Currency history - history of Egyptian Pound

Since the beginning of the circulation of silver and gold coins in Egypt and until 1834, no specified monetary unit existed to serve as a basis for the monetary system. Only a few of the coins were minted locally. In 1834, a Decree was promulgated providing for issuing an Egyptian currency based on a bimetallic base, gold and silver. In 1836 the Egyptian pound was minted and put into circulation.
The Monetary Reform Law issued in 1885 which set gold standard to become the basis for the Egyptian monetary system, and the country had a unified currency, the Egyptian gold pound.
It was permitted to use some foreign gold coins, particularly the Sterling pound, at fixed legal rates. The Sterling gold pound, which was valued at more than its gold content compared to other foreign gold coins, became the main medium of exchange, and the Egyptian monetary system was based on the Sterling gold standard.
In 1898 the National Bank of Egypt was established and was granted, by the government, the privilege to issue Egyptian banknotes, payable in gold for a period of 50 years. The National Bank of Egypt started issuing banknotes on the 3rd of April 1899.
Consequently, the currency circulated in Egypt consisted of gold Sterling pounds and Egyptian banknotes convertible into gold. This situation continued up to 1914 when a special Decree was issued making Egyptian banknotes a legal tender and suspending their convertibility into gold. Thus, the Egyptian pound banknote became the basic currency unit, and the base of the Egyptian monetary system was changed to fiduciary paper money standard. Accordingly, gold coins were no longer used in circulation, with the result that the volume of note issue increased from LE 11.6 million at the end of 1915 to LE 3557.0 million at the end of 1980, and further to LE 38320.0 million at the end of 1999. In 1930, for the first time in the history of Egyptian banknotes, a watermark was used in issued banknotes. This was followed, towards the end of 1968, by using a metallic thread (in notes issued by the Central Bank of Egypt) as a guarantee against counterfeit instead of dependence on complexity of colors .Other features against counterfeit were found in the detailed specifications of each currency. Holograms are currently added to large denomination notes.
In July 1960 the Central Bank of Egypt was established and granted the right of issuing Egyptian banknotes. Several changes were introduced with respect to the watermark, the designs shown on the notes and the colors.
The Central bank of Egypt established a printing plant for banknotes in 1968 instead of printing them abroad. The Bank also served some Arab central banks in printing their banknotes.
In 1977 The Central Bank of Egypt issued notes of 20 and 100 pounds in 1979 and 50 pounds in 1993.

Currency history - History of russian ruble

The ruble has been the currency in Russia for 500 years. The name ‘rouble’ is thought to come from the Russian for ‘chop,’ literally referring to the way a section was cut off a silver ingot, which was the very first incarnation of the currency, with each section holding a different value depending on its weight.
There is no official symbol for the rouble although many options have been suggested over the years, including a ‘P’ with two horizontal stripes. However, the abbreviation ‘руб’ is often used in writing.
In 1710 the rouble was first divided into kopecs, 100 of which made up a rouble. Ten roubles are sometimes referred to as ‘chervonets’, in reference to the Soviet gold chervonets issued in 1923 that were the equivalent value.
There have been seven different incarnations of the rouble, due to various drastic changes in the currency’s value, with the most recent being released in 1998.
The FIRST rouble was in place for over 200 years up to 1921 when it fell dramatically in value.
The SECOND rouble was the first in the series of redenominations, swapping one ‘new’ rouble for 10,000 ‘old’ roubles. These were introduced in 1922.
A quick redenomination took place the year after, valuing the new rouble at 1 to 100 of the former roubles. This was the THIRD rouble.
In 1924, the FOURTH rouble, known as the ‘gold rouble’, was introduced and lasted until 1947. This one was valued at 50,000 of the previous issue of the rouble.
After the Second World War the government attempted to reduce the amount of money in circulation by imposing a confiscatory redenomination on paper money, which valued the new rouble at one tenth the value of the fourth rouble.
From 1961 to 1997, the SIXTH rouble was in circulation and the redenomination was based on the same terms as the 1947 redenomination. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the rouble remained the currency of the Russian Federation. During the early 1990s there was a period of hyper-inflation which meant the currency fell significantly in value.
In January 1998 the seventh rouble was introduced. It was valued at 1,000 of the previous roubles in what was simply a psychological step. Later in the same year, the rouble lost 70% of its value against the US dollar in just six months following the Russian financial crisis of 1998.
In the 18th century, the lower value roubles, such as half a kopek or a single kopec were made from copper, while five kopecs up to 50 kopecs and one rouble coins were made from silver. Five rouble coins were originally made from gold.
After the Russian civil war, silver was used for lower value coins with gold chervonets minted in 1923. In 1961 new materials such as aluminium bronze were introduced, along with cupro-nickel-zinc.
In 1991 more modern techniques were used, combining several types of metal to form new, bimetallic coins in denominations including ten roubles. New coins were again released after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Between 1769 and 1917 there were only Imperial issued bank notes, or ‘assignats.’ After 1917 the provisional government issued bank notes, called Kerenki. Soon after, in 1918 state credit notes were issued by the RSFSR, followed by currency notes the following year.

