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 (in English) or checks (in American English), 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’.[1] 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. In most cases, each private central bank has monopoly control over the supply and production of its own currency. To facilitate trade between these currency zones, there are exchange rates, which are the prices at which currencies (and the goods and services of individual currency zones) can be exchanged against each other. Currencies can be classified as either floating currencies or fixed currencies based on their exchange rate regime. In cases where a country does have control of its own currency, that control is exercised either by a central bank or by a Ministry of Finance. In either case, 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. In the United States, the Federal Reserve System operates without direct oversight by the legislative or executive branches. It is important to note that a monetary authority is created and supported by its sponsoring government, so independence can be reduced or revoked by the legislative or executive authority that creates it. However, in practical terms, the revocation of authority is not likely. In almost all Western countries, the monetary authority is largely independent from the government. Currencies around the world. Several countries can use the same name for their own distinct currencies (e.g., dollar in Canada and the United States). By contrast, several countries can also use the same currency (e.g., the euro), or one country can declare the currency of another country to be legal tender. For example, Panama and El Salvador have declared U.S. currency to be legal tender, and from 1791–1857, Spanish silver coins were legal tender in the United States. At various times countries have either re-stamped foreign coins, or used currency board 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 U.S. dollar, for example, or the euro) and a fractional currency, often valued at 1/100 of the main currency: 100 cents = 1 dollar, 100 centimes = 1 franc, 100 pence = 1 pound, although units of 1/10 or 1/1000 are also common. Some currencies do not have any smaller units at all, such as the Icelandic króna. Mauritania and Madagascar are the only remaining countries that do not use the decimal system; instead, the Mauritanian ouguiya is divided into 5 khoums, while the Malagasy ariary is divided into 5 iraimbilanja. In these countries, words like dollar or pound "were simply names for given weights of gold."[2] Due to inflation khoums and iraimbilanja have in practice fallen into disuse. (See non-decimal currencies for other historic currencies with non-decimal divisions.) A Abasi - Afghanistan Abazi - Georgia Ackey - Gold Coast Adópengo - Hungary Afghani - Afghanistan Aksa - Tuva Angolar - Angola Argentino - Argentina Ariary - Madagascar Austral - Argentina Auksinas - Lithuania B Baht - Thailand Balboa - Panama (U.S. dollar used for paper money) Birr - Ethiopia Bolívar - Venezuela Boliviano - Bolivia Budju - Algeria C Yuan - China Cedi - Ghana Chervonets - Russia Colón o Costa Rican colón - Costa Rica o Salvadoran colón - El Salvador Continental currency - United States of America Conventionsthaler - Holy Roman Empire Córdoba - Nicaragua Cruzado - Brazil Cruzeiro o Cruzeiro - Brazil o Cruzeiro Real - Brazil Cupon - Moldova Customs gold unit - Republic of China D Dalasi - The Gambia Daler - Danish West Indies Denar - Macedonia Denier - France Dinar o Algerian dinar - Algeria o Bahraini dinar - Bahrain o Bosnia and Herzegovina dinar - Bosnia and Herzegovina o Croatian dinar - Croatia o Iraqi dinar - Iraq o Jordanian dinar - Jordan, Palestinian territories o Kelantanese dinar - Kelantan o Krajina dinar - Krajina o Kuwaiti dinar - Kuwait o Libyan dinar - Libya o Republika Srpska dinar - Republika Srpska o Serbian dinar - Serbia o South Yemeni dinar - South Yemen o Sudanese dinar - Sudan o Swiss dinar - Iraq o Tunisian dinar - Tunisia o Yugoslav dinar - Yugoslavia Diner - Andorra (commemorative only) Dinero - Spain Dinheiro - Portugal Dirham o Moroccan dirham - Morocco o United Arab Emirates dirham - United Arab Emirates Dobra - São Tomé and Príncipe Dollar o Antigua dollar - Antigua o Australian dollar - Australia, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island, Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu o Bahamian dollar - Bahamas o Barbadian dollar - Barbados o Belize dollar - Belize o Bermudian dollar - Bermuda o British Columbia dollar - British Columbia o British North Borneo dollar - British North Borneo o British West Indies dollar - British West Indies o Brunei dollar - Brunei o Canadian dollar - Canada o Cayman Islands dollar - Cayman Islands o Continental dollar - Colonial America o Cook Islands dollar - Cook Islands o Dominican dollar - Dominica o East Caribbean dollar - Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines o Fijian dollar - Fiji o Grenadan dollar - Grenada o Guyanese dollar - Guyana o Hawaiian dollar - Hawaii o Hong Kong dollar - Hong Kong o International dollar - hypothetical currency pegged 1:1 to the United States dollar o Jamaican dollar - Jamaica o Kiautschou dollar - Qingdao o Kiribatian dollar - Kiribati o Liberian dollar - Liberia o Malaya and British Borneo dollar - Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, British North Borneo and Brunei o Malayan dollar - Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore o Mauritian dollar - Mauritius o Mongolian dollar - Mongolia o Namibian dollar - Namibia o Nevisian dollar - Nevis o New Brunswick dollar - New Brunswick o New Zealand dollar - New Zealand, Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, Pitcairn Islands. o Newfoundland dollar - Newfoundland o Nova Scotian dollar - Nova Scotia o Prince Edward Island dollar - Prince Edward Island o Penang dollar - Penang o Puerto Rican dollar - Puerto Rico o Rhodesian dollar - Rhodesia o Saint Kitts dollar - Saint Kitts o Saint Lucia dollar - Saint Lucia o Saint Vincent dollar - Saint Vincent o Sarawak dollar - Sarawak o Sierra Leonean dollar - Sierra Leone o Singapore dollar - Singapore o Solomon Islands dollar - Solomon Islands o Straits dollar - Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore o Sumatran dollar - Sumatra o Surinamese dollar - Suriname o Old Taiwan dollar - Taiwan o New Taiwan dollar - Taiwan o Texan dollar - Republic of Texas o Tobagan dollar - Tobago o Trinidadian dollar - Trinidad o Trinidad and Tobago dollar - Trinidad and Tobago o Tuvaluan dollar - Tuvalu (not an independent currency, equivalent to Australian dollar) o United States dollar - United States of America; also used officially in several other countries: British Indian Ocean Territory (accepted), East Timor (has own centavo coins), Ecuador (has own centavo coins), El Salvador, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and Panama (has own balboa currency) o Zimbabwean dollar - Zimbabwe Ð?ng o North Vietnamese d?ng - North Vietnam o South Vietnamese d?ng - South Vietnam o Vietnamese d?ng - Vietnam Drachma (??a?µ?) - Greece Dram - Armenia Exchange rate Foreign exchange Foreign exchange reserves History of money Mutilated currency Optimum currency area World currency Accounting units Currency pair Currency sign European Currency Unit Fictional currency Franc Poincaré Krugerrand Local currencies Petrocurrency Special Drawing Rights Lists List of circulating currencies List of currencies List of fictional currencies List of historical currencies List of historical exchange rates List of international trade topics List of motifs on banknotes