1.
Currency sign
–
A currency symbol is a graphic symbol used as a shorthand for a currencys name, especially in reference to amounts of money. The European Commission considers the global recognition of the euro sign € part of its success, in 2009, India launched a public competition to replace the ₨ ligature it shared with neighbouring countries. It finalised its new symbol, ₹ on 15 July 2010. It is a blend of the Latin letter R with the Devanagari letter र, when writing currency amounts the location of the symbol varies by currency. Many currencies in the English-speaking world and Latin America, place it before the amount, the Cape Verdean escudo places its symbol in the decimal separator position. The usage of many European countries, such as France, Germany, the decimal separator also follows local countries standards. For instance, the United Kingdom often uses an interpunct as the point on price stickers. Commas or decimal points are common separators used in other countries, see decimal separator for information on international standards. Older currency symbols have evolved slowly, often from previous currencies, the dollar and peso symbols originated from the mark employed to denote the Spanish real de a ocho, whereas the pound and lira symbols evolved from an L standing for libra, a Roman pound of silver. Newly invented currencies and currencies adopting new symbols have symbolism closer to their adopter, the added center bar in the real sign is meant to symbolize stability. The new Indian rupee symbol, ₹, is a combination of Latin. There are also considerations, such as the perception of the business community. For a new symbol to be used, software to render it needs to be promulgated, the EU was criticized for not considering how the euro symbol would need to be customized to work in different fonts. The original design was exceptionally wide. These two factors have led to most typefaces employing customized, font-specific versions, usually with reduced width, List of currencies List of circulating currencies Currency Symbols
Currency sign
–
Official dimensions of the
euro sign
2.
Airline ticket
–
An airline ticket is a document, issued by an airline or a travel agency, to confirm that an individual has purchased a seat on a flight on an aircraft. This document is used to obtain a boarding pass, at the airport. Then with the pass and the attached ticket, the passenger is allowed to board the aircraft. There are two sorts of airline tickets - the older style with coupons now referred to as a ticket. Regardless of the type, all tickets contain details of the following information, a ticket number, including the airlines 3 digit code at the start of the number. The cities the ticket is valid for travel between, flight that the ticket is valid for. The Fare Basis, an alpha or alpha-numeric code that identifies the fare, dates that the ticket is valid for. Form of payment, i. e. details of how the ticket was paid for, the Rate of Exchange used to calculate any international parts of the fare and tax. A Fare Construction or Linear showing the breakdown of the total fare, IATA announced that as of June 1,2008, IATA-member airlines will no longer issue any paper tickets. A ticket is only good on the airline for which it was purchased. However, an airline can endorse the ticket, so that it may be accepted by other airlines, sometimes on standby basis or with a confirmed seat, usually the ticket is for a specific flight. It is also possible to purchase a ticket, which allows travel on any flight between the destinations listed on the ticket. The cost for doing this is greater than a ticket for a specific flight, however, the lower cost tickets are usually not refundable and may carry many additional restrictions. The carrier is represented by a standardized 2-letter code, in the example above, Thai Airways is TG. The departure and destination cities are represented by International Air Transport Association airport codes, in the example above, Munich is MUC and Bangkok is BKK. The International Air Transport Association is the standard setting organization, only one person can use a ticket. If multiple people are traveling together, the tickets are linked together by the record locator or reservation number. If not, most airlines can cross-reference the tickets together in their reservation systems and this practice consisted of selling the ticket to other travellers, after which the seller accompanied the buyer at the time of departure to the airport
Airline ticket
–
A ticket cover from
Austrian Airlines, circa 1960s
Airline ticket
–
A sample
Northwest Airlines ticket
Airline ticket
–
Air China 's ticket forDomestic Service (from
Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport to
Kunming Wujiaba International Airport)
Airline ticket
–
A handwritten flight coupon for
Biman Bangladesh Airlines
3.
Euro
–
Outside of Europe, a number of overseas territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency. Additionally,210 million people worldwide as of 2013 use currencies pegged to the euro, the euro is the second largest reserve currency as well as the second most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar. The name euro was adopted on 16 December 1995 in Madrid. The euro was introduced to world markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999. While the euro dropped subsequently to US$0.8252 within two years, it has traded above the U. S. dollar since the end of 2002, peaking at US$1.6038 on 18 July 2008. In July 2012, the euro fell below US$1.21 for the first time in two years, following concerns raised over Greek debt and Spains troubled banking sector, as of 26 March 2017, the euro–dollar exchange rate stands at ~ US$1.07. The euro is managed and administered by the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank, as an independent central bank, the ECB has sole authority to set monetary policy. The Eurosystem participates in the printing, minting and distribution of notes and coins in all states. The 1992 Maastricht Treaty obliges most EU member states to adopt the euro upon meeting certain monetary and budgetary convergence criteria, all nations that have joined the EU since 1993 have pledged to adopt the euro in due course. Since 5 January 2002, the central banks and the ECB have issued euro banknotes on a joint basis. Euro banknotes do not show which central bank issued them, Eurosystem NCBs are required to accept euro banknotes put into circulation by other Eurosystem members and these banknotes are not repatriated. The ECB issues 8% of the value of banknotes issued by the Eurosystem. In practice, the ECBs banknotes are put into circulation by the NCBs and these liabilities carry interest at the main refinancing rate of the ECB. The euro is divided into 100 cents, in Community legislative acts the plural forms of euro and cent are spelled without the s, notwithstanding normal English usage. Otherwise, normal English plurals are used, with many local variations such as centime in France. All circulating coins have a side showing the denomination or value. Due to the plurality in the European Union, the Latin alphabet version of euro is used. For the denominations except the 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins, beginning in 2007 or 2008 the old map is being replaced by a map of Europe also showing countries outside the Union like Norway
Euro
–
The
central bank has
its seat in
Frankfurt (Germany) and is in charge of the monetary policy of the
euro area.
Euro
–
Euro banknotes as of 2015
Euro
–
Euro coins and banknotes of various denominations.
4.
Euro sign
–
The euro sign is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the Eurozone in the European Union. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996, the international three-letter code for the euro is EUR. In Unicode it is encoded at U+20AC € euro sign, in English, the sign precedes the value. In some styleguides, but not others, the sign is unspaced. The euro currency sign was designed to be similar in structure to the old sign for the European Currency Unit, there were originally thirty-two proposals, these were reduced to ten candidates. These ten were put to a public survey, after the survey had narrowed the original ten proposals down to two, it was up to the European Commission to choose the final design. The other designs that were considered are not available for the public to view, the European Commission considers the process of designing to have been internal and keeps these records secret. The eventual winner was a created by a team of four experts whose identities have not been revealed. It is assumed that the Belgian graphic designer Alain Billiet was the winner, the European Commission specified a euro logo with exact proportions and colours, for use in public-relations material related to the euro introduction. While the Commission intended the logo to be a prescribed glyph shape, generating the euro sign using a computer depends on the operating system and national conventions. Some mobile phone companies issued a software update for their special SMS character set. Later mobile phones have both currency signs, the euro is represented in the Unicode character set with the character name EURO SIGN and the code position U+20AC as well as in updated versions of the traditional Latin character set encodings. In HTML, the &euro, entity can also be used, while displaying the euro sign is no problem as long as only one system is used, mixed setups often produced errors. One example is a content management system where articles are stored in a database using a different character set than the editors computer, another is legacy software which could only handle older encodings such as ISO 8859-1 that contained no euro sign at all. In such situations, character set conversions had to be made, care has been taken to avoid replacing an existing obsolete currency sign with the euro sign. That could create different currency signs for sender and receiver in e-mails or web sites, placement of the sign also varies. Partly since there are no standards on placement, countries have generated varying conventions or sustained those of their former currencies. For example, in Ireland and the Netherlands, where previous currency signs were placed before the figure, the euro sign is universally placed in the same position
Euro sign
–
A euro light sculpture at the
European Central Bank in
Frankfurt.
Euro sign
–
The euro sign;
logotype and
handwritten.
5.
International Organization for Standardization
–
The International Organization for Standardization is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on 23 February 1947, the organization promotes worldwide proprietary and it is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and as of March 2017 works in 162 countries. It was one of the first organizations granted general consultative status with the United Nations Economic, ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, is an independent, non-governmental organization, the members of which are the standards organizations of the 162 member countries. It is the worlds largest developer of international standards and facilitates world trade by providing common standards between nations. Nearly twenty thousand standards have been set covering everything from manufactured products and technology to food safety, use of the standards aids in the creation of products and services that are safe, reliable and of good quality. The standards help businesses increase productivity while minimizing errors and waste, by enabling products from different markets to be directly compared, they facilitate companies in entering new markets and assist in the development of global trade on a fair basis. The standards also serve to safeguard consumers and the end-users of products and services, the three official languages of the ISO are English, French, and Russian. The name of the organization in French is Organisation internationale de normalisation, according to the ISO, as its name in different languages would have different abbreviations, the organization adopted ISO as its abbreviated name in reference to the Greek word isos. However, during the meetings of the new organization, this Greek word was not invoked. Both the name ISO and the logo are registered trademarks, the organization today known as ISO began in 1926 as the International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations. ISO is an organization whose members are recognized authorities on standards. Members meet annually at a General Assembly to discuss ISOs strategic objectives, the organization is coordinated by a Central Secretariat based in Geneva. A Council with a membership of 20 member bodies provides guidance and governance. The Technical Management Board is responsible for over 250 technical committees, ISO has formed joint committees with the International Electrotechnical Commission to develop standards and terminology in the areas of electrical and electronic related technologies. Information technology ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 was created in 1987 to evelop, maintain, ISO has three membership categories, Member bodies are national bodies considered the most representative standards body in each country. These are the members of ISO that have voting rights. Correspondent members are countries that do not have their own standards organization and these members are informed about ISOs work, but do not participate in standards promulgation. Subscriber members are countries with small economies and they pay reduced membership fees, but can follow the development of standards
International Organization for Standardization
–
Plaque marking the building in
Prague where the ISO's predecessor, the ISA, was founded. (Click to enlarge / read.)
International Organization for Standardization
–
ISO membership (see below)
International Organization for Standardization
–
Ethics and principles
6.
Currency
–
A currency in the most specific use of the word refers to money in any form when in actual use or circulation as a medium of exchange, especially circulating banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money in common use, under this definition, US dollars, British pounds, Australian dollars, and European euros are examples of currency. These various currencies are recognized stores of value and are traded between nations in exchange markets, which determine the relative values of the different currencies. Currencies in this sense are defined by governments, and each type has limited boundaries of acceptance, other definitions of the term currency are discussed in their respective synonymous articles banknote, coin, and money. The latter definition, pertaining to the systems of nations, is the topic of this article. Currencies can be classified into two systems, fiat money and commodity money, depending on what guarantees the value. Some currencies are legal tender in certain jurisdictions, which means they cannot be refused as payment for debt. Others are simply traded for their economic value, digital currency has arisen with the popularity of computers and the Internet. Currency evolved from two basic innovations, both of which had occurred by 2000 BC, originally money was a form of receipt, representing grain stored in temple granaries in Sumer in ancient Mesopotamia, then Ancient Egypt. In this first stage of currency, metals were used as symbols to represent value stored in the form of commodities and this formed the basis of trade in the Fertile Crescent for over 1500 years. Trade could only reach as far as the credibility of that military and it is not known what was used as a currency for these exchanges, but it is thought that ox-hide shaped ingots of copper, produced in Cyprus, may have functioned as a currency. It is thought that the increase in piracy and raiding associated with the Bronze Age collapse, possibly produced by the Peoples of the Sea, brought the trading system of oxhide ingots to an end. In Africa, many forms of value store have been used, including beads, ingots, ivory, various forms of weapons, livestock, the manilla currency, the manilla rings of West Africa were one of the currencies used from the 15th century onwards to sell slaves. African currency is still notable for its variety, and in many various forms of barter still apply. These factors led to the metal itself being the store of value, first silver, now we have copper coins and other non-precious metals as coins. Metals were mined, weighed, and stamped into coins and this was to assure the individual taking the coin that he was getting a certain known weight of precious metal. Coins could be counterfeited, but they created a new unit of account. Most major economies using coinage had several tiers of coins, using a mix of copper, silver, gold coins were used for large purchases, payment of the military and backing of state activities, they were more often used as measures of account than physical coins
Currency
–
Cowry shells being used as money by an Arab trader.