Currency history - History of Portuguese escudo

The escudo was the currency of Portugal prior to the introduction of the Euro on 1 January 1999 and its removal from circulation on 28 February 2002. The escudo was subdivided into 100 centavos.
Amounts in escudos were written as escudos$centavos with the cifrão as the decimal separator (e.g. 25$00 means 25 escudos, 100$50 means 100 escudos and 50 centavos). Because of the conversion rate of 1000 réis = 1 escudo, three decimal places were initially used (1 escudo = 1$000).
The escudo was introduced on 22 May 1911, after the 1910 Republican revolution, to replace the real at the rate of 1,000 réis to 1 escudo. The term mil réis (thousand réis) remained a colloquial synonym of escudo up to the 1990s. One million réis was called one conto de réis, or simply one conto. This expression passed on to the escudo, meaning 1,000 escudos.

The escudo's value was initially set at 4$50 escudos = 1 pound sterling. After 1914, the value of the escudo fell, being fixed in 1928 at 108$25 to the pound. This was altered to 110$00 escudos to the pound in 1931. A new rate of 27$50 escudos to the U.S. dollar was established in 1940, changing to 25$00 in 1940 and 28$75 in 1949.
Inflation throughout the 20th century made centavos essentially worthless by its end, with fractional value coins with values such as $50 or 2$50 eventually withdrawn from circulation in the 1990s. With the entry of Portugal in the Eurozone, the conversion rate to the euro was set at 200$482 escudos to €1.

Currency history - history of Argentine peso

"Peso" is a Spanish word, meaning "weight" and is termed as a unit of currency in the current scenario. Peso is quite a dominant currency in the South American continent as it forms part of the national currencies of most of the countries in the continent such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Uruguay and also Cuba and Philippines. Peso is used since the time as early as the colonial times when it referred to a Spanish coin, which was equivalent to 8 reales.

