of Treasury.
- A Brief History of the U.S. Dollar: Some very interesting and informative videos.
- Coins and Medals: Learn about the coins of America’s past and present on this page.
Japanese Yen
The Japanese were making money since around 221 BC. Their coins, the half tael and later the Wu Zhu which was brought to Japan by the Chinese, were made of bronze and had a square shape cut out of the center. However it wasn’t until around 621 AD that the Japanese government officially minted money. Their Wado Kaichin was modeled after earlier designs. In the Fifteenth Century, Japan instated a money system featuring shu, bu and ryo among others. The values would change much over the next four hundred years with the rise and fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate, but the terminology would stay the same. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan enacted the New Currency Act and adopted a decimal accounting system with yen (symbolized ¥) sen and rin. Eventually sen and rin were phased out and they were left with the yen coins and currency used today.
Name of Coin/Bill | Object/Place/Person Depicted |
1¥ Coin | Young tree |
5¥ Coin | Tree sprout |
10¥ Coin | Byodo-in |
50¥ Coin | Flowers |
100¥ Coin | Flowers |
500¥ Coin | Paulownia plant |
1000¥ Bill | Hideyo Noguchi |
2000¥ Bill | Shureimon |
5000¥ Bill | Ichiyo Higuchi |
10,000¥ Bill | Yukichi Fukuzawa |
- Japanese Currency: Learn what Yen coins and banknotes look like.
- History of Japanese Currencies: Click on the numbers on the left side of the page for very informative facts about Japanese money throughout the ages.
The British Pound
Most of the rest of Europe uses a currency known as the Euro, but Britain has resisted the transition because their money system has a rich background. In fact, it is the oldest in the world. The pound sterling is used by the United Kingdom and eight of its territories including the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Jersey and the Falkland Islands. Symbolized by £, there are both coins (sterlings) and bills. All of the money depicts Queen Elizabeth II.
Name of Coin/Bill | Value (if not obvious) |
Penny | 1/100 of a pound |
Two-pence sterling | 1/50 of a pound |
Five-pence sterling | 1/20 of a pound |
Ten-pence sterling | 1/10 of a pound |
Twenty-pence sterling | 1/5 of a pound |
Fifty-pence sterling | ½ of a pound |
One pound sterling | |
Two pounds sterling | |
Five pounds bill | |
Ten pounds bill | |
Twenty pounds bill | |
Fifty pounds bill |
- British Denominations: The British still refer to certain values as pennies, sterling and pounds, but whatever happened to marks, crowns, shillings, guineas and farthings?
- Comparative Chronology of Money: Though it is the oldest money system, the British Pound sure has changed.
- What is the British Monetary System: Some basic information about what coins and banknotes are in circulation.
The Euro
The Euro is the official currency of the countries in the European Union. Seventeen of the twenty-seven union member states have adopted it. These nations include Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Slovenia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Cyprus, Estonia, Malta, and Spain. Many African peoples also use the Euro, though unofficially. Despite the massive utilization of the Euro, it actually has only been in circulation since 1999. € is the official symbol for the Euro and there are a multitude of coins and bills in circulation today.
Name of Coin/Bill | Value (if not obvious) | Object Depicted |
One cent coin | 1/100 of a Euro | Various |
Two cent coin | 1/50 of a Euro | Various |
Five cent coin | 1/20 of a Euro | Various |
Ten cent coin | 1/10 of a Euro | Various |
Twenty cent coin | 1/5 of a Euro | Various |
Fifty cent coin | ½ of a Euro | Various |
One Euro coin | Various | |
Two Euro coin | Various | |
Five Euro bill | Arch in Classical architecture | |
Ten Euro bill | Arch in Romanesque architecture | |
Twenty Euro bill | Window in Gothic architecture | |
Fifty Euro bill | Window in Renaissance architecture | |
One hundred Euro bill | Window in Baroque and Rococo style | |
Two hundred Euro bill | Window in Art Nouveau style | |
Five hundred Euro bill | Window in Modern architecture |
- The Tragic History of the Euro: Some images that express the issue with uniform currency.
- Travel Money and Foreign Currency: Info about Euro exchange rates.
The Russian Ruble
Rubles were part of the world’s first decimal money system. Originally designed in 1704, rubles are now used by Russia, Belarus, and some of the partially recognized states in Eastern Europe. The symbol for the ruble is ??? but the Central Bank of Russia is currently looking for an alternative. Though their appearance has changed much over the course of the last three-hundred years, today’s coins and bills are as follows.
Name of Coin/Bill | Value (if not obvious) | Person/Object Depicted |
1 kopeck coin | 1/100 of a ruble | Saint George |
2 kopecks coin | 1/50 of a ruble | Saint George |
10 kopecks coin | 1/10 of a ruble | Saint George |
50 kopecks coin | ½ of a ruble | Saint George |
1 ruble coin | Two-headed eagle | |
2 ruble coin | Two-headed eagle | |
5 ruble coin | Two-headed eagle | |
50 rubles bill | A Rostral Column printed over Petropavlovsk Fortress | |
100 rubles bill | Quadriga | |
500 rubles bill | A monument to Peter the Great and the Sedov sailing ship | |
1000 rubles bill | Monument to Yaroslav I the Wise and the statue of the Lady of Kazan Chapel | |
5000 rubles bill | Monument to Nikolay Muravyov-Amursky |
- 5 Ruble Bank of Russia Note – View a picture of the bank note that features the “Millennium of Russia” monument.
- What Type of Money do Russians Use – Read about the different denominations of Russian currency.
Chinese Yuan
Up until the Ninth or Eighth Century BC, China used shells as its primary form of currency. Metal coinage was first standardized during the Qin Dynasty and it featured round coins with square holes. This appearance would later influence Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Paper money came into circulation around 1023, but in 1436 was replaced with silver. Today, the People’s Republic of China uses a currency known as Renminbi. The main unit of this system is the Yuan, which uses the same symbol as Japanese Yen (¥) but it should never be confused.
Name of Coin/Bill | Value (if not obvious) | Person/Object Depicted |
One Jiao | 1/10 Yuan | Orchid |
Five Jiao | ½ Yuan | Orchid |
One Yuan coin | Orchid | |
One Yuan bill | Mao Zedong | |
Two Yuan | Mao Zedong | |
Five Yuan | Mao Zedong | |
Ten Yuan | Mao Zedong | |
Twenty Yuan | Mao Zedong | |
Fifty Yuan | Mao Zedong | |
One hundred Yuan | Mao Zedong |
- National Museum of China: The history of money in China.