Currency
–
Song dynasty Jiaozi, the world's earliest paper money.
7.
Country code
–
Country codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical codes developed to represent countries and dependent areas, for use in data processing and communications. Several different systems have developed to do this. The term country code frequently refers to international dialing codes, the E.164 country calling codes and this standard defines for most of the countries and dependent areas in the world, a two-letter a three-letter, and a three-digit numeric code. For more applications see ISO 3166-1 alpha-2. S. government and in the CIA World Factbook, on September 2,2008, FIPS 10-4 was one of ten standards withdrawn by NIST as a Federal Information Processing Standard. GOST7.164 international telephone dialing codes, list of country calling codes with 1-3 digits and these prefixes are legally administered by the national entity to which prefix ranges are assigned. Diplomatic license plates in the United States, assigned by the U. S. State Department, north Atlantic Treaty Organisation used two-letter codes of its own, list of NATO country codes. They were largely borrowed from the FIPS 10-4 codes mentioned below, in 2003 the eighth edition of the Standardisation Agreement adopted the ISO3166 three-letter codes with one exception. The following can represent countries, The initial digits of International Standard Book Numbers are group identifiers for countries, areas, the first three digits of GS1 Company Prefixes used to identify products, for example, in barcodes, designate numbering agencies. A comparison with ISO, IFS and others with notes United Nations Region Codes
Country code
–
Map of
Oceania with country codes.
8.
Banking
–
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates credit. Lending activities can be performed either directly or indirectly through capital markets, due to their importance in the financial stability of a country, banks are highly regulated in most countries. Most nations have institutionalized a system known as fractional reserve banking under which banks hold liquid assets equal to only a portion of their current liabilities. In the history of banking, a number of banking dynasties — notably, the Medicis, the Fuggers, the Welsers, the Berenbergs, the oldest existing retail bank is Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, while the oldest existing merchant bank is Berenberg Bank. Banking began with the first prototype banks of merchants of the ancient world and this began around 2000 BC in Assyria and Babylonia. Later, in ancient Greece and during the Roman Empire, lenders based in temples made loans, archaeology from this period in ancient China and India also shows evidence of money lending activity. The origins of modern banking can be traced to medieval and early Renaissance Italy, to the cities in the centre and north like Florence, Lucca, Siena, Venice. The Bardi and Peruzzi families dominated banking in 14th-century Florence, establishing branches in other parts of Europe. One of the most famous Italian banks was the Medici Bank, the earliest known state deposit bank, Banco di San Giorgio, was founded in 1407 at Genoa, Italy. Modern banking practices, including fractional reserve banking and the issue of banknotes, merchants started to store their gold with the goldsmiths of London, who possessed private vaults, and charged a fee for that service. The goldsmith paid interest on these deposits, since the promissory notes were payable on demand, and the advances to the goldsmiths customers were repayable over a longer time period, this was an early form of fractional reserve banking. Thus, the goldsmiths of London became the forerunners of banking by creating new money based on credit, the Bank of England was the first to begin the permanent issue of banknotes, in 1695. The Royal Bank of Scotland established the first overdraft facility in 1728, by the beginning of the 19th century a bankers clearing house was established in London to allow multiple banks to clear transactions. The Rothschilds pioneered international finance on a scale, financing the purchase of the Suez canal for the British government. The word bank was borrowed in Middle English from Middle French banque, from Old Italian banca, meaning table, from Old High German banc, bank bench, counter. Benches were used as makeshift desks or exchange counters during the Renaissance by Jewish Florentine bankers, the definition of a bank varies from country to country. See the relevant country pages under for more information, the business of banking is in many English common law countries not defined by statute but by common law, the definition above. In other English common law there are statutory definitions of the business of banking or banking business
Banking
–
The
Bank of England, established in 1694.
Banking
–
Personal finance
Banking
–
Among many other things, the
Code of Hammurabi from 1754 BC recorded interest-bearing loans.
Banking
–
The sealing of the
Bank of England Charter (1694).
9.
Business
–
A business is an organizational entity involved in the provision of goods and services to consumers. Businesses may also be social non-profit enterprises or state-owned public enterprises operated by governments with specific social, a business owned by multiple private individuals may form as an incorporated company or jointly organise as a partnership. Countries have different laws that may ascribe different rights to the business entities. The word business can refer to an organization or to an entire market sector or to the sum of all economic activity. Compound forms such as agribusiness represent subsets of the broader meaning. Businesses aim to maximize sales to have their income exceed their expenditures, resulting in a profit, the owner operates the business alone and may hire employees. A sole proprietor has unlimited liability for all obligations incurred by the business, partnership, A partnership is a business owned by two or more people. In most forms of partnerships, each partner has unlimited liability for the debts incurred by the business, the three most prevalent types of for-profit partnerships are, general partnerships, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships. Corporation, The owners of a corporation have limited liability and the business has a legal personality from its owners. Corporations can be either government-owned or privately owned and they can organize either for profit or as nonprofit organizations. A privately owned, for-profit corporation is owned by its shareholders, a privately owned, for-profit corporation can be either privately held by a small group of individuals, or publicly held, with publicly traded shares listed on a stock exchange. Cooperative, Often referred to as a co-op, a cooperative is a limited-liability business that can organize as for-profit or not-for-profit, a cooperative differs from a corporation in that it has members, not shareholders, and they share decision-making authority. Cooperatives are typically classified as either consumer cooperatives or worker cooperatives, cooperatives are fundamental to the ideology of economic democracy. In contrast, unincorporated businesses or persons working on their own are not as protected. Franchises, A franchise is a system in which entrepreneurs purchase the rights to open, franchising in the United States is widespread and is a major economic powerhouse. One out of retail businesses in the United States are franchised and 8 million people are employed in a franchised business. Real estate businesses sell, invest, construct and develop properties – including land, residential homes, retailers, wholesalers, and distributors act as middlemen and get goods produced by manufacturers to the intended consumers, they make their profits by marking up their prices. Most stores and catalog companies are distributors or retailers, transportation businesses such as railways, airlines, shipping companies that deliver goods and individuals to their destinations for a fee
Business
–
Offices in the
Los Angeles Downtown Financial District
Business
10.
Exchange rate
–
In finance, an exchange rate between two currencies is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. It is also regarded as the value of one currency in relation to another currency. For example, an exchange rate of 119 Japanese yen to the United States dollar means that ¥119 will be exchanged for each US$1 or that US$1 will be exchanged for each ¥119. In this case it is said that the price of a dollar in relation to yen is ¥119, trading from 20,15 GMT on Sunday until 22,00 GMT Friday. The spot exchange rate refers to the current exchange rate, the forward exchange rate refers to an exchange rate that is quoted and traded today but for delivery and payment on a specific future date. In the retail currency exchange market, different buying and selling rates will be quoted by money dealers, most trades are to or from the local currency. The buying rate is the rate at which money dealers will buy foreign currency, the quoted rates will incorporate an allowance for a dealers margin in trading, or else the margin may be recovered in the form of a commission or in some other way. Different rates may also be quoted for cash, a form or electronically. The higher rate on documentary transactions has been justified as compensating for the additional time, on the other hand, cash is available for resale immediately, but brings security, storage, and transportation costs, and the cost of tying up capital in a stock of banknotes. Currency for international travel and cross-border payments is predominantly purchased from banks, foreign exchange brokerages and these retail outlets source currency from the inter-bank markets, which are valued by the Bank for International Settlements at 5.3 trillion US dollars per day. The purchase is made at the contract rate. Retail customers will be charged, in the form of commission or otherwise, to cover the providers costs, one form of charge is the use of an exchange rate that is less favourable than the wholesale spot rate. The difference between retail buying and selling prices is referred to as the bid-ask spread, in the foreign exchange market, a currency pair is the quotation of the relative value of a currency unit against the unit of another currency. The quotation EUR/USD1.3225 means that 1 Euro will buy 1.3225 US dollars, in other words, this is the price of a unit of Euro in US dollars. Here, EUR is called the Fixed currency, while USD is called the Variable currency, there is a market convention that determines which is the fixed currency and which is the variable currency. In most parts of the world, the order is, EUR – GBP – AUD – NZD – USD – others. Accordingly, in a conversion from EUR to AUD, EUR is the currency, AUD is the variable currency. Cyprus and Malta, which were quoted as the base to the USD, in some areas of Europe and in the retail market in the United Kingdom, EUR and GBP are reversed so that GBP is quoted as the fixed currency to the euro
Exchange rate
–
USD and
EUR
Exchange rate
–
Exchange rates display in Thailand
Exchange rate
–
World
banknotes
11.
Bank
–
BANK was an artists group active in London during the 1990s. In 1993, Russell and Bedwell were joined by Milly Thompson, David Burrows, Burrows left BANK in 1995, Williamson in 1998, Russell in 2000. BANKs contribution to UK contemporary art was a series of curated group shows, often with comical, as a group they adopted an aggressive stance towards the mainstream contemporary art scene of the time. The approximately twenty shows curated by BANK included the work of the BANK artists alongside the work of several future Turner Prize nominees, although the BANK exhibitions were mostly held in warehouse spaces on Curtain Road, then Underwood Street the name of the gallery changed. Initially it was BANKSPACE, then DOG, and finally Gallerie Poo-Poo, BANK also published a satirical magazine delivering tabloid-style critiques of the art world. Headlines included, AD MAN YOU’RE A BAD MAN, and and they had, according to Matthew Collings, a surly, self-destructive, self-conscious, introspective attitude - combined. with critical intelligence and a flair for spotting weaknesses in the art system. BANK SHOWS1991 -20032003 SIMON BEDWELL & MILLY THOMPSON Store, London ART IS HELL The Suburban, Chicago 2002 BANK Anthony Wilkinson Gallery, DOG, London GOD DOG, London 1996 DOG-U-MENTAL VIII. DOG, London Viper/BANK TV DOG, London/Dukes Bar, Manchester F**K OFF, HE WENT TO A BED AND DREAMED THAT HE WAS ONE. WOKE UP AND FOUND THAT HE HAD BECOME ONE, stephen Friedman gallery got BANK’d, ADP magazine,4 November 2009
Bank
12.
Currency symbol
–
A currency symbol is a graphic symbol used as a shorthand for a currencys name, especially in reference to amounts of money. The European Commission considers the global recognition of the euro sign € part of its success, in 2009, India launched a public competition to replace the ₨ ligature it shared with neighbouring countries. It finalised its new symbol, ₹ on 15 July 2010. It is a blend of the Latin letter R with the Devanagari letter र, when writing currency amounts the location of the symbol varies by currency. Many currencies in the English-speaking world and Latin America, place it before the amount, the Cape Verdean escudo places its symbol in the decimal separator position. The usage of many European countries, such as France, Germany, the decimal separator also follows local countries standards. For instance, the United Kingdom often uses an interpunct as the point on price stickers. Commas or decimal points are common separators used in other countries, see decimal separator for information on international standards. Older currency symbols have evolved slowly, often from previous currencies, the dollar and peso symbols originated from the mark employed to denote the Spanish real de a ocho, whereas the pound and lira symbols evolved from an L standing for libra, a Roman pound of silver. Newly invented currencies and currencies adopting new symbols have symbolism closer to their adopter, the added center bar in the real sign is meant to symbolize stability. The new Indian rupee symbol, ₹, is a combination of Latin. There are also considerations, such as the perception of the business community. For a new symbol to be used, software to render it needs to be promulgated, the EU was criticized for not considering how the euro symbol would need to be customized to work in different fonts. The original design was exceptionally wide. These two factors have led to most typefaces employing customized, font-specific versions, usually with reduced width, List of currencies List of circulating currencies Currency Symbols
Currency symbol
–
Official dimensions of the
euro sign
13.