Argentine peso is a currency that has been making its way through hard struggle due to the frequent crises that had struck Argentina’s economy time and again. Contrastingly, peso was one of the most popular and highly traded currencies at one time. Among many economic crises that the country had been through, the toughest of them is said to be the one that struck in 1999 as the nation’s trade partner countries Mexico and Brazil were also into serious economic crisis. It led to the currency’s discontinuation of its peg to the US dollar and it was floated. Even floating the currency was not sufficient enough for the stabilization of its value and it depreciated to as low as about 80% of its value. The currency still maintains its exchange rate at around 4 pesos per dollar when before 2002 it was equivalent to the value of the dollar.
Peso was a currency of Spanish empire since the Spanish currency reforms in 1497. The country, with time, gained power and spread its area through acquiring colonies and states like other powerful European countries that resulted in making peso a world popular currency. the Spanish peso was adopted as the legal tender throughout its colonies, many of them were among the new world countries including Argentina. At that time, peso was known as the 8 reales coin.
In 1816, Argentina declared itself independent following the defeat of the Spanish king Fernando VII with the hands of Napoleon. Independent Argentina started to issue its own currency that was denominated in reales, soles and escudos. In 1826, two versions of Argentine peso were induced one of them being convertible and the other being unconvertible and were called "Peso Fuerte" and "Peso Moneda Corriente". These version of the currency operated till 1881 when the both of them were converted into a single currency i.e. "Peso Moneda Nacional". With this conversion, the currency was officially decimalized with the announcement of a fixed exchange rate that was 1 peso moneda nacional = 1 peso fuerte = 25 peso moneda corriente = 8 reales. Initially the coin for 1 unit of the new currency was made from silver known as patacon but the economic crisis in 1890 made sure that silver coin to be changed to any other metal. Also, paper currency that was convertible into gold termed as "peso oro sellado" was issued in 1881 but it had to be with drawn in 1929.
Peso moneda nacional remained the currency of the country till 1969 and in 1970 it was taken over by a new version of peso i.e. "Peso ley", the conversion rate being 1 peso ley = 100 peso moneda nacional. In 1983, the political system of Argentina was transformed into a democratic framework and that resulted in the introduction of a new peso currency "Peso Argentino" @ 1 peso argentino = 10000 peso ley. But soon after in 1985, it was replaced yet again by a new currency "Austral" as it itself lost its value drastically. Austral replaced peso argentino @ 1 austral = 1000 pesos. During the short life span of the austral, it suffered from hyperinflation, that resulted in steep rise of prices even up to 200% in a month and constant downfall of the value of currency. in 1992, with the election of the new president, the value of austral was stabilized and peso convertible was made the national currency of the Argentina. It was directly pegged to the US dollar @ 1 peso = 1 US dollar. Unluckily the country was again struck with an economic crisis in 1999 and it resulted in the abandonment of the fixed exchange rate system and since then, Argentine peso float its way and the value of the currency is derived from the market situations.

Currency history - History of Greek drachma

Drachma was established on the island of Aegina during the 7 century BC. Depreciation was remarkably slow - about 50% over the following 200 years. Aristophanes (c. 448-380 BC) tells us that in his days one drachma was the average daily wage of a skilled labourer or a hoplite, while a juror earned half a drachma. Eight drachmas would buy a pair of shoes, 20 drachmas a quality tunic and 160 drachmas a slave (child slaves were a bargain at 72 drachmas). A family of four with slave spent 1,000 drachmas a year on living expenses. On the other hand, Xenophon claimed that half a drachma was the minimum required to provide a comfortable subsistence. More recently, some historians and economists estimated that in the 5th century BC a drachma had a rough value of 40 U.S. dollars (2006).
Shortly after the creation of the modern Greek state in 1827, after 400 years of Ottoman rule, a new currency was struck. The coins depicted a phoenix rising from the ashes to mark the kingdom's new-found freedom, under President John Capodistras (1827-31). They were minted on the island of Aegina, which served as the temporary capital of the newly-founded state, where - by coincidence - the first coinage system was introduced more than 2500 years ago!

