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.
Formal – adoption of foreign currency by virtue of bilateral or multilateral agreement with the monetary authority, sometimes supplemented by issue of local currency in currency peg regime.
The New Currency Act of 1871 introduced Japan's modern currency system, with the yen defined as 1.5 g (0.048 troy ounces) of gold, or 24.26 g (0.780 troy ounces) of silver, and divided decimally into 100 sen or 1,000 rin. The yen replaced the previous Tokugawa coinage as well as the various hansatsu paper currencies issued by feudal han (fiefs). The Bank of Japan was founded in 1882 and given a monopoly on controlling the money supply. (Full article...)
... that Russian money, known as qiang tie by locals, was used as legal currency in some regions of China for decades?
... that two hagiographic documents about St. Hunegund of France publicized Hunegund's miracles to create a sense of identity in Homblières and to raise money for the monastery?
... that even though a village said that it did not want a church, Indonesian politician Thoriqul Haq allocated land and money to build one along with a musalla?
Image 8Athens 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 9Tibetan silver tangka with Ranjana (Lantsa) script, dated 15-28 (= AD 1894), reverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 10Song Dynasty Jiaozi, the world's earliest paper money (from Money)
Image 11Sino Tibetan silver tangka, dated 58th year of Qian Long era, obverse. Weight 5.57 g. Diameter: 30 mm (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 12Printing paper money at a printing press in Perm (from Money)
Image 19A 640 BC one-third staterelectrum 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)