Train
–
A train is a form of rail transport consisting of a series of vehicles that usually runs along a rail track to transport cargo or passengers. Motive power is provided by a locomotive or individual motors in self-propelled multiple units. Although historically steam propulsion dominated, the most common forms are diesel and electric locomotives. Other energy sources include horses, engine or water-driven rope or wire winch, gravity, pneumatics, batteries, the word train comes from the Old French trahiner, from the Latin trahere pull, draw. There are various types of trains that are designed for particular purposes, a train may consist of a combination of one or more locomotives and attached railroad cars, or a self-propelled multiple unit. The first trains were rope-hauled, gravity powered or pulled by horses, from the early 19th century almost all were powered by steam locomotives. A passenger train is one which includes passenger-carrying vehicles which can often be very long, one notable and growing long-distance train category is high-speed rail. In order to much faster operation over 500 km/h, innovative Maglev technology has been researched for years. In most countries, such as the United Kingdom, the distinction between a tramway and a railway is precise and defined in law, a freight train uses freight cars to transport goods or materials. Freight and passengers may be carried in the train in a mixed consist. Rail cars and machinery used for maintenance and repair of tracks, etc. are termed maintenance of way equipment, similarly, dedicated trains may be used to provide support services to stations along a train line, such as garbage or revenue collection. There are various types of trains that are designed for particular purposes, a train can consist of a combination of one or more locomotives and attached railroad cars, or a self-propelled multiple unit. Trains can also be hauled by horses, pulled by a cable, special kinds of trains running on corresponding special railways are atmospheric railways, monorails, high-speed railways, maglev, rubber-tired underground, funicular and cog railways. A passenger train may consist of one or several locomotives and coaches, alternatively, a train may consist entirely of passenger carrying coaches, some or all of which are powered as a multiple unit. In many parts of the world, particularly the Far East and Europe, freight trains are composed of wagons or trucks rather than carriages, though some parcel and mail trains are outwardly more like passenger trains. Trains can also be mixed, comprising both passenger accommodation and freight vehicles, special trains are also used for track maintenance, in some places, this is called maintenance of way. A train with a locomotive attached at each end is described as top and tailed, where a second locomotive is attached temporarily to assist a train up steep banks or grades it is referred to as banking in the UK, or helper service in North America. Recently, many loaded trains in the United States have been made up one or more locomotives in the middle or at the rear of the train
Train
–
A
BNSF intermodal freight train passes through
Wisconsin, United States
Train
–
Steam locomotive -hauled passenger train
Train
–
British Rail Class 390 Electric multiple unit train
Train
–
A
Transperth B-series train
14.
Money changer
–
A money changer is a person or organisation whose business is the exchange of coins or currency of one country, for that of another. This trade is thought to be the origin of modern banking in Europe. The advent of paper money in the century and the development of modern banking and floating exchange rates in the 20th century allowed a foreign exchange market to develop. The 20th century also saw the development of machines that would change money, such as coin dispensers, with this Temple money the pilgrim would purchase a sacrificial animal, usually a pigeon or a lamb, in preparation for the following days events. During the Middle Ages in Europe, many cities and towns issued their own coins, often carrying the face of a ruler, such as the regional baron or bishop. When outsiders, especially traveling merchants, visited towns for a market fair, money changers would assess a foreign coin for its type, wear and tear, and validity, then accept it as deposit, recording its value in local currency. The merchant could then withdraw the money in local currency to conduct trade or, more likely, keep it deposited, as the size and operations of money changers grew they began to provide a lending facility, by adding the lending-fee to the foreign exchange rates. Later the Knights Templar provided this service to traveling to. A money changer is a device that changes or dispenses coins, one type is a portable coin dispenser, invented by Jacques L. Galef, often worn on a belt, used by conductors and other professions for manual fare collection. It dispenses a single coin when a lever is depressed and it is typically mounted in a manned booth or counter. A third type, sometimes called a change maker or Automatic Cashier, has an array of 100 or more buttons that dispense exact amounts of change from 1¢ to $1.00 and these are typically found at teller windows in banks and sometimes in retail establishments. This type of change maker may also operate electromechanically under control of a cash register, bank of Amsterdam Central bank Cleansing of the Temple Manual fare collection
Money changer
–
Jewish money changer in
Tunisia
Money changer
–
Jesus casting out the money changers at the
Temple
Money changer
–
A Galoppwechsler (de) (money changing device for
manual fare collection).
Money changer
–
The exchange rates list for
Malawian kwacha. Note how
Traveler's cheques are given a lower value than regular banknotes.
15.
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
–
They are the most widely used of the country codes published by ISO, and are used most prominently for the Internets country code top-level domains. They were first included as part of the ISO3166 standard in its first edition in 1974, the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are used in different environments and are also part of other standards. In some cases they are not perfectly implemented, the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are used in the following standards, Starting in 1985, ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes have been used in the Domain Name System as country code top-level domains. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority currently assigns the ccTLDs mostly following the alpha-2 codes, but with a few exceptions. For example, the United Kingdom, whose code is GB, uses. uk instead of. gb as its ccTLD. The European Commission generally uses ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes with two exceptions, EL is used to represent Greece, and UK is used to represent the United Kingdom. This notwithstanding, the Official Journal of the European Communities specified that GR and GB be used to represent Greece, for VAT administration purposes, the European Commission uses EL and GB for Greece and the United Kingdom respectively. IETF language tags are also derived from ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes. The full list of ISO 3166-1 codes assigned to countries and territories are usable as region subtags, also, the exceptionally reserved alpha-2 codes defined in ISO 3166-1 are also usable as region subtags for language tags. Some other region grouping subtags are derived from other standards, under the newer stability policies, old assigned codes that have been withdrawn from ISO 3166-1 should no longer be reassigned to another country or territory. The following is a colour-coded decoding table of all ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes, click on the cell to see the definition of each code. The following alpha-2 codes can be user-assigned, AA, QM to QZ, XA to XZ, for example, UN/LOCODE assigns XZ to represent installations in international waters. The Unicode Common Locale Data Repository assigns QO to represent Outlying Oceania, before the adoption of the macroregion code EU by ISO, CLDR also used QU to represent the European Union. The code XK is being used by the European Commission, the IMF, the code XA is being used by Switzerland, as a country code for the Canary Islands, although IC is already reserved for that purpose. The code XN is being used by the World Intellectual Property Organization as an indicator for the Nordic Patent Institute, the codes XE, XS and XW are used by WhatsApp to represent the flags of England, Scotland and Wales as Emoji. Reserved code elements are codes which have become obsolete, or are required in order to enable a user application of the standard. The reserved alpha-2 codes can be divided into the four categories, exceptional reservations, transitional reservations, indeterminate reservations. These codes may be used only during a period of at least five years while new code elements that may have replaced them are taken into use
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
–
A map of Europe, with ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes in place of the names of countries and other territories
16.
Internet
–
The Internet is the global system of interconnected computer networks that use the Internet protocol suite to link devices worldwide. The origins of the Internet date back to research commissioned by the United States federal government in the 1960s to build robust, the primary precursor network, the ARPANET, initially served as a backbone for interconnection of regional academic and military networks in the 1980s. Although the Internet was widely used by academia since the 1980s, Internet use grew rapidly in the West from the mid-1990s and from the late 1990s in the developing world. In the two decades since then, Internet use has grown 100-times, measured for the period of one year, newspaper, book, and other print publishing are adapting to website technology, or are reshaped into blogging, web feeds and online news aggregators. The entertainment industry was initially the fastest growing segment on the Internet, the Internet has enabled and accelerated new forms of personal interactions through instant messaging, Internet forums, and social networking. Business-to-business and financial services on the Internet affect supply chains across entire industries, the Internet has no centralized governance in either technological implementation or policies for access and usage, each constituent network sets its own policies. The term Internet, when used to refer to the global system of interconnected Internet Protocol networks, is a proper noun. In common use and the media, it is not capitalized. Some guides specify that the word should be capitalized when used as a noun, the Internet is also often referred to as the Net, as a short form of network. Historically, as early as 1849, the word internetted was used uncapitalized as an adjective, the designers of early computer networks used internet both as a noun and as a verb in shorthand form of internetwork or internetworking, meaning interconnecting computer networks. The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used interchangeably in everyday speech, however, the World Wide Web or the Web is only one of a large number of Internet services. The Web is a collection of interconnected documents and other web resources, linked by hyperlinks, the term Interweb is a portmanteau of Internet and World Wide Web typically used sarcastically to parody a technically unsavvy user. The ARPANET project led to the development of protocols for internetworking, the third site was the Culler-Fried Interactive Mathematics Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, followed by the University of Utah Graphics Department. In an early sign of growth, fifteen sites were connected to the young ARPANET by the end of 1971. These early years were documented in the 1972 film Computer Networks, early international collaborations on the ARPANET were rare. European developers were concerned with developing the X.25 networks, in December 1974, RFC675, by Vinton Cerf, Yogen Dalal, and Carl Sunshine, used the term internet as a shorthand for internetworking and later RFCs repeated this use. Access to the ARPANET was expanded in 1981 when the National Science Foundation funded the Computer Science Network, in 1982, the Internet Protocol Suite was standardized, which permitted worldwide proliferation of interconnected networks.5 Mbit/s and 45 Mbit/s. Commercial Internet service providers emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the ARPANET was decommissioned in 1990
Internet
–
The Internet Messenger by
Buky Schwartz in
Holon.
Internet
–
An
Opte Project visualization of
routing paths through a portion of the Internet
Internet
–
ICANN headquarters in the
Playa Vista neighborhood of
Los Angeles, California, United States.
Internet
–
This
NeXT Computer was used by
Tim Berners-Lee at
CERN and became the world's first
Web server.
17.
Japan
–
Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
Japan
–
The
Golden Hall and
five-storey pagoda of
Hōryū-ji, among the oldest wooden buildings in the world,
National Treasures, and a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Japan
Japan
–
Samurai warriors face Mongols, during the
Mongol invasions of Japan. The
Kamikaze, two storms, are said to have saved Japan from Mongol fleets.
Japan
–
Samurai could
kill a commoner for the slightest insult and were widely feared by the Japanese population.
Edo period, 1798
18.
Japanese yen
–
The yen is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the exchange market after the United States dollar. It is also used as a reserve currency after the U. S. dollar, the euro. Before the Meiji Restoration, Japans feudal fiefs all issued their own money, hansatsu, in an array of incompatible denominations. The New Currency Act of 1871 did away with these and established the yen, the former han became prefectures and their mints private chartered banks, which initially retained the right to print money. To bring an end to this situation the Bank of Japan was founded in 1882, following World War II the yen lost much of its prewar value. To stabilize the Japanese economy the exchange rate of the yen was fixed at ¥360 per $1 as part of the Bretton Woods system, when that system was abandoned in 1971, the yen became undervalued and was allowed to float. The yen had appreciated to a peak of ¥271 per $1 in 1973, then underwent periods of depreciation and appreciation due to the 1973 oil crisis, arriving at a value of ¥227 per $1 by 1980. Since 1973, the Japanese government has maintained a policy of intervention. The Japanese government focuses on an export market, and tries to ensure a low yen value through a trade surplus. Since that time, however, the yen has greatly decreased in value, the Bank of Japan maintains a policy of zero to near-zero interest rates and the Japanese government has an extreme anti-inflation policy. Yen derives from the Japanese word 圓, which is cognate with the Chinese yuan, originally, the Chinese had traded silver in mass called sycees and when Spanish and Mexican silver coins arrived, the Chinese called them silver rounds for their circular shapes. The coins and the name appeared in Japan. While the Chinese eventually replaced 圓 with 元, the Japanese continued to use the same word, the spelling and pronunciation yen is standard in English. This is because mainly English speakers who visited Japan at the end of the Edo period to the early Meiji period spelled words this way, ゑん /wen/ in historical kana orthography. In the 16th century, Japanese /e/ and /we/ both had been pronounced and Portuguese missionaries had spelled them ye, some time thereafter, by the middle of the 18th century, /e/ and /we/ came to be pronounced as in modern Japanese, although some regions retain the pronunciation. In the early Meiji era, James Curtis Hepburn, following Medhurst, spelled all es as ye in his A Japanese and that was the first full-scale Japanese-English/English-Japanese dictionary, which had a strong influence on Westerners in Japan and probably prompted the spelling yen. Hepburn revised most of yes to e in the 3rd edition in order to mirror the contemporary pronunciation and this was probably already fixed and has remained so ever since
Japanese yen
–
Early 1 yen
banknote (1873), engraved and printed by the Continental Bank Note Company of New York.
Japanese yen
–
Banknotes
Japanese yen
–
Early one yen coin (1.5g of pure gold), obverse and reverse.
