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 United Kingdom's pound sterling was the primary reserve currency of much of the world in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. However, by the middle of the 20th century, the United States dollar had become the world's dominant reserve currency.[better source needed] (Full article...)
The Canadian dollar (symbol: $; code: CAD; French: dollar canadien) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $. There is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviations Can$, CA$ and C$ are frequently used for distinction from other dollar-denominated currencies (though C$ remains ambiguous with the Nicaraguan córdoba). It is divided into 100 cents (¢).
Owing to the image of a common loon on its reverse, the dollar coin, and sometimes the unit of currency itself, may be referred to as the loonie by English-speaking Canadians and foreign exchange traders and analysts. (Full article...)
... that Frankie Saluto was a member of the Ringling Giants, a dwarf baseball team that raised money for charity?
... that Zack Kelly received a $500 signing bonus, lost money in his first professional seasons, and was released by two organizations before he made his Major League Baseball debut?
Image 5Tibetan kong par tangka, dated 13-45 (= AD 1791),obverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 6Athens 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 9A 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)
Image 10Sino Tibetan silver tangka, dated 58th year of Qian Long era, obverse. Weight 5.57 g. Diameter: 30 mm (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 11Money Base, M1 and M2 in the U.S. from 1981 to 2012 (from Money)
Image 12Sino Tibetan silver tangka, dated 58th year of Qian Long era, reverse. Weight 5.57 g. Diameter: 30 mm (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 13Tibetan undated silver tangka (2nd half of 18th century) with eight times the syllable "dza" in vartula script,obverse (from Tibetan tangka)
Image 14Song Dynasty Jiaozi, the world's earliest paper money (from Money)