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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...)

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Ancient Chinese coinage includes some of the earliest known coins. These coins, used as early as the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE), took the form of imitations of the cowrie shells that were used in ceremonial exchanges. The same period also saw the introduction of the first metal coins; however, they were not initially round, instead being either knife shaped or spade shaped. Round metal coins with a round, and then later square hole in the center were first introduced around 350 BCE. The beginning of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE), the first dynasty to unify China, saw the introduction of a standardised coinage for the whole Empire. Subsequent dynasties produced variations on these round coins throughout the imperial period. At first the distribution of the coinage was limited to use around the capital city district, but by the beginning of the Han dynasty, coins were widely used for such things as paying taxes, salaries and fines.

Ancient Chinese coins are markedly different from their European counterparts. Chinese coins were manufactured by being cast in molds, whereas European coins were typically cut and hammered or, in later times, milled. Chinese coins were usually made from mixtures of metals such copper, tin and lead, from bronze, brass or iron: precious metals like gold and silver were uncommonly used. The ratios and purity of the coin metals varied considerably. Most Chinese coins were produced with a square hole in the middle. This was used to allow collections of coins to be threaded on a square rod so that the rough edges could be filed smooth, and then threaded on strings for ease of handling. (Full article...)

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The Transnistrian ruble (alternatively rubla or rouble; Romanian: rublă transnistreană, Moldovan Cyrillic: рублэ транснистрянэ; Russian: приднестровский рубль; Ukrainian: придністровський рубль) is the currency of the internationally unrecognized state of Transnistria. It is divided into 100 kopecks.

Since Transnistria is a polity with no credible international recognition and its territory is formally part of Moldova, its currency has no ISO 4217 code, and thus Transnistria cannot participate in any global card payment processing network. Cards are accepted, but only on the Russian developed MIR network. However, unofficially some Transnistrian organisations, such as Agroprombank and Gazprombank, used the code PRB, a code reserved for Puerto Rico (ISO 3166-1 country code "PR"). The Transnistrian Republican Bank sometimes uses the code RUP, a code reserved for Russia (ISO 3166-1 country code "RU"). (Full article...)

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... that Neha Pendse, the lead actress of the Marathi film June, contributed some of her own money towards its production?
... that a Virginia radio station built a house to raise money for operations?
... that Colin Stubs spent the prize money from his first international tennis title on an old Volkswagen to travel around Europe?
... that Bull Island was farmed by the Money family for over 100 years before being turned into a wildlife preserve?
... that Money Shot: The Pornhub Story was described by multiple reviewers as unsalacious?
... that the song "Money" by the Drums was certified gold by the RIAA over a decade after its initial release?
... that Starbucks raised money for HIV/AIDS research using their red holiday cups?
... that Frankie Saluto was a member of the Ringling Giants, a dwarf baseball team that raised money for charity?

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

Image 1Tibetan undated silver tangka, struck in 1953/54, reverse. (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 2Tibetan undated silver tangka (2nd half of 18th century) with eight times the syllable "dza" in vartula script,reverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 3A 1914 British gold sovereign (from Money)
Image 4Printing paper money at a printing press in Perm (from Money)
Image 5Ancient Jewish coin, engraved menorah, from the Hasmoneon kingdom 37-40 BCE (from Money)
Image 6Tenga of Muhammad Khudayar Khan, struck at the Kokand mint, dated 1862–1863 (from Kokand tenga)
Image 7Punch-marked coins discovered from Chandraketugarh. (from Punch-marked coins)
Image 8A person counts a bundle of different Swedish banknotes. (from Money)
Image 9Athens 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 10A hoard of mostly Mauryan punch-marked coins (from Punch-marked coins)
Image 11Tibetan "gaden" Tangka, undated (ca. AD 1840), obverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 12Tibetan kong par tangka, dated 13-45 (= AD 1791),reverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 13Huizi currency, issued in 1160 (from Money)
Image 14Tibetan undated silver tangka, struck in 1953/54, obverse. (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 15"Bent bar" minted under Achaemenid administration, Gandhara, c.350 BC. (from Punch-marked coins)
Image 16Undated Kelzang tangka (1910), reverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 17Banknotes of different currencies with a face value of 5000 (from Money)
Image 18Tibetan undated silver tangka (2nd half of 18th century) with eight times the syllable "dza" in vartula script,obverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 19President J. K. Paasikivi illustrated in a former Finnish 10 mark banknote from 1980 (from Money)
Image 20A 640 BC one-third stater electrum coin from Lydia. According to Herodotus, the Lydians were the first people to introduce the use of gold and silver coins. It is thought by modern scholars that these first stamped coins were minted around 650 to 600 BC. (from Money)
Image 21Song Dynasty Jiaozi, the world's earliest paper money (from Money)
Image 22Tibetan kong par tangka, dated 13-45 (= AD 1791),obverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 23Tibetan silver tangka with Ranjana (Lantsa) script, dated 15-28 (= AD 1894), reverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 24Undated Kelzang tangka (1910), obverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 25Gold coins are an example of legal tender that are traded for their intrinsic value, rather than their face value. (from Money)
Image 26US dollar banknotes (from Money)
Image 27Paper money from different countries (from Money)
Image 28Tibetan "gaden" Tangka, undated (ca. AD 1840), reverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 29Sino Tibetan silver tangka, dated 58th year of Qian Long era, obverse. Weight 5.57 g. Diameter: 30 mm (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 30Sino Tibetan silver tangka, dated 58th year of Qian Long era, reverse. Weight 5.57 g. Diameter: 30 mm (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 31Tibetan silver tangka with Ranjana (Lantsa) script, dated 15-28 (= AD 1894), obverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 32Banknotes and coins (from Money)
Image 33Money Base, M1 and M2 in the U.S. from 1981 to 2012 (from Money)
Image 34A check, used as a means of converting funds in a demand deposit to cash (from Money)