Japanese yen
–
Early silver one yen coin, 24.26 grams of pure silver, Japan, minted in 1870 (Year 3 of the
Meiji period).
19.
Dollar
–
Dollar is the name of more than twenty currencies, including those of the United States, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Liberia, Jamaica and Namibia. Generally, one dollar is divided into one hundred cents, on 15 January 1520, the Czech Kingdom of Bohemia began minting coins from silver mined locally in Joachimsthal and marked on reverse with the Czech lion. The coins were called joachimsthaler, which became shortened in common usage to thaler or taler, the German name Joachimsthal literally means Joachims valley or Joachims dale. A later Dutch coin also depicting a lion was called the leeuwendaler or leeuwendaalder, the Dutch Republic produced these coins to accommodate its booming international trade. The leeuwendaler circulated throughout the Middle East and was imitated in several German and Italian cities and this coin was also popular in the Dutch East Indies and in the Dutch New Netherland Colony. It was in throughout the Thirteen Colonies during the 17th. The currencies of Romania and Bulgaria are, to this day, the modern American-English pronunciation of dollar is still remarkably close to the 17th century Dutch pronunciation of daler. Some well-worn examples circulating in the Colonies were known as dog dollars, Spanish pesos – having the same weight and shape – came to be known as Spanish dollars. By the time of the American Revolution, Spanish dollars gained significance because they backed paper money authorized by the individual colonies, common in the Thirteen Colonies, Spanish dollars were even legal tender in one colony, Virginia. On April 2,1792, U. S. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton reported to Congress the precise amount of found in Spanish dollar coins in common use in the states. As a result, the United States dollar was defined as a unit of silver weighing 371 4/16th grains. It was specified that the money of account of the United States should be expressed in those same dollars or parts thereof, in an act passed in January 1837, the dollars alloy was set at 15%. Subsequent coins would contain the amount of pure silver as previously. On February 21,1853, the quantity of silver in the coins was reduced. However, the dollars constitutional meaning has remained unchanged through the years, silver was mostly removed from U. S. coinage by 1965 and the dollar became a free-floating fiat currency without a commodity backing defined in terms of real gold or silver. The US Mint continues to make silver $1-denomination coins, but these are not intended for general circulation, there are many quotes in the plays of William Shakespeare referring to dollars as money. This might be supported by a reference to the sum of ten dollars in Macbeth. In 1804, a British five-shilling piece, or crown, was sometimes called dollar and it was an overstruck Spanish eight real coin, the original of which was known as a Spanish dollar
Dollar
–
A
United States two-dollar bill. Rarely seen in circulation, but still in production and legal tender.
Dollar
–
A
New Zealand one-dollar coin
Dollar
–
500 old
Zimbabwean dollar bill of the first Zimbabwean dollar
Dollar
–
A 100 billion dollars special agro-cheque issued during the
hyperinflation in Zimbabwe
20.
Franc
–
The franc is the name of several currency units. The French franc was the currency of France until the euro was adopted in 1999. The Swiss franc is a world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription francorum rex used on early French coins and until the 18th century, or from the French franc, the countries that use francs include Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and most of Francophone Africa. Before the introduction of the euro, francs were used in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, while Andorra. The franc was used within the French Empires colonies, including Algeria and Cambodia. The franc is sometimes italianised or hispanicised as the franco, for instance in Luccan franco, one franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. It was equivalent to one livre tournois, the French franc was the name of a gold coin issued in France from 1360 until 1380, then a silver coin issued between 1575 and 1641. The franc finally became the currency from 1795 until 1999. Though abolished as a coin by Louis XIII in 1641 in favor of the gold louis and silver écu. The franc was also minted for many of the former French colonies, such as Morocco, Algeria, French West Africa, today, after independence, many of these countries continue to use the franc as their standard denomination. The value of the French franc was locked to the euro at 1 euro =6, fourteen African countries use the franc CFA, originally worth 1.7 French francs and then from 1948,2 francs but after January 1994 worth only 0.01 French franc. Therefore, from January 1999,1 CFA franc is equivalent to €0.00152449, a separate circulates in Frances Pacific territories, worth €0.0084. In 1981, The Comoros established an arrangement with the French government similar to that of the CFA franc, originally,50 Comorian francs were worth 1 French franc. In January 1994, the rate was changed to 75 Comorian francs to the French franc, since 1999, the currency has been pegged to the euro. The conquest of most of western Europe by Revolutionary and Napoleonic France led to the wide circulation. Newly unified Italy adopted the lira on a basis in 1862. In the 1870s the gold value was made the fixed standard, the 1921 monetary union of Belgium and Luxembourg survived, however, forming the basis for full economic union in 1932
Franc
–
Franc
Franc
Franc
Franc
21.
Peso
–
The peso was a coin that originated in Spain and became of immense importance internationally. Peso is now the name of the unit of several former Spanish colonies. Peso was a given in Spain and particularly in Hispanic America to the 8-royal coin or real de a ocho. It had a weight of 27.468 g and a millesimal fineness of 930.5. This real de a ocho or peso was minted in Spain from the mid 16th century and it was originally known as the piece of eight in English, due to the nominal value of 8 reales. The piece of eight became a coin of importance in the 17th century, especially in trade with India and the Far East. At this time, the piece of eight was produced in Mexico and Peru in a rapid and simplified manner. Instead of making a proper flan or planchet, a lump of silver of proper weight and fineness was cut off the end of a bar, then flattened out. The result was a crude, temporary coin, a lump of silver. This type of coin known as a cob in English. The Crown was entitled to a fifth of all gold and silver mined, the Quinto Real, although intended to serve only temporarily, some did remain in circulation as currency. Because of their shape and incomplete design, cobs were ideal candidates for clipping and counterfeiting. This coin was known in English as a piece of eight, then as a Spanish dollar. In French, it was a piastre and in Portuguese, a pataca or patacão, the Spanish names at various times and in various places were patacón, duro, or fuerte. Because of domestic financial and monetary problems, Spain devalued its currency by about 20% on October 14,1686. The new eight-real was known as a peso maria or peso sencillo, after this, the monetary systems of Spain and of Spanish America developed along different lines. Accounts in Spain were kept in the real of 34 maravedíes, while in Spanish America accounts continued in the silver real. After 1686, the old piece of eight remained the standard coin in the Spanish colonies, Spanish laws of 1728 and 1730 adopted modern minting techniques
Peso
–
A Mexican dollar used as
Japanese currency, marked with “Aratame sanbu sadame” (改三分定, “Fixed to the value of 3 bu ”), 1859.
Peso
–
Countries that use a currency named peso.
22.
Pound (currency)
–
The pound is a unit of currency in some nations. The term originated in the Frankish Empire as a result of Charlemagnes currency reform and was taken to Great Britain as the value of a pound of silver. The English word pound is cognate with, among others, German Pfund, Dutch pond, all ultimately derive from a borrowing into Proto-Germanic of the Latin expression lībra pondō, in which the word pondō is the ablative case of the Latin noun pondus. The English word pound first referred to a unit of mass or weight, the currencys symbol is £, a stylised representation of the letter L, standing for livre or lira. Historically, £1 worth of coins were a troy pound in weight. Today, the term may refer to a number of currencies, some of them, those official in former Italian states and in countries formerly belonging to the Ottoman Empire, are called pound in English, while in the local languages their official name is lira. See also Isle of Man pound, Jersey pound, Guernsey pound, egyptian pound Lebanese pound South Sudanese pound Sudanese pound Syrian pound The following currencies are interchangeable at par with the pound sterling. These are issued in the Crown dependencies and certain British Overseas Territories, the Australian pound was also used in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, Nauru, New Hebrides and Papua and New Guinea. It was replaced in the New Hebrides in 1977 by the New Hebrides franc. S, the Jamaican pound was also used in Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands until 1968. Libyan pound Malawian pound Maltese pound New Brunswick pound Newfoundland pound New Guinean pound New Zealand pound, the New Zealand pound was also used in the Cook Islands and the Pitcairn Islands. The South African pound was used in Basutoland, Bechuanaland, South West Africa
Pound (currency)
–
Countries where the official currency is called "pound"
23.
Mexican peso
–
The Mexican peso is the currency of Mexico. Modern peso and dollar currencies have a origin in the 15th–19th century Spanish dollar, most continuing to use its sign. The Mexican peso is the 8th most traded currency in the world, the third most traded currency originating from the Americas, the current ISO4217 code for the peso is MXN, prior to the 1993 revaluation, the code MXP was used. The peso is subdivided into 100 centavos, represented by ¢, as of March 31,2017, the pesos exchange rate was $19.94 per Euro and $18.71 per U. S. dollar. The name was used in reference to pesos oro or pesos plata. The Spanish word peso means weight, the peso was originally the name of the eight-real coins issued in Mexico by Spain. These were the so-called Spanish dollars or pieces of eight in wide circulation in the Americas, in 1863, the first issue was made of coins denominated in centavos, worth one hundredth of the peso. This was followed in 1866 by coins denominated one peso, coins denominated in reales continued to be issued until 1897. In 1905, the content of the peso was reduced by 49. 3%. However, from 1918 onward, the weight and fineness of all the coins declined, until 1977. On January 1,1993 the Bank of Mexico introduced a new currency, one new peso, or N$1.00, was equal to 1000 of the obsolete MXP pesos. The ISO4217 code, however, remained unchanged as MXN, thanks to the stability of the Mexican economy and the growth in foreign investment, the Mexican peso is now among the 15 most traded currency units in recent years. The first coins of the currency were 1 centavo pieces minted in 1863. Emperor Maximilian, ruler of the Second Mexican Empire from 1864–1867 and his portrait was on the obverse, with the legend Maximiliano Emperador, the reverse shows the imperial arms and the legends Imperio Mexicano and 1 Peso and the date. They were struck from 1866 to 1867, the New Mexican republic continued to strike the 8 reales piece, but also began minting coins denominated in centavos and pesos. In addition to copper 1 centavo coins, silver coins of 5,10,25 and 50 centavos and 1 peso were introduced between 1867 and 1869, gold 1, 2½,5,10 and 20-peso coins were introduced in 1870. The obverses featured the Mexican eagle and the legend Republica Mexicana, the reverses of the larger coins showed a pair of scales, those of the smaller coins, the denomination. One-peso coins were made from 1865 to 1873, when 8 reales coins resumed production, in 1882, cupro-nickel 1,2 and 5 centavos coins were issued but they were only minted for two years
Mexican peso
–
A two-peso coin from 1921, issued to commemorate the centennial of the independence of Mexico.
Mexican peso
–
Maximilian I of Mexico depicted on a 20 peso gold coin (1866)
Mexican peso
–
$1,000
Mexican peso
24.
Russian ruble
–
The Russian ruble is the currency of the Russian Federation, the two partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and the two unrecognized republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. The ruble is subdivided into 100 kopeks, the ruble was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. Today apart from Russia, Belarus and Transnistria uses currencies with the same name, the ruble was the worlds first decimal currency, it was decimalised in 1704 when the ruble became legally equal to 100 kopeks. In 1992 the Soviet ruble was replaced with the Russian ruble at the rate 1 SUR =1 RUR. In 1998 following the crisis, the Russian ruble was redenominated with the new code RUB. Today, although RUB being the code of the Russian ruble. The ruble is the oldest national currency after the Pound sterling in the world, the ruble has been used on the Russian territories since the 13th century. The modern Russian ruble actually appeared in December 1991 in parallel with the Soviet ruble, following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet ruble remained the currency of the Russian Federation until 1992. A new set of coins was issued in 1992 and a new set of banknotes was issued in the name of Bank of Russia in 1993. The Russian ruble with the ISO4217 code is RUR and number 810 replaced the Soviet ruble at the rate 1 SUR =1 RUR. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation introduced new coins in 1992 in denominations of 1,5,10,20,50 and 100 rubles, the coins depict the double-headed eagle without a crown, sceptre and globus cruciger above the legend Банк России. It is exactly the same eagle, that the artist Ivan Bilibin painted after the February Revolution as a coat of arms for the Russian Republic. The 1 and 5 ruble coins were minted in brass-clad steel, the 10 and 20 ruble coins in cupro-nickel, in 1993, aluminium-bronze 50 ruble coins and cupro-nickel-zinc 100 ruble coins were issued, and the material of 10 and 20 ruble coins s was changed to nickel-plated steel. In 1995 the material of 50 ruble coins was changed to brass-plated steel, as high inflation persisted, the lowest denominations disappeared from circulation and the other denominations became rarely used. During this period the commemorative one ruble coin was regularly issued and it was practically identical in size and weight to a 5 Swiss franc coin. For this reason, there have been instances of ruble coins being used on a large scale to defraud automated vending machines in Switzerland. In 1961, new State Treasury notes were introduced for 1,3 and 5 rubles, along with new State Bank notes for 10,25,50 and 100 rubles. In 1991, the State Bank took over production of 1,3 and 5 ruble notes and also introduced 200,500 and 1,000 ruble notes, although the 25 ruble note was no longer issued
Russian ruble
–
5,000 rubles (2006)
Russian ruble
Russian ruble
–
Russian ruble
Russian ruble
–
Five hundred rubles featuring
Peter the Great and a
personification of
Mother Russia, 1912
25.
