1.
Japanese language
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Japanese is an East Asian language spoken by about 125 million speakers, primarily in Japan, where it is the national language. It is a member of the Japonic language family, whose relation to language groups, particularly to Korean. Little is known of the prehistory, or when it first appeared in Japan. Chinese documents from the 3rd century recorded a few Japanese words, during the Heian period, Chinese had considerable influence on the vocabulary and phonology of Old Japanese. Late Middle Japanese saw changes in features that brought it closer to the modern language, the standard dialect moved from the Kansai region to the Edo region in the Early Modern Japanese period. Following the end in 1853 of Japans self-imposed isolation, the flow of loanwords from European languages increased significantly, English loanwords in particular have become frequent, and Japanese words from English roots have proliferated. Japanese is an agglutinative, mora-timed language with simple phonotactics, a vowel system, phonemic vowel and consonant length. Word order is normally subject–object–verb with particles marking the grammatical function of words, sentence-final particles are used to add emotional or emphatic impact, or make questions. Nouns have no number or gender, and there are no articles. Verbs are conjugated, primarily for tense and voice, but not person, Japanese equivalents of adjectives are also conjugated. Japanese has a system of honorifics with verb forms and vocabulary to indicate the relative status of the speaker, the listener. Japanese has no relationship with Chinese, but it makes extensive use of Chinese characters, or kanji, in its writing system. Along with kanji, the Japanese writing system uses two syllabic scripts, hiragana and katakana. Latin script is used in a fashion, such as for imported acronyms. Very little is known about the Japanese of this period, Old Japanese is the oldest attested stage of the Japanese language. Through the spread of Buddhism, the Chinese writing system was imported to Japan, the earliest texts found in Japan are written in Classical Chinese, but they may have been meant to be read as Japanese by the kanbun method. Some of these Chinese texts show the influences of Japanese grammar, in these hybrid texts, Chinese characters are also occasionally used phonetically to represent Japanese particles. The earliest text, the Kojiki, dates to the early 8th century, the end of Old Japanese coincides with the end of the Nara period in 794
2.
ISO 4217
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The ISO4217 code list is used in banking and business globally. ISO4217 codes are used on tickets and international train tickets to remove any ambiguity about the price. The first two letters of the code are the two letters of the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes and the third is usually the initial of the currency itself, so Japans currency code is JPY—JP for Japan and Y for yen. This eliminates the problem caused by the dollar, franc, peso and pound being used in dozens of different countries. Also, if a currency is revalued, the currency codes last letter is changed to distinguish it from the old currency. Other changes can be seen, however, the Russian ruble, for example, changed from RUR to RUB and these currency units are denominated as one troy ounce of the specified metal as opposed to USD1 or EUR1. The code XTS is reserved for use in testing, the code XXX is used to denote a transaction involving no currency. There are also codes specifying certain monetary instruments used in international finance, the codes for most supranational currencies, such as the East Caribbean dollar, the CFP franc, the CFA franc BEAC and the CFA franc BCEAO. The predecessor to the euro, the European Currency Unit, had the code XEU, the use of an initial letter X for these purposes is facilitated by the ISO3166 rule that no official country code beginning with X will ever be assigned. Because of this rule ISO4217 can use X codes without risk of clashing with a country code. ISO3166 country codes beginning with X are used for private custom use, consequently, ISO4217 can use X codes for non-country-specific currencies without risk of clashing with future country codes. The inclusion of EU in the ISO 3166-1 reserved codes list, the ISO4217 standard includes a crude mechanism for expressing the relationship between a major currency unit and its corresponding minor currency unit. This mechanism is called the exponent and assumes a base of 10. For example, USD is equal to 100 of its currency unit the cent. So the USD has exponent 2, the code JPY is given the exponent 0, because its minor unit, the sen, although nominally valued at 1/100 of a yen, is of such negligible value that it is no longer used. Usually, as with the USD, the currency unit has a value that is 1/100 of the major unit, but in some cases 1/1000 is used. Mauritania does not use a decimal division of units, setting 1 ouguiya equal to 5 khoums, some currencies do not have any minor currency unit at all and these are given an exponent of 0, as with currencies whose minor units are unused due to negligible value. There is also a code number assigned to each currency
3.
Currency symbol
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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
4.
Yen sign
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The Yen sign is a currency sign used by the Chinese yuan and the Japanese yen currencies. This monetary symbol resembles a Latin letter Y with a double stroke, the base unit of both currencies shared the same Chinese character/Kanji that means circle. It is pronounced yuán in Mandarin Chinese and en in Standard Japanese, the symbol is usually placed before the value it represents, for example ¥100. In the Japanese-language locales of Microsoft operating systems, the yen sign in code page 932 character encoding has the same value as the backslash in ASCII. Under Chinese Pinyin IMEs such as those from Microsoft or Sogou. com, typing $ displays the double-width character ￥, the Unicode code point is U+00A5 ¥ Yen sign. Additionally, there is a character at code point U+FFE5 ￥ Fullwidth Yen sign for use with wide fonts
5.