The phoenix lasted only five years, and was replaced by the traditional drachma, showing the head of the first king of the independent state, Otto. The first coinage consisted of copper denominations of 1, 2, 5 and 10 lepta, silver denominations of 1/4, 1/2, 1 and 5 drachmae and a gold 20 drachmae. The drachma coin weighed 4.5 g and contained 90% silver, with the 20 drachmae coin containing 5.8 g of gold. The drachma of King George I (1863) was made as identical as possible in size and composition to its Attic forebear. The conceit backfired badly, as throughout the 19th century the modern drachma could gain nowhere near the solidity or prestige of the ancient. In 1868, Greece joined the Latin Monetary Union and the drachma became equal in weight and value to the French franc. The new coinage issued consisted of copper 1, 2, 5 and 10 lepta coins (with the 5 lepta coin bearing the name obolos and the 10 lepta, diobolon (two obols), silver coins of 20 and 50 lepta, 1, 2 and 5 drachmae and gold coins of 5, 10 and 20 drachmae. Very small numbers of gold 50 and 100 drachmae coins were also issued.
Overspending and overborrowing precipitated a national bankruptcy in 1893. An English financial specialist, Edward Law, helped to save the drachma from huge depreciation and his labours kept the currency intact for 50 years. In 1894, cupro-nickel 5, 10 and 20 lepta coins were introduced, the 1 and 2 lepta having not been issued since the late 1870s. Silver coins were last issued in 1911 and no coins were issued between 1912 and 1922, during which time the Latin Monetary Union collapsed due to the First World War. By the time the republic was declared in 1924, the number of coins in circulation had dwindled and there was a serious shortage of cash.
It was not until the late 1940s, after almost a decade of war and civil war, that the drachma again inflated with a vengeance. Inflation during World War II was dramatic in the extreme. In January 1941, 1 british pound was worth 1,200 drachma. By October 1944 that had spiralled to 1,219 billion drachmas. As in other countries, it required basketfuls of flimsy notes with a lot of zeros on them to buy basic provisions. A currency reform introduced a new drachma which was worth 50 billion of the old variety but nevertheless inflation continued.

In an effort to halt the inflation, Greece joined the Bretton Woods system in 1953. In 1954 the drachma was revalued for a second time at a rate of 1000 to 1 and the Finance Minister, Spyros Markezinis, dealt with the problem Alexander-fashion by chopping off three zeros. The new currency was pegged at 30 drachmae = 1 US dollar. Artists and writers who settled on the Greek islands in the inflation-free 1960s and early 1970s marvelled at how far the humble drachma - like the olive a symbol of national frugality - could stretch. In 1973, the Bretton Woods System was abolished and over the next 25 years the official exchange rate gradually declined due to growing urbanisation and EU-fuelled prosperity. Renewed inflation resulted in the exchange rate reaching 400 GRD = 1 USD and the situation was brought under control only in 1997, thanks to determined supply-side policies by the Government.

Currency history - history of Brazilian real

Real had been an important currency in the South American continent for a very long time. The currency was first used by the Portuguese explorers who first settled in the new world and also by the Dutch in around mid 17th century when they occupied some part of Brazil.

Currently, real is the official currency of Brazil and that is why it is called the Brazilian real. The currency is denoted with the symbol "R$" and was adopted as country’s official currency in as early as 1690 till 1942 and was re-implemented on July 1, 1994. The Brazilian real has BRL as its currency code and 986 as its numeric code according to the ISO 4217 regulation. Real in plural terms is called "reais" and it replaced the interim currency "cruzeiro". The currency is divided into 100 equal subunits named "centavo" i.e. "centavos" in plural terms.
The history of the Brazilian real dates back to the early 16th century, the time when the new world was discovered courtesy Christopher Columbus and the Europeans started coming and settling on this new land. The concept of real as a currency was a Portuguese concept and later on picked up by the Dutch settlers who made the currency official in 1654. An interesting fact about the currency is at that time real did not have any subdivisions. It was made the official currency of Brazil in 1690 and since then it served as the legal tender in the country till 1942. All this while when Brazil faced huge changes initially being a colony to the various European countries, then as an imperial state and finally when it converted into a republic in 1889, the Brazilian real also underwent many changes.

The major change that affected the currency adversely during its long life span was inflation and due to extreme levels of inflation in real, even its base unit got shifted from 1 real to 1000 réis at once and also to 1 million réis at one time. Finally in 1942, the currency was replaced by "cruzeiro" @ 1000 réis = 1 cruzeiro. Cruzeiro served as the official currency of brazil till 1994 when it was replaced by real again. This time the currency was indirectly pegged to the United States dollar with a value close to it. initially the currency performed well and it even attained a higher value than the dollar at one time. but the appreciation turned out to be a short lived process and in 1995 a gradual depreciation commenced. In 1999, when the country faced a huge financial crises, the currency suffered the maximum devaluation and reached its lowest value i.e. R$ 4 = US$ 1 and as a result the peg to the US dollar was removed. In the current scenario, the currency has improved a bit and has showed signs of recovery.