Numismatics
–
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. Early money used by people is referred to as Odd and Curious, the Kyrgyz people used horses as the principal currency unit and gave small change in lambskins, the lambskins may be suitable for numismatic study, but the horse is not. Many objects have been used for centuries, such as shells, precious metals, cocoa beans, large stones. Today, most transactions take place by a form of payment with either inherent, standardized, Numismatic value may be used to refer to the value in excess of the monetary value conferred by law, which is known as the collector value. Economic and historical studies of use and development are an integral part of the numismatists study of moneys physical embodiment. First attested in English 1829, the word comes from the adjective numismatic. It was borrowed in 1792 from French numismatiques, itself a derivation from Late Latin numismatis, genitive of numisma, throughout its history, money itself has been made to be a scarce good, although it does not have to be. Many materials have been used to form money, from naturally scarce precious metals and cowry shells through cigarettes to entirely artificial money, called fiat money, many complementary currencies use time as a unit of measure, using mutual credit accounting that keeps the balance of money intact. Modern money is essentially a token – an abstraction, paper currency is perhaps the most common type of physical money today. However, goods such as gold or silver retain many of the properties of money, such as volatility. However, these goods are not controlled by one single authority, coin collecting may have existed in ancient times. Caesar Augustus gave coins of every device, including old pieces of the kings, petrarch, who wrote in a letter that he was often approached by vinediggers with old coins asking him to buy or to identify the ruler, is credited as the first Renaissance collector. Petrarch presented a collection of Roman coins to Emperor Charles IV in 1355, the first book on coins was De Asse et Partibus by Guillaume Budé. During the early Renaissance ancient coins were collected by European royalty and nobility, Numismatics is called the Hobby of Kings, due to its most esteemed founders. Professional societies organized in the 19th century, the Royal Numismatic Society was founded in 1836 and immediately began publishing the journal that became the Numismatic Chronicle. The American Numismatic Society was founded in 1858 and began publishing the American Journal of Numismatics in 1866, in 1931 the British Academy launched the Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum publishing collections of Ancient Greek coinage. The first volume of Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles was published in 1958, after World War II in Germany a project, Fundmünzen der Antike was launched, to register every coin found within Germany. This idea found successors in many countries, in the United States, the US mint established a coin Cabinet in 1838 when chief coiner Adam Eckfeldt donated his personal collection
Numismatics
–
Two 20 kr
gold coins from the
Scandinavian Monetary Union.
Numismatics
–
A
Roman denarius, a standardized
silver coin.
26.
Coin
–
A coin is a small, flat, round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a government, Coins are usually metal or alloy, or sometimes made of synthetic materials. Coins made of metal are stored in large quantities as bullion coins. Other coins are used as money in transactions, circulating alongside banknotes. Usually the highest value coin in circulation is less than the lowest-value note. In the last hundred years, the value of circulation coins has occasionally been lower than the value of the metal they contain. Exceptions to the rule of face value being higher than content value also occur for some bullion coins made of copper, silver, or gold, while the Eagle, Maple Leaf, and Sovereign coins have nominal face values, the Krugerrand does not. The first coins were developed independently in Iron Age Anatolia and Archaic Greece, India, Coins spread rapidly in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE, throughout Greece and Persia, and further to the Balkans. Standardized Roman currency was used throughout the Roman Empire, important Roman gold and silver coins were continued into the Middle Ages. Fiat money first arose in medieval China, with the paper money. Early paper money was introduced in Europe in the later Middle Ages, the penny was minted as a silver coin until the 17th century. The first circulating United States coins were cents, produced in 1793, Coins were an evolution of currency systems of the Late Bronze Age, where standard-sized ingots, and tokens such as knife money, were used to store and transfer value. In the late Chinese Bronze Age, standardized cast tokens were made and these were replicas in bronze of earlier Chinese currency, cowrie shells, so they were named Bronze Shell. According to Aristotle and Pollux, the first issuer of coins was Hermodike of Kyme The earliest coins are associated with Iron Age Anatolia. Early electrum coins were not standardized in weight, and in their earliest stage may have been ritual objects, such as badges or medals, issued by priests. The first Lydian coins were made of electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of silver, most of the early Lydian coins include no writing, only an image of a symbolic animal. Anatolian Artemis was the Πὀτνια Θηρῶν, whose symbol was the stag, a small percentage of early Lydian/Greek coins have a legend
Coin
–
A
Swiss ten-cent coin from 1879, similar to the oldest coins still in official use today
Coin
–
An original Celtic
Biatec coin and its replica on a former Slovak 5-
koruna coin (1993-2008)
Coin
–
An
oxhide ingot from
Crete.
Late Bronze Age metal ingots were given standard shapes, such as the shape of an "ox-hide", suggesting that they represented standardized values.
Coin
–
1/3rd
stater from
Lydia, 6th century BCE
27.
Banknote
–
A banknote is a type of negotiable instrument known as a promissory note, made by a bank, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by banks, who were legally required to redeem the notes for legal tender when presented to the chief cashier of the originating bank. These commercial banknotes only traded at face value in the served by the issuing bank. Commercial banknotes have primarily been replaced by national banknotes issued by central banks, national banknotes are generally legal tender, meaning that medium of payment is allowed by law or recognized by a legal system to be valid for meeting a financial obligation. Historically, banks sought to ensure that they could always pay customers in coins when they presented banknotes for payment and this practice of backing notes with something of substance is the basis for the history of central banks backing their currencies in gold or silver. Today, most national currencies have no backing in precious metals or commodities and have value only by fiat, with the exception of non-circulating high-value or precious metal issues, coins are used for lower valued monetary units, while banknotes are used for higher values. The idea of using a durable light-weight substance as evidence of a promise to pay a bearer on demand originated in China during the Han Dynasty in 118 BC, the first known banknote was first developed in China during the Tang and Song dynasties, starting in the 7th century. Its roots were in merchant receipts of deposit during the Tang Dynasty, as merchants, during the Yuan Dynasty, banknotes were adopted by the Mongol Empire. In Europe, the concept of banknotes was first introduced during the 13th century by such as Marco Polo. Counterfeiting, the forgery of banknotes, is an inherent challenge in issuing currency and it is countered by anticounterfeiting measures in the printing of banknotes. Fighting the counterfeiting of banknotes and cheques has been a driver of security printing methods development in recent centuries. Paper currency first developed in the Tang Dynasty China during the 7th century, although true paper money did not appear until the 11th century, the usage of paper currency later spread throughout the Mongol Empire. European explorers like Marco Polo introduced the concept in Europe during the 13th century, napoleon issued paper banknotes in the early 1800s. Paper money originated in two forms, drafts, which are receipts for value held on account, and bills, the perception of banknotes as money has evolved over time. Originally, money was based on precious metals, Banknotes were seen as essentially an I. O. U. or promissory note, a promise to pay someone in precious metal on presentation. With the gradual removal of precious metals from the system, banknotes evolved to represent credit money. Notes or bills were referred to in 18th century novels and were often a key part of the plot such as a note drawn by Lord X for £100 which becomes due in 3 months time. Its roots were in merchant receipts of deposit during the Tang Dynasty, as merchants, before the use of paper, the Chinese used coins that were circular, with a rectangular hole in the middle
Banknote
–
Banknotes with a face value of 5000 of different currencies.
Banknote
–
The current
banknotes of the Swiss franc series possess at least eighteen security features. As of 2015, the Swiss 1000-franc banknote is the world's highest value currently-issued banknote, followed by the
Singapore 1000-dollar note and the
500 euro note.
Banknote
–
Song Dynasty Jiaozi, the world's earliest paper money.
Banknote
–
A Yuan dynasty printing plate and banknote.
28.
List of currencies
–
A list of all currencies, current and historic. The local name of the currency is used in this list, for a list of current national currencies, see List of circulating currencies. For a list of currencies, see List of alternative currencies. For a list of currencies, see List of digital currencies. For a list of currencies, see List of historical currencies. For a list of currencies, see List of fictional currencies. For a list of currencies with ISO codes, see ISO4217, Gallen Frank – St. Gallen Thaler – St
List of currencies
–
Numismatics
29.
Local currency
–
In economics, a local currency is a currency that can be spent in a particular geographical locality at participating organisations. A regional currency is a form of local currency encompassing a larger geographical area, a local currency acts as a complementary currency to a national currency, rather than replacing it, and aims to encourage spending within a local community, especially with locally-owned businesses. The currency may not be backed by a government or be legal tender. About 300 complementary currencies, including local currencies, are listed in the Complementary Currency Resource Center worldwide database, local currency - a complementary currency used in a locality. Regional currency - a local currency where the locality is a larger region, auxiliary currency, microcurrency, Eco-Money - less common synonyms for community or local currency. Private currency - a currency issued by an individual, business or non-governmental organization, Complementary currencies are a type of private currency. Sectoral currency - a complementary currency used within one economic sector, the Wörgl experiment illustrates some of the common characteristics and major benefits of local currencies. Local currencies with negative interest rate or demurrage tend to much more rapidly than national currencies. The same amount of currency in circulation is employed more times and it produces greater benefit per unit. The higher velocity of money is a result of the negative interest rate which encourages people to spend the more quickly. Local currencies enable the community to fully utilize its existing productive resources, especially unemployed labor. They are based on the premise that the community is not fully utilizing its productive capacities, the alternative currency is utilized to increase demand, resulting in a greater exploitation of productive resources. Since local currencies are accepted within the community, their usage encourages the purchase of locally produced and locally-available goods. Thus, for any level of activity, more of the benefit accrues to the local community. For instance, construction work undertaken with local currencies employs local labor, the enhanced local effect becomes an incentive for the local population to accept and utilize the scrips. Some forms of currency can promote fuller utilization of resources over a much wider geographic area. The Fureai kippu system in Japan issues credits in exchange for assistance to senior citizens, family members living far from their parents can earn credits by offering assistance to the elderly in their local community. The credits can then be transferred to their parents and redeemed by them for local assistance, airline frequent flyer miles are a form of complementary currency that promotes customer-loyalty in exchange for free travel
Local currency
–
Salt Spring Dollars are a community currency issued by the Salt Spring Island Monetary Foundation. The currency is used by both tourists and local residents of Salt Spring Island.
30.
Company scrip
–
Company scrip is scrip issued by a company to pay its employees. It can only be exchanged in company owned by the employers. In the UK, such systems have long been formally outlawed under the Truck Acts. In the United States, mining and logging camps were created, owned and operated by a single company. With this economic monopoly, the employer could place large markups on goods, making workers dependent on the company, in 19th century United States forested areas, cash was often hard to come by. This was particularly true in lumber camps, where workers were paid in company-issued scrip rather than government issued currency. In Wisconsin, for example, forest-products and lumber companies were exempted from the state law requiring employers to pay workers wages in cash. Lumber and timber companies paid their workers in scrip which was redeemable at the company store. Company-run stores served as a convenience for workers and their families, in certain cases, employers included contract provisions requiring employees to patronize the company stores. Employees who wanted to change their scrip to cash generally had to do so at a discount, lumber company scrip was redeemable in lumber as well as other merchandise. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, such an option may have appealed to new settlers in the region, taking some of their wages in lumber may have helped them build a much-needed house or barn. Coal scrip is tokens or paper with a monetary value issued to workers as an advance on wages by the company or its designated representative. As such, coal scrip could only be used at the locality or coal town of the company named. As there were no other retail establishments, this constituted a monopoly, the country musician Merle Travis makes a reference to coal scrip in the song, Sixteen Tons on the Folk Songs of the Hills album. The practice has been documented as recently as September,2008, Truck system Private currency Disney dollar Harte, C. J. Coal mine scrip collectors to meet, cawood, Steve, past president National Scrip Collectors AssociationScrip Definition
Company scrip
–
Scrip used by Olga Coal Company,
Coalwood, WV
Company scrip
–
Various forms of coal scrip
31.
