Currency, in some form or the other, has been in use for around 3,000 years. At some point in time, it was only in the form of coins. But, currency proved to be crucial to facilitating trade across continents.
This article explains the concept of currency, its history and the different currencies of the world for kids to read and understand. Let’s start with the definition of currency.
What Is Currency?
In this section, let us understand: what do you mean by currency? A currency is a unit of exchange issued by a country that facilitates the transfer of goods and services. Each and every country has its own form of currency, which the central bank of that country oversees.
For example, the currency of India is INR, the currency of the United States is the U. S. dollar, the currency of Canada is the Canadian dollar, etc.
History Of Currency
The concept of currency dates back thousands of years, but it didn’t always look like what we have today. Many years ago, cultures worldwide used different items to represent a currency. These were usually items that were readily available to them. For example, about 3000 years ago, cowry shells were used as currency in China.
Then came the coins. The earliest evidence of the use of coins can be found in ancient Greece, around the year 600 B.C. These coins were usually made of precious metals such as gold, silver, copper, etc. and often featured images printed on them. These coins later became associated with governments and nations.
Next came the paper money. It is believed that the Chinese were the first people to begin using paper money around the 7th century A.D. Paper money was easier to carry when people were travelling or making large payments to others.
List Of Different Currencies Of The World
Your child will be surprised to know that different types of currencies are used by different countries. To make it easy for your kid to know the currency of various countries, we have listed the currency used by different countries below.
Country Name | Currency Name | Currency Code | Symbol |
Afghanistan | Afghan Afghani | AFN | ؋ |
Albania | Albanian Lek | ALL | L |
Algeria | Dinar | DZD | دج |
Argentina | Argentine Peso | ARS | $ |
Armenia | Armenian Dram | AMD | Դ |
Australia | Australian Dollar | AUD | $ |
Austria | Euro | EUR | € |
Azerbaijan | Azerbaijan Manat | AZN | ман |
Bahrain | Dinar | BHD | دينار |
Bangladesh | Bangladeshi Taka | BDT | ৳ |
Barbados | Dollar | BBD | $ |
Belgium | Euro | EUR | € |
Bhutan | Bhutanese Ngultrum | BTN | Nu. |
Bulgaria | Bulgaria Lev | BGN | Лв. |
Brazil | Brazilian Real | BRL | R$ |
Cambodia | Cambodia Riel | KHR | ៛ |
Canada | Canadian Dollar | CAD | $ |
Chile | Peso | CLP | $ |
China | China Yuan | CNY | ¥ |
Colombia | Colombian Peso | COP | $ |
Costa Rica | Colon | CRC | ₡ |
Croatia | Kuna | HRK | kn |
Czech Republic | Czech Koruna | CZK | Kč |
Denmark | Danish Krone | DKK | kr |
Dominican Republic | Dominican Peso | DOP | $ |
Egypt | Egyptian Pound | EGP | £ |
Fiji | Fiji Dollar | FJD | $ |
Finland | Euro | EUR | € |
France | Euro | EUR | € |
Georgia | Lari | GEL | ლ |
Germany | Euro | EUR | € |
Ghana | Ghana Cedi | GHS | ¢ |
Greece | Euro | EUR | € |
Greenland | Danish krone | DKK |
Kr.
|
Guinea | Guinea Franc | GNF | ₣ |
Guyana | Guyana Dollar | GYD | $ |
Hong Kong | Hong Kong Dollar | HKD | $ |
Hungary | Hungary Forint | HUF | Ft |
Indonesia | Indonesia Rupiah | IDR | Rp |
India | Indian Rupees | INR | ₹ |
Iceland | Icelandic Krona | ISK | kr |
Iran | Iran Rial | IRR | ﷼ |
Iraq | Dinar | IQD | ع |
Ireland | Euro | EUR | € |
Israel | Israel Shekel | ILS | ₪ |
Italy | Euro | EUR | € |
Jamaica | Jamaican Dollar | JMD | € |
Japan | Yen | JPY | ¥ |
Jordan | Jordanian Dinar | JOD | د.ا |
Kazakhstan | Kazakhstan Tenge | KZT | лв |
Kenya | Kenyan Shilling | KES | ksh |
Korea (North Korea) | North Korean Won | KPW | ₩ |
Korea (South Korea) | Won | KPW | ₩ |
Kuwait | Kuwaiti Dinar | KWD | د.ك |
Lebanon | Lebanese Pound | LBP |
ل.ل.
|
Libya | Lybian Dinar | LYD | ل.د |
Luxembourg | Euro | EUR | € |
Macau | Macanese Pataca | MOP | MOP$ |
Malaysia | Malaysia Ringgit | MYR | RM |
Maldives | Rufiyaa | MVR | .ރ |
Mauritius | Mauritius Rupee | MUR | ₨ |
Mexico | Mexico Peso | MXN | $ |
Monaco | Euro | EUR | € |
Morocco | Moroccan Dirham | MAD | DH |
Myanmar (Burma) | Burmese Kyat | MMK | K |
Namibia | Namibian Dollar | NAD | $ |
Nepal | Nepalese Rupee | NPR | Rs |
Netherlands | Antilles Guilder | ANG | ƒ |
New Zealand | New Zealand Dollar | NZD | $ |
Nigeria | Nigerian Naira | NGN | ₦ |
Norway | Norwegian Krone | NOK | kr |
Oman | Rial Omani | OMR | ر.ع. |
Pakistan | Pakistani Rupee | PKR | Rs |
Papua New Guinea | Papua New Guinean Kina | PGK | K |
Peru | Nuevo Sol | PEN | S/. |
Philippines | Philippine Peso | PHP | ₱ |
Poland | Polish Zloty | PLN | zł |
Portugal | Euro | EUR | € |
Qatar | Qatari Riyal | QAR | QR |
Russia | Russian Ruble | RUR | p. |
Rwanda | Rwanda Franc | RWF | FRw |
Saudi Arabia | Saudi Riyal | SAR | ر.س |
Serbia | Serbia Dinar | RSD | Дин. |
Seychelles | Seychelles Rupee | SCR | ₨ |
Singapore | Singapore Dollar | SGD | $ |
South Africa | South African Rand | ZAR | R |
Spain | Euro | EUR | € |
Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka Rupee | LKR | Rs |
Sweden | Sweden Krona | SEK | kr |
Switzerland | Switzerland Franc | CHF | CHF |
Syria | Syrian Pound | SYP | £ |
Taiwan | Taiwan New Dollar | TWD | NT$ |
Tajikistan | Somoni | TJS | SM |
Tanzania | Tanzanian Shilling | TZS | TSh |
Thailand | Thailand Baht | THB | ฿ |
Turkey | Turkish Lira | TRY | ₺ |
Uganda | Uganda Shilling | UGX | USh |
Ukraine | Ukrainian Hryvnia | UAH | ₴ |
United Arab Emirates | UAE Dirham | AED | د.إ |
United Kingdom | Pounds Sterling | GBP | £ |
United States | US Dollar | USS | $ |
Uzbekistan | Uzbekistan Sum | UZS | UZS |
Vietnam | Vietnamese Dong | VEF | ₫ |
Yemen | Yemeni Rial | YER | ﷼ |
Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe Dollar | ZWD | $ |
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