Banknotes of the Japanese yen
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The banknotes of the Japanese yen are part of the physical form of Japans currency. The issuance of the yen banknotes began in 1872, two years after the currency was introduced, throughout its history, the denominations have ranged from 0.05 yen to 10,000 yen. In 1869, the Ministry of Finance introduced notes in denominations between 10 sen and 100 yen, Imperial Japanese Paper Currency followed in 1873 in denominations of 1 yen up to 20 yen. Imperial Japanese Paper Money was issued between 1881 and 1883 in denominations between 20 sen and 10 yen, in 1877 and 1878, the Imperial Japanese National Bank issued 1 and 5 yen notes. In 1885, the Bank of Japan began issuing notes, in denominations of 1,5,10 and 100 yen,20 yen notes were added in 1917, followed by 200 yen in 1927 and 1000 yen in 1945. Between 1917 and 1922, the government issued 10,20 and 50 sen notes,50 sen notes were reintroduced in 1938. In 1944,5 and 10 sen notes were introduced by the Bank of Japan. The Allies issued notes in denominations of 10 and 50 sen,1,5,10,20,100 and 1000 yen between 1945 and 1951, during which time the Bank of Japan also issued notes. Banknotes below 1 yen became invalid on December 31,1953 by the same legislation mentioned above, in 1957 and 1958,5000 and 10,000 yen notes were introduced. The 500 yen notes were replaced after 1982, while 2000 yen notes were introduced in 2000, the series B introduced a new high value banknote ¥1000. The series C introduced two new high value banknotes ¥5000 and ¥10,000, according to a news release from the National Police Agency, they seized 11,717 counterfeit Series D banknotes in 2005. However, they seized only 486 counterfeit current issue banknotes, namely Series E ¥1000, ¥5000, ¥10000, the 2000 yen note was first issued on July 19,2000 to commemorate the 26th G8 summit in Okinawa and the 2000 millennium year as well. Pictured on the front of the note is Shureimon, a gate in Naha. The other side features a scene from the The Tale of Genji, the motif of the scene was taken from the 12th century illuminated handscrolls of the novel kept at the Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya. The image of Murasaki Shikibu is taken from the Gotoh edition of the Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emaki held at the Gotoh Museum and these notes are rare in the market, but at banks they are readily available. Many Japanese consider the 2000 yen note a novelty as it is the only Japanese denomination whose first digit is 2, to promote the circulation of the notes, some companies had started paying wages in them. The series D is the first to display the EURion constellation, the EURion constellation pattern can be observed on the series E. List of banknotes valid in Japan Currency Museum of the Bank of Japan Museum of Bank notes and Coins
6.
1000 yen note
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The 1000 yen note is currently the lowest value yen banknote and has been used since 1945, excluding a brief period between 1946 and 1950 during the American occupation of Japan. The fifth series notes are currently in circulation having been introduced on 11 November 2004 and are the smallest of the three common bank notes measuring 150 x 76 mm. The front side shows a portrait of Hideyo Noguchi, who in 1911 discovered the agent of syphilis as the cause of paralytic disease. The reverse depicts Mount Fuji and cherry blossoms, adapted from a photograph by Koyo Okada and it was first issued on 1 November 2004. Extensive anti-counterfeiting measures are present in the banknote and they include intaglio printing, holograms, microprinting, fluorescent ink, latent images, watermarks, and angle-sensitive ink. The first ¥1000 note was released on 17 August 1945, at the time each series of bank note was labelled series 甲, 乙, 丙, 丁 or い, ろ as opposed to series A, B, C, D, E. It measured 172 x 100 mm and featured images of the legendary prince Yamato Takeru and it was removed from circulation in 1954. A series A bank note was never released in 1946 along with other bank notes, the series B note measured 164 x 76 mm and entered circulation on 1 July 1950. The obverse displayed an image of the regent and politician under Empress Suiko. The reverse side contained an image of the Yumedono in the grounds of Hōryū-ji, only one version of the bank note existed and was removed from circulation on 4 January 1965. Like its predecessor, the series C note measured 164 x 76 mm, the obverse side contained a portrait of Itō Hirobumi, who, under Emperor Meiji, was the first Prime Minister of Japan assuming office in 1885. The reverse side displayed an image of the Bank of Japan, the series C note was released with the bank number in two different colours, black and blue. It was removed from circulation on 4 January 1986, the series D note, like the series E note currently in circulation, measured 150 x 76 mm and entered circulation on 1 November 1984. The obverse side contained a portrait of the Meiji period novelist Natsume Sōseki whose famous works include I Am a Cat, the reverse side featured two red-crowned cranes. The series D note was released with the number in four different colours, black, blue, brown. With series E being brought into circulation in 2004, the series D notes were removed from circulation on 2 April 2007
7.