Local exchange trading system
–
LETS allow people to negotiate the value of their own hours or services. Michael Linton originated the term Local Exchange Trading System in 1983 and for a time ran the Comox Valley LETSystems in Courtenay, the system he designed was intended as an adjunct to the national currency, rather than a replacement for it. LETS networks facilitate exchange between members by providing a directory of offers and by allowing a line of credit to each. Members IOUs are logged in an accounting system which publishes a directory. In case of a default, the loss of value or units is absorbed equally by all members, which makes it a mutual credit exchange. For instance, a member may earn credit by doing childcare for one person and spend it later on carpentry with another person in the network, or they may spend first. Many people have difficulty adjusting to different kind of money system. A conventional national currency which yields interest to savers and costs interest to borrowers incentivises different behaviours to mutual credit which has no commodity value, most groups range from 50-150 members with a small core who use the system as a way of life. After flourishing in the 1990s, the LETS movement is now populated by the same aging people. Interest in local currency has moved on to other such as Time-based currency. In many countries apart from Canada, USA and UK, the distinction between LETS and timebanking is much less clear, as most LETS now use time as their unit of account. On the whole, the movement has been slow to adapt to the internet, reluctance to engage with technology, a belief in decentralisation/localisation and lack of funds all contributed to this. Michael Linton has stated that such systems are personal money networks rather than LETS, the first LETS required nothing more than a telephone, an answering machine and a notebook. Since then there have been attempts to improve the process with software, printed notes. Members whose balances exceed specified limits are obliged to move their balance back towards zero by spending or earning, LETS is a full-fledged monetary or exchange system, unlike direct barter. LETS members are able to earn credits from any member and spend them with anyone else on the scheme, since the details are worked out by the users, there is much variation between schemes. In a number of countries, various government taxation authorities have examined LETS along with forms of counter trade. Generally for personal arrangements, social arrangements, hobbies or pastimes and this generally covers the vast majority of LETS transactions
Local exchange trading system
–
Numismatics
32.
Time-based currency
–
In economics, a time-based currency is an alternative currency or exchange system where the unit of account/value is the person-hour or some other time unit. Some time-based currencies value everyone’s contributions equally, one hour equals one service credit. In these systems, one person volunteers to work for an hour for another person, thus, they are credited with one hour, others use time units that might be fractions of an hour. Time-based currency exchanges date back to the early 19th century, the National Equitable Labour Exchange was founded by Robert Owen, a Welsh socialist and labor reformer in London, England, in 1832. It was established in Birmingham, England, before folding in 1834 and it issued Labour Notes similar to banknotes, denominated in units of 1,2,5,10,20,40, and 80 hours. John Gray, a socialist economist, worked with Owen and later with Ricardian Socialists, in 1848, the socialist and first self-designated anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon postulated a system of time chits. Josiah Warren published a book describing labor notes in 1852 and he also went on to trademark the terms Time Bank and Time Credit. Time banking is a community development tool and works by facilitating the exchange of skills and it aims to build the core economy of family and community by valuing and rewarding the work done in it. The worlds first time bank was started in Japan by Teruko Mizushima in 1973 with the idea that participants could earn credits which they could spend any time during their lives. In the 1940s, Mizushima had already foreseen the emerging problems of a society such as seen today. In the 1990s the movement took off in the USA, with Dr Edgar Cahn pioneering it there, piecemeal efforts to rebuild genuine community. In particular Cahn focused on the top-down attitude prevalent in social services and he believed that one of the major failings of many social service organizations was their unwillingness to enroll the help of those people they were trying to help. He theorized that a system like time banking could the infrastructure of trust, Time Bank members sometimes refer to this as a return to simpler times when the community was there for its individuals. An interview at a bank in the Gorbals neighbourhood of Glasgow revealed the following sentiment. The Gorbals has never — not for a long time — had a lot of community spirit. Way back, years ago, it had a lot of community spirit, thats what I think the projects doing, trying to bring that back, that community sense. Time dollars are a complementary currency used as a means of providing mutual credit in Time Banking. They are typically called time credits or service credits outside the United States, Time Bank members exchange services for Time Dollars
Time-based currency
–
Key concepts
33.
Ancient Greek coinage
–
The history of Ancient Greek coinage can be divided into four periods, the Archaic, the Classical, the Hellenistic and the Roman. The Archaic period extends from the introduction of coinage to the Greek world during the 7th century BC until the Persian Wars in about 480 BC, the Greek cities continued to produce their own coins for several more centuries under Roman rule. The coins produced during this period are called Roman provincial coins or Greek Imperial Coins, the word drachm means a handful, literally a grasp. Drachmae were divided into six obols, and six spits made a handful and this suggests that before coinage came to be used in Greece, spits in prehistoric times were used as measures in daily transactions. Because of this aspect, Spartan legislation famously forbade issuance of Spartan coin, and enforced the continued use of iron spits so as to discourage avarice. In addition to its meaning, the word obol was retained as a Greek word for coins of small value. The obol was further subdivided into tetartemorioi which represented 1/4 of an obol and this coin is mentioned by Aristotle as the smallest silver coin. Various multiples of this denomination were also struck, including the trihemitetartemorion valued at 3/8 of an obol and these coins were made of electrum, an alloy of gold and silver that was highly prized and abundant in that area. By the middle of the 6th century BC, technology had advanced, making the production of pure gold, accordingly, King Croesus introduced a bi-metallic standard that allowed for coins of pure gold and pure silver to be struck and traded in the marketplace. The Greek world was divided more than two thousand self-governing city-states, and more than half of them issued their own coins. As such coins circulated widely, other cities began to mint coins to this Aeginetan weight standard of. Athenian coins, however, were struck on the Attic standard, over time, Athens plentiful supply of silver from the mines at Laurion and its increasing dominance in trade made this the pre-eminent standard. These coins, known as owls because of their central design feature, were minted to an extremely tight standard of purity. This contributed to their success as the premier trade coin of their era, tetradrachms on this weight standard continued to be a widely used coin through the classical period. By the time of Alexander the Great and his Hellenistic successors, the Classical period saw Greek coinage reach a high level of technical and aesthetic quality. Larger cities now produced a range of silver and gold coins, most bearing a portrait of their patron god or goddess or a legendary hero on one side. Some coins employed a visual pun, some coins from Rhodes featured a rose, the use of inscriptions on coins also began, usually the name of the issuing city. The wealthy cities of Sicily produced some especially fine coins, the large silver decadrachm coin from Syracuse is regarded by many collectors as the finest coin produced in the ancient world, perhaps ever
Ancient Greek coinage
–
Above: Six rod-shaped obeloi (oboloi) displayed at the
Numismatic Museum of Athens, discovered at
Heraion of Argos. Below: grasp of six oboloi forming one drachma
Ancient Greek coinage
–
Electrum coin from
Ephesus, 620-600 BC, known as
Phanes' coin. Obverse:
Stag grazing, ΦΑΝΕΩΣ (retrograde). Reverse: Two incuse punches.
Ancient Greek coinage
–
Dekadrachm
Ancient Greek coinage
–
Tetradrachm
34.
Roman currency
–
Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction to the Republic, during the third century BC, well into Imperial times, Roman currency saw many changes in form, denomination, a persistent feature was the inflationary debasement and replacement of coins over the centuries. Notable examples of this followed the reforms of Diocletian and this trend continued into Byzantine times. The manufacture of coins in the Roman culture, dating from about the 4th century BC, the origin of the word mint is ascribed to the manufacture of silver coin at Rome in 269 BC at the temple of Juno Moneta. This goddess became the personification of money, and her name was applied both to money and to its place of manufacture, Roman mints were spread widely across the Empire, and were sometimes used for propaganda purposes. The populace often learned of a new Roman Emperor when coins appeared with the new Emperors portrait. The Romans cast their larger copper coins in clay moulds carrying distinctive markings, not because they knew nothing of striking, Roman adoption of metallic commodity money was a late development in monetary history. Bullion bars and ingots were used as money in Mesopotamia since the 7th millennium BC, coinage proper was only introduced by the Roman Republican government c.300 BC. For these reasons, the Romans would have known about coinage systems long before their government actually introduced them. The reason behind Romes adoption of coinage was likely cultural, the Romans had no pressing economic need, but they wanted to emulate Greek culture, and they considered the institution of minted money a significant feature of that culture. However, Roman coinage initially saw limited use. The type of money introduced by Rome was unlike that found elsewhere in the ancient Mediterranean and it combined a number of uncommon elements. One example is the large bronze bullion, the aes signatum and it measured about 160 by 90 millimetres and weighed around 1,500 to 1,600 grams, being made out of a highly leaded tin bronze. Although similar metal bars had been produced in Italy and northern Etruscan areas, these had been made of Aes grave. Along with the aes signatum, the Roman state also issued a series of bronze, produced using the manner of manufacture then utilised in Greek Naples, the designs of these early coins were also heavily influenced by Hellenic designs. The designs on the coinage of the Republican period displayed a solid conservatism, usually illustrating mythical scenes or personifications of various gods, in 27 BC, the Roman Republic came to an end as Augustus ascended to the throne as the first emperor. Taking autocratic power, it became recognized that there was a link between the emperors sovereignty and the production of coinage. The imagery on coins took an important step when Julius Caesar issued coins bearing his own portrait, while moneyers had earlier issued coins with portraits of ancestors, Caesars was the first Roman coinage to feature the portrait of a living individual
Roman currency
–
Denarius of
Marcus Aurelius.
Roman currency
–
Bronze aes signatum produced by the Roman Republic after 450 BC.
Roman currency
–
The most commonly used coin denominations and their relative sizes during Roman times.
Roman currency
–
Coins of the Roman Republic and Empire - from Cassell's History of England, Vol. I - anonymous author and artists
35.
Ancient Chinese coinage
–
Ancient Chinese coinage includes some of the earliest known coins. These coins, used as early as the Spring and Autumn period, the Spring and Autumn period also saw the introduction of the first metal coins, however, they were not initially round, instead being either knife shaped or spade shaped. Round metal coins with a round, and then later square hole in the center were first introduced around 350 BCE, the beginning of the Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty to unify China, saw the introduction of a standardised coinage for the whole Empire. Subsequent dynasties produced variations on these round coins throughout the imperial period, ancient Chinese coins are markedly different from coins produced in the west. Chinese coins were manufactured by being cast in molds, whereas western coins were cut and hammered or, in later times. Chinese coins were made from mixtures of metals such copper, tin and lead, from bronze, brass or iron, precious metals like gold. The ratios and purity of the coin metals varied considerably, most Chinese coins were produced with a square hole in the middle. This was used to allow collections of coins to be threaded on a rod so that the rough edges could be filed smooth. Official coin production was not always centralised, but could be spread over many mint locations throughout the country, aside from officially produced coins, private coining was common during many stages of history. Various steps were taken over time to try to combat the private coining and limit its effects, at other times private coining was tolerated. The coins varied in value throughout the history, some coins were produced in very large numbers – during the Western Han, an average of 220 million coins a year were produced. Other coins were of limited circulation and are extremely rare – only six examples of Da Quan Wu Qian from the Eastern Wu Dynasty are known to exist. Occasionally, large hoards of coins have been uncovered, the earliest coinage of China was described by Sima Qian, the great historian of c. While nothing is known about the use of shells as money, gold. They are not found in hoards, and the probability is that all these are in fact funerary items. Archaeological evidence shows that the earliest use of the spade and knife money was in the Spring, as in ancient Greece, socio-economic conditions at the time were favourable to the adoption of coinage. Inscriptions and archaeological evidence shows that cowrie shells were regarded as important objects of value in the Shang Dynasty, in the Zhou period, they are frequently referred to as gifts or rewards from kings and nobles to their subjects. Later imitations in bone, stone or bronze were used as money in some instances
Ancient Chinese coinage
–
Ancient Chinese coins
Ancient Chinese coinage
–
Gold coins marked with "Ying yuan". "Ying" being the name of the Chu capital.
