Portal:Money

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

The Money Portal

Euro coins and banknotes

Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value and sometimes, a standard of deferred payment.

Money was historically an emergent market phenomenon that possessed intrinsic value as a commodity; nearly all contemporary money systems are based on unbacked fiat money without use value. Its value is consequently derived by social convention, having been declared by a government or regulatory entity to be legal tender; that is, it must be accepted as a form of payment within the boundaries of the country, for "all debts, public and private", in the case of the United States dollar.

The money supply of a country comprises all currency in circulation (banknotes and coins currently issued) and, depending on the particular definition used, one or more types of bank money (the balances held in checking accounts, savings accounts, and other types of bank accounts). Bank money, whose value exists on the books of financial institutions and can be converted into physical notes or used for cashless payment, forms by far the largest part of broad money in developed countries. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

The Coinage Act of 1965, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 89–81, 79 Stat. 254, enacted July 23, 1965, eliminated silver from the circulating United States dime (ten-cent piece) and quarter dollar coins. It also reduced the silver content of the half dollar from 90 percent to 40 percent; silver in the half dollar was subsequently eliminated by a 1970 law.

There had been coin shortages beginning in 1959, and the United States Bureau of the Mint expanded production to try to meet demand. The early 1960s was a time of increased use of silver both in the coinage and in industry, putting pressure on the price of silver, which was capped at just over $1.29 per ounce by government sales at that price. The silver in a dollar's worth of quarters would be worth more as bullion than as money if the price of the metal rose past $1.38 per ounce, and there was widespread hoarding of silver coins. Demand for the Kennedy half dollar as a collectable drove it from circulation after its debut in 1964. The Bureau of the Mint increased production, helping reduce the coin shortages by May 1965, but government stocks of silver were being rapidly reduced, and threatened to run out by 1968. After extensive study by the Treasury Department, President Lyndon B. Johnson in June 1965 recommended that Congress pass legislation to allow for silverless dimes and quarters, and debased silver half dollars. Although there was some opposition, mainly from legislators representing Western mining states, the bill progressed rapidly through Congress, and was enacted with Johnson's signature on July 23, 1965. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected currency - show another

The South Korean won (Symbol: ₩; Code: KRW; Korean: 대한민국 원) is the official currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and it appears only in foreign exchange rates. The currency is issued by the Bank of Korea, based in the capital city of Seoul. (Full article...)

List of selected currencies

Did you know - load new batch

... that Colin Stubs spent the prize money from his first international tennis title on an old Volkswagen to travel around Europe?
... that Johnny Peirson signed with the Boston Bruins to earn some extra money for his education at McGill University?
... that Money Shot: The Pornhub Story was described by multiple reviewers as unsalacious?
... that Russian money, known as qiang tie by locals, was used as legal currency in some regions of China for decades?
... that the song "Money" by the Drums was certified gold by the RIAA over a decade after its initial release?
... that Bull Island was farmed by the Money family for over 100 years before being turned into a wildlife preserve?
... that a special legislative session to deal with the Real Estate Bank of Arkansas was not called because a third of the legislature owed money to the bank?
... that Russian indie artist polnalyubvi bought her first guitar with money earned from busking with her violin?

Related portals

Get involved

For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's Money-related articles, see WikiProject Numismatics.

Need help?

Do you have a question about Money-related content on Wikipedia that you can't find the answer to?

Consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk.

General images - show another

The following are images from various currency-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A hoard of mostly Mauryan punch-marked coins (from Punch-marked coins)
Image 2Punch-marked coins discovered from Chandraketugarh. (from Punch-marked coins)
Image 3Tibetan undated silver tangka (2nd half of 18th century) with eight times the syllable "dza" in vartula script,obverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 4A 1914 British gold sovereign (from Money)
Image 5Gold coins are an example of legal tender that are traded for their intrinsic value, rather than their face value. (from Money)
Image 6US dollar banknotes (from Money)
Image 7Tenga of Muhammad Khudayar Khan, struck at the Kokand mint, dated 1862–1863 (from Kokand tenga)
Image 8A 640 BC one-third stater electrum coin from Lydia (from Money)
Image 9Paper money from different countries (from Money)
Image 10A person counts a bundle of different Swedish banknotes. (from Money)
Image 11Song Dynasty Jiaozi, the world's earliest paper money (from Money)
Image 12Tibetan undated silver tangka (2nd half of 18th century) with eight times the syllable "dza" in vartula script,reverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 13Sino Tibetan silver tangka, dated 58th year of Qian Long era, reverse. Weight 5.57 g. Diameter: 30 mm (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 14Printing paper money at a printing press in Perm (from Money)
Image 15Tibetan undated silver tangka, struck in 1953/54, reverse. (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 16A check, used as a means of converting funds in a demand deposit to cash (from Money)
Image 17Undated Kelzang tangka (1910), reverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 18Athens coin (c. 500/490-485 BC) discovered in Pushkalavati. This coin is the earliest known example of its type to be found so far east. (from Punch-marked coins)
Image 19Tibetan silver tangka with Ranjana (Lantsa) script, dated 15-28 (= AD 1894), reverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 20Huizi currency, issued in 1160 (from Money)
Image 21Money Base, M1 and M2 in the U.S. from 1981 to 2012 (from Money)
Image 22Tibetan kong par tangka, dated 13-45 (= AD 1791),reverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 23Undated Kelzang tangka (1910), obverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 24Tibetan silver tangka with Ranjana (Lantsa) script, dated 15-28 (= AD 1894), obverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 25Tibetan "gaden" Tangka, undated (ca. AD 1840), obverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 26Tibetan undated silver tangka, struck in 1953/54, obverse. (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 27President J. K. Paasikivi illustrated in a former Finnish 10 mark banknote from 1980 (from Money)
Image 28Tibetan "gaden" Tangka, undated (ca. AD 1840), reverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 29Banknotes of different currencies with a face value of 5000 (from Money)
Image 30Sino Tibetan silver tangka, dated 58th year of Qian Long era, obverse. Weight 5.57 g. Diameter: 30 mm (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 31Banknotes and coins (from Money)
Image 32Tibetan kong par tangka, dated 13-45 (= AD 1791),obverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 33"Bent bar" minted under Achaemenid administration, Gandhara, c.350 BC. (from Punch-marked coins)