Fiat money or fiat currency is a type of government-issued currency, generally created by a central bank, authorized by government regulation to be legal tender but not backed by a precious metal, suc
Yuan dynasty banknotes are a medieval form of fiat money. This banknote has a value of èr guàn (貳貫) printed on it, where 貳 is the version of the word "two" used in financial writing, and 貫 is a unit of measure called a string of cash coins. Directly under the words "貳貫" are a picture of 2 circular strings of cash coins, visually depicting the physical currency value represented by this banknote.
Song dynasty Jiaozi, the world's earliest paper money
Commodity money is money whose value comes from a commodity of which it is made. Commodity money consists of objects having value or use in themselves as well as their value in buying goods. This is i
Fiat money
…and modern monetary theory economists argue that an increase in money supply is insufficient to cause inflation. Fiat money is an alternative to commodity money (which is a currency that has intrinsic value because it contains, for example, a precious metal such as gold or silver which is embedded in the coin…
Japanese commodity money before the 8th century AD: arrowheads, rice grains and gold powder. This is the earliest form of Japanese currency.
A bronze okpoho or manilla, the traditional commodity money in West Africa until the 1940s.
Axe-like grzywnas (commodity money) from Kostkowice, Poland, 9th to mid-10th century AD