Ancient Chinese coinage
–
Spade money
Ancient Chinese coinage
–
Sloping Shoulder money
36.
Coinage of India
–
Coins provide not only evidence of art and economy, but also a wisdom for understanding the history and politics of a nation. As a means of communication, they speak to the political, Coinage of India, issued by Imperial dynasties and Middle kingdoms began anywhere between 6th century BCE to 1st millennium BCE, and consisted mainly of copper and silver coins in its initial stage. Scholars remain divided over the origins of Indian coinage, cowry shells was first used in India as commodity money. In recent discoveries punched mark Mudras of stone have been found in lost city of Dwaraka, which is said to be existed at least 5,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilisation dates back between 2500 BC and 1750 BC, what is known, however, is that metal currency was minted in India well before the Mauryan Empire, and as radio carbon dating indicates, before the 5th century BCE. The practice of minted coins spread to the Indo-Gangetic Plain from West Asia, the coins of this period were called Puranas, Karshapanas or Pana. Mahajanapadas that minted their own coins included Gandhara, Kuntala, Kuru, Panchala, Shakya, Surasena, the tradition of Indian coinage was further influenced by the coming of Turkic and Mughal invaders in India. The East India Company introduced uniform coinage in the 19th century CE, and these coins were imitated by the modern nation states of Republic of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. Numismatics plays a role in determining certain period of Indian history. Punch-marked coins are a type of early Coinage of India, dating to between about the 6th and 2nd centuries BC. The first coins in India were minted around the 6th century BC by the Mahajanapadas of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the coins of this period were punch-marked coins called Puranas, Karshapanas or Pana. Several of these coins had a symbol, for example, Saurashtra had a humped bull. These coins were made of silver of a weight but with an irregular shape. This was gained by cutting up silver bars and then making the weight by cutting the edges of the coin. They are mentioned in the Manu, Panini, and Buddhist Jataka stories, shurasena Surashtra Early coins of India were made of silver and copper, and bore animal and plant symbols on them. The Mauryan coins were marked with the royal standard to ascertain their authenticity. The Arthashastra, written by Kautilya, mentions minting of coins, Kautilya also seemed to advocate a theory of bimetallism for coinage, which involved the use of two metals, copper and silver, under one government. Punch marked coins were replaced at the fall of the Maurya Empire by cast, each individual coins was first cast by pouring a molten metal, usually copper or silver, into a cavity formed by two molds
Coinage of India
–
Silver punch mark coin of the
Maurya Empire, with symbols of wheel and elephant. 3rd century BCE.
Coinage of India
–
Silver coin of
Chandragupta II of
Gupta Empire, 400 CE
Coinage of India
–
Gold coins of
Chandragupta II of
Gupta Empire, 400 CE
Coinage of India
–
Queen Kumaradevi and King Chandragupta I on a coin of their son Samudragupta 3y50 380 CE.
37.
Achaemenid currency
–
Coins of the Achaemenid Empire were issued from 520 BCE-450 BCE to 330 BCE. It seems that before then, a continuation of Lydian coinage under Persian rule was highly likely, Achaemenid coinage includes the official imperial issues, as well as coins issued by the Achaemenid governors, such as those stationed in ancient Asia Minor. Darius first introduced a currency system at about 520-480, the precise period is debatable. The rate of exchange was 1 Daric =20 Siglos and it consisted of a Daric of between 8. 10-8.50 grams in weight and based on the Babylonian shekel of 8.33 grams. The purity was between 98-99% gold, after the capture of Babylon by Alexander, the Satrap Mazaeus issued the double Daric of 16.65 grams in weight whose image was based on the Daric coin and bore his name until his death in 328 BCE. 1 Daric =25 Attic Drachmae, Siglos is 5. 40-5.60 grams each, but is based on the 0.5 Lydian Siglos of 10. 73-10.92 grams for the full unit. Purity was at first issue 97-98% but by the middle 4th century was 94-95%,1 Siglos =7.5 Attic Obols Daric coins have been found in Asia Minor, Greece, Macedonia and Italy
Achaemenid currency
–
Silver
stater of
Pharnabazus as Satrap of
Cilicia (379-374 BCE), depicting a seated
Baaltars.
British Museum.
Achaemenid currency
–
Daric gold coin (c.490 BC)
Achaemenid currency
–
Dareikos - from an Italian translation of:
Eckhel
38.
Historical money of Tibet
–
The use of historical money in Tibet started in ancient times, when Tibet had no coined currency of its own. Bartering was common, gold was a medium of exchange, and shell money, a few coins from other countries were also occasionally in use. Coins were first used in an extensive way in the 17th century. There were however various difficulties with this system, in 1763/64 and 1785 the first silver coins were struck in Tibet. In 1792 the first mass-produced silver coins were created under joint Chinese, coins bearing Tibetan inscriptions only were subsequently replaced by issues which had Chinese and Tibetan legends. In 1840 purely Tibetan coinage was struck under Tibetan authority, in 1910 the Tibetan government started producing a large range of copper and silver coins of different denominations, and in 1918 to 1921, gold coins were struck. Tibetan banknotes were first issued in 1913, from 1955 to 1959 no more Tibetan coins were created, although banknotes were still being printed, and by 1959 all of the money was gradually being replaced with renminbi yuan. In ancient Tibet, the use of coins was insignificant, tibet’s main neighbours, India, Nepal and China had had their own coinage since time immemorial. Tibet had the biggest trade volume with China, the main items being horses from north-eastern Tibet. Tibet also exported medicinal herbs, stag antlers, musk and gold to China, and apart from tea, the trade volume with Tibets southern neighbours, India, Nepal and Bhutan, was much smaller. The Tibetan traders mainly exchanged salt and wool for grain with these countries, traditionally one measure of salt was traded for one measure of grain at the border with Nepal and India. Other, less important export goods were yak tails, musk, for the 17th century, the export of falcons to India is also recorded. For large transactions within Tibet, gold dust and Chinese silver ingots were used and these ingots came in different shapes, the most common kind resembled horseshoes or donkey shoes, and were named rta rmig ma in Tibetan. For small transactions, various consumer goods could be used, among others, these were areca nuts, tobacco, ceremonial scarves and tea Tea was usually traded in the form of tea bricks. This developed into the most important medium of exchange in the 19th century, so far there exists no consent whether these pieces could be regarded as coins. The officials had to convert these into the current monetary standard, lastly a form of gold currency named Sertam is mentioned which had a gold weight of 2 sewas. Fifteen Sertam corresponded to one standard Changsho, the currency unit Gursho was already mentioned by Sarat Chandra Das in his Tibetan-English Dictionary. According to this author 1 Gursho =24 sewas, Chinese silver ingots were used until the 20th century for larger transactions
Historical money of Tibet
–
Tibetan 1 srang silver coin, dated 15-43 (= AD 1909) obverse
Historical money of Tibet
–
Tibetan 1 srang silver coin, dated 15-43 (= AD 1909) reverse
Historical money of Tibet
Historical money of Tibet
–
kong par tangka dated 13-45 (= AD 1791),obverse
39.
History of Thai money
–
For Thai people, money was considered as the symbol of civilization. Money itself, reflected belief, faith in religion, culture, customs and traditions of each era and also act as a significant record in the development, the land which is now Thailand was once inhabited by various pre-historic communities. Therefore, these groups of people left a heritage of social culture, in the ancient days of Thai society, before money was created to serve as a medium of exchange, humans traded goods by bartering for products of similar value. However, many products differed in quality, and buyers and sellers differed in their assessments of value, to facilitate product sales, several mutually-agreed commodities came into use as mediums for exchange. The Indo-China Peninsula or “Suvarnabhumi” which means “Golden Peninsula” was the area on which Thailand is presently situated. These ancient kingdoms were a homeland for a variety of diverse races and tribes. They were the regions that were later on known as the Funan Kingdom, Dvaravati Kingdom, Srivijaya Kingdom and they used money as a “medium of exchange” which evolved into different forms of money. Funan was the most important region of Indo–China and became successful in trade during the 1st through 6th centuries. The Funan Kingdom was influenced by India, through trading and religion, the coinage used during that period bears marks symbolizing the monarchy and the religion, these were mostly flat and round coins made from silver. These coins display, on one side, a sun spreading rays between two rows of fish eggs. At the top of each coin the sign of the sun, with the decline of the Funan Kingdom, several kingdoms declared their freedom and independence. They alternated at being the dominant power in the area, including, the regions around the central Chao Phya River basin such as Nakhon Pathom, Rajburi, Supanburi etc. They had become the important cities and formed themselves into the kingdom known as the Kingdom of Dvaravati in the 6th century AD. The Dvaravati Kingdom produced many types of coins as a medium in trade and they revealed, through the designs on the coins, symbols of monarchy and the power of the state, the beliefs of Buddhism and the Bhramin religion. Samples are coins inscribed with the conch, the small conch, the rabbit on a lily leaf. On the reverse side is the Sriwatsa symbol flanked by mohout’s hooks, with the sun and moon on the top, in addition, there are flat coins on one side. On some of these coins appeared the features of Buranaklod, the Dhama wheel, on the reverse side of the coins are the ancient Sanskrit script. Around the 8th century, the Srivijaya Kingdom was “The land of Sea-faring Traders”, merchant ships stopped to seek shelter from the southern monsoons of the Malaysian Peninsula
History of Thai money
–
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verification. Please help improve this article by
adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2011)
History of Thai money
History of Thai money
History of Thai money
40.
Coining (mint)
–
In minting, coining or coinage is the process of manufacturing coins using a kind of stamping which is now generically known in metalworking as coining. This process is different from cast coinage, and can be classified in hammered coinage or hammering, a coin die is one of the two metallic pieces that are used to strike a coin, one per each side of the coin. A die contains a version of the image to be struck on the coin. Modern dies made out of hardened steel are capable of producing hundreds of thousands of coins before they are retired and defaced. Prior to the era, coin dies were manufactured individually by hand by artisans known as engravers. In demanding times, such as the crisis of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century, the die that was on the hammer side, usually the reverse, tended to wear out first. The planchets were usually hot prior to striking, on some Roman provincial coins, some believe the tongs used to move the heated planchet left permanent center indentations on the finished coins. Others attribute these marks to surfacing tools used as a part of planchet preparation, experimental archeology suggests that a lower die could be expected to last for up to 10,000 strikes depending on the level of wear deemed acceptable. Upper dies seem to have a far greater range of lives with usable lives ranging from just over 100 strikes to nearly 8000 being reported, combining archaeological evidence with historic records suggests ancient coin producers could get as many as 47,000 strikes out of an individual die. Medieval engravers were guild members who created coins, the vast majority of medieval coins were cold struck, the planchets were not heated. While medieval coin dies were made of iron, some dies have been discovered with a small region at the face of the die which is made of steel. As technology and the economy changed over the course of the Middle Ages, while most ancient coin dies used engraving very heavily, early medieval coinage was dominated by dies created mostly from punches, which displace the metal of the die instead of removing it. There is evidence of medieval die cutters using engraving tools to lay out designs, however, engraving on the face of the die did not become commonplace until the early Renaissance. Very detailed records exist for the Venetian mint, in the late Middle Ages, the dies used to create tornesellos lasted as follows, hammer die, ~17,000 strikes, anvil die,36,000 strikes. The mint made an average of 20,000 coins per day, so they were making one hammer die a day, the hammer dies wore out quicker because they tended to be smaller and were hit directly with a hammer, leading to severe mushrooming on the tops. First, an artist creates a large model of the coin. The plaster model is then coated with rubber, the rubber mold is then used to make an epoxy galvano. All of this place on a scale of around eight inches
Coining (mint)
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700 Years City of Hall in Tyrol coin
41.