Currency history - history of Australian dollar

The first officially circulated form of currency was introduced in Australia in the early 1800s - the Holey Dollar and the Dump. These coins were created to resolve the coinage scarcity in the Australian colony of New South Wales. Such was the need for coins that Governor Lachlan Macquarie contributed his personal Spanish dollar collection, which was remodelled into two coins by punching out the centre of the coin: the inner coin or Dump was valued at 15 pence, and the outer Holey Dollar was valued at 5 shillings. By 1813, both designs had Australian currency references such as 'five shillings' stamped on to their surfaces. In 1852, the Government Assay Office issued gold pound coins and sovereigns that were minted by the Sydney and Melbourne mints.

The Commonwealth of Australia was established in 1901 when the British combined the colonies of Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales with Western Australia. As a result, the currency adopted by The Commonwealth of Australia comprised of British gold, silver and bronze coins in addition to notes issued by the various national Australian banks. The Queensland Treasury also printed notes, although these were restricted to use in Queensland.

In 1909, the wealth Constitution took control of the Australian currency through the Coinage Act, followed by the Australian Notes Act in 1910. Two years later, the Labour Government of Prime Minister Andrew Fisher prohibited the circulation of State notes and introduced a national currency called the Australian pound, which lead to the printing of the first ever Australian Pound notes. The Australian Pound's value was fixed to the British Pound Sterling and as a result, fluctuations in the British Pound Sterling greatly affected the Australian economy.

After years of planning, the Australian dollar was finally introduced on February 14, 1966 as the new decimal currency. All coins portray Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and are produced by the Royal Australian Mint.
In 1967 the Australian dollar effectively left sterling for the first time. When sterling devalued in 67 against the USA dollar, the new Australian dollar did not follow. It maintained its peg to the USA dollar at the same rate. For much of its history, Australia maintained a peg to the British pound reflecting historical ties as well as views about the stability of the British pound. From 46 to 71 Australia maintained a peg to the USA dollar under the Bretton Woods system, but it was effectively pegged to sterling until 67. With the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system in 71, Australia converted the mostly fixed peg to a moving peg against the USA dollar. In September 74 Australia moved to a peg against a basket of currencies called the TWI, trade weighted index, in an effort to reduce fluctuations associated with its dollar. The peg to the TWI was changed to a moving peg in November 76, causing the actual value of the peg to be periodically adjusted. In December 83, the Australian Labor government led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Treasurer Paul Keating "floated" the Australian dollar. From that point movements in the Australian dollar continued to reflect the strength of its terms of trade.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is responsible for formulating and implementing monetary policy. The Board's obligations with respect to monetary policy are laid out in the Reserve Bank Act. Section 10(2) of the Act, referred to as the Bank's 'charter', says: "It is the duty of the Reserve Bank Board, within the limits of its powers, to ensure the monetary and banking policy of the Bank is directed to the greatest advantage of the people of Australia and that the powers of the Bank ... are exercised in such a manner as, in the opinion of the Reserve Bank Board, will best contribute to: (a) the stability of the currency of Australia; (b) the maintenance of full employment in Australia; and (c) the economic prosperity and welfare of the people of Australia."

Since 1993, these objectives have found practical expression in a target for consumer price inflation, of 2-3 per cent per annum. Monetary policy aims to achieve this over the medium term and, subject to that, to encourage the strong and sustainable growth in the economy. Controlling inflation preserves the value of money. In the long run, this is the principal way in which monetary policy can help to form a sound basis for long-term growth in the economy.
Australian dollar is in the top six of Most traded currencies. The other currencies in this prestigious top are United States dollar USD $, Eurozone euro EUR €, Japanese yen JPY ¥, British pound sterling GBP £ and Swiss franc CHF.