Money Around The World
There are almost 200 countries in the world today, and nearly all of them have their own money. In ancient times, possessions were used to pay for things rather than money. Cattle, camels, sheep, and other livestock were the first form of currency. During the Stone Age, before people had begun to use metals, they paid for what they needed with some form of trade, such as livestock or a service. The first coins were made around 600 BC. Today, there are a reported 182 different forms of money on earth.
Brazil
South America has a total of 12 countries, and Brazil is the largest one. Brazil's currency is called the Brazilian real, and it comes in both coins and paper bills. Brazilian coins are centavos, and there are five different denominations that Brazilians use: 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 centavos. Brazilian paper bills, or reais, come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 reais.
Brazil Help Explains Brazilian Currency
The History of Money in Brazil
National Geographic's Brazil Facts
China
China is the world's fourth largest country, and it has three different currency types. Mainland China uses the Renminbi; Hong Kong uses the Hong Kong dollar; Macau uses the Macanese pataca. Renminbi is divided into three separate units: yuan, jiao, and fen. Ten fen equals 1 jiao, and 10 jiao equals 1 yuan. In Hong Kong, 100 cents equals 1 dollar. The Macanese pataca is also divvied by the hundreds, but they are called avos not cents.
Kidipede's Ancient Chinese Economy
Currency Information's History of the Chinese Yuan
Money Museum's Chinese Currency History - From Cowrie to Cash
Italy
Italy is a member of the European Union, a collection of 27 different countries. For nearly 200 years, the lira was the official currency of Italy. In 1999, 17 European Union countries formed the Eurozone and created one form of currency, the euro. Italy joined Eurozone and replaced the lira with the euro.
BBC's Overview of the Italian Lira
Princeton High School's European Union History
Kids World Travel Guide's Italy Facts for Kids
Japan
The Japanese call their currency yen, which translates to “round object” -- a perfect name for coins. Japan adopted the yen as its official currency in 1871. Coins were only used at that time. In 1872, the Japanese began to print yen on paper bills. The bills are currently minted in 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 denominations.
The Currency Museum of Japan's History of Japanese Currency
Kids' Web Japan's Explore Japan
Go Currency's What is the Japanese Yen?
Mexico
Peso means weight in Spanish, and the peso is the official currency of Mexico. Bills come in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 pesos. Coins currently in circulation are 50 cents -- or centavos -- 1, 2, 5, and 10 pesos. The peso used to be divvied into multiples of 1,000 units. In 1993, Mexico's President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, minted the new peso and changed the increments from 1,000 to 1.
Focus on Mexico's Mexican Currency Information and Photos
Bank De Mexico's History of Mexican Coins
Kidz Connect's Focus on Mexico
India
India’s form of currency is called the rupee. Rupee is a play on the Sanskrit word rupya. Rupya means silver coin. The rupee was first used as money between 1540 and 1545, when India was known as the Sur Empire and Sher Shah Suri was ruling. The original rupees were made of silver, gold, and copper. Today, the rupee is minted in both coin and paper form. Coins come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, and 10. Paper rupees are 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000.
CRN India Discusses the Indian Rupee
ADVFN's Page on the Indian Rupee
India Rupee Facts From India Quick Facts
Reserve Bank of India's Museum Page on Paper Money
Russia
The Russian ruble has been Russia's currency since medieval times. The spelling of ruble, which means to chop, is different throughout the world. The Russians spell it ruble; the English language offers two correct spellings: ruble or rouble. No matter how you spell it, Russia introduced the world to the first decimal system in the 16th century when it decided that 100 kopeks equaled 1 ruble; the decimal point was born.
Russian Money's History of Russian Banknotes
Rouble's History of the Rouble
Bank of Russia's Pictures of Banknotes and Coins
South Africa
South Africa named its currency after the location where most of the country's gold was mined. Witwatersrand is the ridge that Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city, is built upon. South Africa shortened Witwatersrand to rand when it named its national currency. Much like most of the world's currency, the South African Rand is minted in increments of 100, or 100 cents to every 1 rand.
South Africa Currency Picture Page
Encyclopedia Britannica for Kids' South African 5 Rand Coin
South African Reserve Bank's South African Currency
Yahoo! Kids World Factbook on South African Economy
Currency Converters
A currency converter is a handy tool used to determine how much of a foreign currency equals the same amount of your country's currency. People use currency converters when they are planning on traveling abroad, or if they are thinking about investing in foreign currency on what is called the Forex exchange market.
CNN Money's World Currencies and Converter
Investopedia - Why Do Forex Traders Use a Currency Converter?
Other Resources
The study of money is called numismatics. People who study money and/or are coin collectors are called numismatists. Most countries either make their money in official mints or in centralized banks. Money that is too worn and torn is pulled out of circulation by banks and disposed of.
PBS Nova's The History of Money
History World's History of Money
The Federal Reserve's Kid Page
The University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business' Currencies of the World