Milled coinage
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In numismatics, the term milled coinage is used to describe coins which are produced by some form of machine, rather than by manually hammering coin blanks between two dies or casting coins from dies. Until 1550, coinage techniques used in European mints had not progressed from the coinage of Ancient Greece. This was problematic because an increase in the supply of bullion from central Europe and that led to low quality coins which were easily forged or clipped, i. e. precious metal was shaved from the edges of the coins. In accordance with Greshams law, the clipped and forged coins drove good coins out of circulation and this technology was significantly more advanced than the general manufacturing processes of the sixteenth century making the coins difficult to counterfeit. The negotiations which obtained rights to the process for France were so secret that the inventor was identified with a codename, but he was most likely Marx Schwab. Aubin Olivier went to Augsburg to learn the technique and Henry II of France made him chief engineer of a mint in Paris, called the Moulin des Étuves. This mint produced well-struck and perfectly round gold and silver coins, in England, a 1560 proclamation of Elizabeth I exchanged old debased coins for new pure coins. The Tower Mint added machinery to its hammering for this “great recoinage”, eloy Mestrelle did the technology transfer from France but when the great recoinage ended mint authorities found him redundant and in 1578 he was hanged for counterfeiting. Yet another Frenchman, Peter Blondeau, provided machinery for a proposed coinage designed by Thomas Simon with Oliver Cromwell’s portrait, the restoration of 1660 ended that, but in 1662 Charles II recalled Blondeau to establish a permanent machine made coinage. He employed a secret process for placing lettering or other designs on the edges of coins, the inscription chosen for the edge—DECVS ET TVTAMEN, meaning an ornament and a safeguard—refers to the protection against clipping which the lettered edge provided. In accordance with Gresham’s law, however, the inferior hammered coins limited the circulation of his coins until the coins were demonetized in 1695. Meanwhile, in continental Europe, France readopted machine made coins in 1639, both machine made and hammered coins continued through the recoinage of French silver in 1641, but this time machine made coinage’s time had come and hammered French coinage ended in 1645. Zurich and Heidelberg experimented with coinage machinery in 1558 and 1567 respectively, unlike the screw press used in France and England, Hall used a roller press. Here two cylindrical dies impressed designs on bullion which rolled between them, coins were then cut from the rolled and impressed metal. This technique spread from Hall to Cologne in 1568, Dresden in 1574, Kremnica in 1577, Danzig in 1577, and other small mints. Its most significant impact occurred when Philip II of Spain used his funds to build a mint at Segovia which used this technique to convert silver from the Americas to coins efficiently. This allowed the king to pay his debts at a better rate than he otherwise could, the Segovia mint was owned by the King’s Royal House but other Spanish mints, which were run by the National Treasury, continued hammered coinage for decades. The Industrial Revolution shifted the focus of the economy from a rural to an urban, money based, the main technology of the Industrial Revolution, the Watt steam engine, also increased the overall level of economic activity
Milled coinage
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A mill for the production of 'milled' coins with both coin dies illustrated.
Milled coinage
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A mill for inscribing or milling the edges of coin flans or planchets.
Milled coinage
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French-made coining press from 1831 (
M.A.N.,
Madrid)
42.
Hammered coinage
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Hammered coins were produced by placing a blank piece of metal of the correct weight between two dies, and then striking the upper die with a hammer to produce the required image on both sides. The planchet was usually cast from a mold, the bottom die was usually counter sunk in a log or other sturdy surface and was called a pile. One of the held the die for the other side. Experimental archeology suggests that a lower die could be expected to last for up to 10,000 strikes depending on the level of wear deemed acceptable. Upper dies seem to have a far greater range of lives with usable lives ranging from just over 100 strikes to nearly 8000 being reported, combining archaeological evidence with historic records suggests ancient coin producers could get as many as 47,000 strikes out of an individual die. In later history, in order to increase the production of coins, hammered coins were produced from strips of metal of the correct thickness. Both methods of producing hammered coins meant that it was difficult to produce coins of a regular diameter, coins were liable to suffer from clipping where unscrupulous people would remove slivers of precious metal since it was difficult to determine the correct diameter of the coin. Coins were also vulnerable to sweating, which is silver coins would be placed in a bag that would be vigorously shaken. This would produce silver dust, which could later be removed from the bag, the ability to fashion coins from machines caused hammered coins to become gradually obsolete during the 17th century. They were still made in Venice until the 1770s, france became the first country to adopt a full machine-made coin in 1643. An alternative method of producing early coins, particularly found in Asia and this method of coin production continued in China into the nineteenth century. Up to a couple of coins could be produced at one time from a single mold, when a tree of coins would be produced
Hammered coinage
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Striking coins: wall relief at
Rostock
Hammered coinage
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A furnace for producing molten metal for coin production.
Hammered coinage
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A trussell for use with a pile in the production of hammered coins as shown by the moneyer at work.
Hammered coinage
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An anvil die as used for minting hammered coins.
43.
Cast coinage
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Cast coinage refers to coins made by pouring melted metal into a mold, i. e. casting. It has been used for coins, particularly in the Far East. The method differs from the current mode of production, which is done by striking coin blanks that have been cut out of metal sheets. The method has also used by forgers. Traditional Far Eastern cast coins—so-called cash coins—are the most famous example of cast coinage, and were issued from the 4th century BC until circa 1912, predominantly in bronze, brass or iron. Traditional Far Eastern coins were generally cast base metal coins, although silver and gold bars were manufactured, e. g. Chinese sycee, Japanese obans and kobans. Cast potins circulated in Kent from around 100 BC to around 50 BC, at a point during the first century of the Christian era, cast bronze coins were produced in Dorset with archaeological evidence pointing towards Hengistbury Head as the source. By AD200, cast copies of silver denarii were being produced in a number of areas of Britain, while these may have been straightforward forgeries the context in which some of the moulds have been found suggest there may have been at least some elements of semi officialdom
Cast coinage
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Numismatics
44.
Exonumia
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Exonumia are numismatic items other than coins and paper money. This includes Good For tokens, badges, counterstamped coins, elongated coins, encased coins, souvenir medallions, tags, wooden nickels and it is related to numismatics, and many coin collectors are also exonumists. Besides the above definition, others extend it to include non-coins which may or may not be legal tenders such as cheques, credit cards. These can also be considered notaphily or scripophily, the noun exonumia is derived from two classical roots, exo, meaning out-of in Greek, and nummus, meaning coin in Latin, thus, out-of-coins. Usually, the term exonumia is applied to objects in the United States. The words exonumist and exonumia were coined in July 1960 by Russell Rulau, an authority and author on the subject. Chronologically, in the United States many Exonumia items were used as currency when actual money was not easily available in the economy, a notable exception to this definition are Medals, which were generally not used as currency or exchange. See the for clarification section below for distinctions between various branches of exonumia, Tokens were used both to advertise and to facilitate commerce. Token authority Russell Rulau offers a definition for exonumia. For example, an advertising token may also be considered a medal, Good For tokens may also advertise. Counterstamped coins have been called “little billboards. ”Strictly, exonumia is anything not a governmental issue coin and this could almost mean anything coin-like. The English term Para-numismatica, or alongside currency, appears more limiting, hinting that tokens must have some sort of “value” or monetary usage, one definition of Para-numismatica is anything coin-like but not a coin. In America this is not the accepted usage, rulaus 1040 page tome, UNITED STATES TOKENS, 1700-1900 includes many tokens without any monetary value depicted on the token. While he included many items, some types of exonumia were not included just so the book would not get any bigger, the following groupings of categories are continually expanding. One way of parsing tokens is into three general categories, Has a ‘value, ’ facilitating commerce, such as Good For Something. Commemoration, remembrance, dedication, or the like, for person, place. Typically catalogs of tokens are organized by location, time period and/or type of item, historically the need for tokens grew out of the need for currency. In America some tokens legally circulated alongside or instead of currency up until recently, hard Times Tokens and Civil War Tokens each were the size of the contemporary cent
Exonumia
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A Smokey Bear Geocoin
Exonumia
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Obverse of a
communion token from
South Leith Parish Church
Exonumia
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A Great Western
Railway pay cheque
Exonumia
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Copper trade token of Durfee & Peck, Indian traders on Missouri River in various locations, circa 1869
45.
Credit card
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The card issuer creates a revolving account and grants a line of credit to the cardholder, from which the cardholder can borrow money for payment to a merchant or as a cash advance. A credit card is different from a card, where it requires the balance to be repaid in full each month. In contrast, credit cards allow the consumers a continuing balance of debt, a credit card also differs from a cash card, which can be used like currency by the owner of the card. Credit cards have a printed or embossed bank card number complying with the ISO/IEC7812 numbering standard, the card numbers prefix, called the Bank Identification Number, is the sequence of digits at the beginning of the number that determine the bank to which a credit card number belongs. This is the first six digits for MasterCard and Visa cards, the next nine digits are the individual account number, and the final digit is a validity check code. Both of these standards are maintained and further developed by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 17/WG1, Credit cards have a magnetic stripe conforming to the ISO/IEC7813. Many modern credit cards have a chip embedded in them as a security feature. In addition to the credit card number, credit cards also carry issue and expiration dates, as well as extra codes such as issue numbers. Not all credit cards have the sets of extra codes nor do they use the same number of digits. The concept of using a card for purchases was described in 1887 by Edward Bellamy in his utopian novel Looking Backward. Bellamy used the credit card eleven times in this novel, although this referred to a card for spending a citizens dividend from the government. Charge coins and other items were used from the late 19th century to the 1930s. They came in various shapes and sizes, with materials made out of celluloid, copper, aluminum, steel, each charge coin usually had a little hole, enabling it to be put in a key ring, like a key. These charge coins were given to customers who had charge accounts in department stores, hotels. A charge coin usually had the account number along with the merchants name. The charge coin offered a simple and fast way to copy a charge account number to the sales slip and this sped the process of copying, previously done by handwriting. It also reduced the number of errors, by having a form of numbers on the sales slip. Because the customers name was not on the coin, almost anyone could use it
Credit card
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Visa,
Master Card,
American Express
Credit card
Credit card
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An example of street markets accepting credit cards. Most simply display the
acceptance marks (stylized logos, shown in the upper-left corner of the sign) of all the cards they accept.
46.
Medal
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A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for sporting, military, scientific, academic, or various other achievements. Military awards and decorations are more precise terms for types of state decoration. Medals may also be created for sale to commemorate particular individuals or events, an artist who creates medals or medallions is called a medallist or medalist. There are also devotional medals which may be worn for religious reasons, Medals have long been popular collectible items either as a variety of exonumia or of militaria. Medallions may also be called table medals because they are too large to be worn and can only be displayed on a wall, table top, desk, the word medallion has the same ultimate derivation, but this time through the Italian medaglione, meaning large medal. The main or front surface of a medal is termed the obverse, the reverse, or back surface of the medal, is not always used and may be left blank or may contain a secondary design. It is not uncommon to only an artistic rendering on the obverse, while all details. The rim is only occasionally employed to display an inscription such as a motto, privy mark, engraver symbol, assayer’s marking. Medals that are intended to be hung from a ribbon also include a suspension piece at the crest with which to loop a suspension ring through. It is through the ring that a ribbon is run or folded so the medal may hang pendent, Medals pinned to the breast use only a small cut of ribbon that is attached to a top bar where the brooch pin is affixed. Top bars may be hidden under the ribbon so they are not visible, be a device from which the ribbon attaches. Some top bars are elaborate and contain a whole design unto themselves, Medals that are made with inexpensive material might be gilded, silver-plated, chased, or finished in a variety of other ways to improve their appearance. Medals have also made of rock, gemstone, ivory, glass, porcelain, terra cotta, coal, wood, paper, enamel, lacquerware. Honorary awards, as a button, which it is custom to give the kings kinsmen. Roman emperors used both military awards of medals, and political gifts of medallions that were very large coins, usually in gold or silver. Both these and actual golden coins were often set as pieces of jewellery, the bracteate is a type of thin gold medal, usually plain on the reverse, found in Northern Europe from the so-called Dark Ages or Migration Period. They often have suspension loops and were intended to be worn on a chain as jewellery. They imitate, at a distance, Roman imperial coins and medallions, the surviving example is mounted for wearing as jewellery
Medal
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Obverse of medal distributed by
Cecilia Gonzaga 's family to political allies, a common practice in
Renaissance Europe. Designed by
Pisanello in 1447.
Medal
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Reverse of the same medal, this copy with a suspension hole added later (inside a crescent moon in the design).
Medal
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Various prize medals with obverse designs, suspension rings and ribbons typical of medals intended to be draped over the head and hung from the neck
Medal
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Bronze medal of
Isabella d'Este, princess and patron of
Renaissance humanists, distributed as a gift.
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