2000 yen note
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The 2000 yen note was issued July 19,2000, to commemorate the 26th G8 Summit and the millennium. Known as the D Series, it was the only 2,000 yen note design ever to be printed, the design was similar of that of the other Japanese notes in circulation at the time of issue. While still in circulation, these rarely appear in public. The obverse has a number and depicts Shureimon, a 16th-century gate at Shuri Castle in Naha, in Okinawa Prefecture. Cherry blossom and chrysanthemum motifs are part of the design work in the background. The reverse side depicts a scene from The Tale of Genji, and a portrait of Murasaki Shikibu, a copy of a portion of script from the original work is included. Banknotes of the Japanese yen United States two-dollar bill Yutaka Nishiyama, Why 2000 yen notes are unpopular, Osaka Keidai Ronshu, Vol.62, No.5
8.
5000 yen note
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The front side of the note includes a portrait of Ichiyo Higuchi, a Meiji era writer and poet. The reverse side depicts Kakitsubata Flowers, from a screen by Korin Ogata. Extensive anti-counterfeiting measures are present in the banknote and they include intaglio printing, holograms, microprinting, fluorescent ink, latent images, watermarks, and angle-sensitive ink
9.
10,000 yen note
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The front side of the 10,000 yen note includes a portrait of Yukichi Fukuzawa, a Meiji era philosopher and the founder of Keio University. The back of the shows a drawing of the Hōō in the Hall of the Phoenix. Extensive anti-counterfeiting measures are present in the banknote and they include intaglio printing, holograms, microprinting, fluorescent ink, latent images, watermarks, and angle-sensitive ink
10.
1 yen coin
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The 1 yen coin is the smallest denomination of the Japanese yen currency. The first Japanese one yen coin was minted in 1871, and was out of silver. Eventually gold coins were also produced causing co-circulation among the two, silver one yen coins ceased production in 1914. Brass one yen coins were made in the late 1940s, the current design is made up of an aluminium alloy which has remained unchanged since the coin was first minted. In the early 2010s increasing usage of money led to a lack of demand. Like the U. S. penny, the Japanese mint has suffered due to a rising cost of the base metal it takes to produce the coins. The one yen coin is the oldest modern denomination coin, the design has remained the same since its introduction in 1955. The obverse of the coin has a figure 1 in a circle represents one yen. The reverse side has a tree, intended to symbolize the healthy growth of Japan. The first Japanese one yen coin was minted in 1870, at first these coins were minted in silver. The obverse of these featured a dragon with a circular inscription around it. The reverse had a radiant sun surrounded by a wreath, with the chrysanthemum emblem flanked by two seals of the Japanese government, the following year though Japan switched to the Gold standard in order to keep up with countries in North America, and Europe. Production of silver one yen coins was halted, and new gold coins took their place. Through 1874-1875, one-yen silver coins were minted with a new design only to be halted again sometime in 1875 in favor of Trade Dollars. Both silver and gold coins co-circulated after 1878 when Japan went with a bimetallic standard, Gold one yen coins were minted until 1880, while the silver ones lasted until 1914. Coinage was reformed in 1948 with the issue of a one yen coin,451,170,000 coins were minted until production stopped in 1950. The obverse features a numeral 1 with State of Japan above, the current design was introduced in 1955, when the first aluminium one yen coin was minted, throughout its minting history the coin was fully halted only once in 1968 due to excessive production. In 1989 a national consumption tax was put into place that calculated prices down to single-yen units, in 2011 the increasing usage of electronic money led to a lack of demand for the coin, as a result one yen coins minted until 2013 were only released in mint sets
11.
5 yen coin
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The 5 yen coin is one denomination of Japanese yen. The current design was first minted in 1959 using Japanese characters known as the new script, the modern-day coin was first produced in 1948 with a different styled inscription. This was changed in 1959 and the design has remained unchanged since, the three graphic elements of the coin represent agriculture and fisheries, the key elements of the Japanese first-sector economy. Around a hole, there is a gear that represents industry and it is the only Japanese coin in circulation to lack Arabic numerals on either face. The Japanese for five yen, go en is a homophone with go-en, en being a word for causal connection or relationship, and go being a respectful prefix. They write, The Japanese 5-yen coin is about 22 millimeters in diameter and 1.5 mm thick, to obtain a record of the dosage of neutrons released as a result of the accident, we collected exposed coins from peoples houses at distances 100–550 m from the facility. The following are circulation dates which cover Emperor Hirohitos reign, the dates below correspond with the 23rd to the 64th year of his reign. All five yen coins that were made before 1959 use Shinjitai, in 1949 only, two different styles of writing were used before a more modern one was established in 1950. This second style of writing was used until 1958 when the current script of Japanese took its place in the following year, coins for this period will all begin with the Japanese symbol 昭和. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year, * = First style ** = Second style ^ = Third style The following are circulation dates in the reign of the current Emperor. Akihito was crowned in 1989, which is marked with a 元 symbol on the coin as a one year type, coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 平成. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year, the front sides of two five yen coins
12.
10 yen coin
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The 10 yen coin is one denomination of Japanese yen. The obverse of the coin depicts the Phoenix Hall of Byōdō-in, the reverse shows the numerals 10 and the date of issue in kanji surrounded by bay laurel leaves. 10-yen coins issued between 1951 and 1958 have reeded edges, while 10-yen coins issued from 1959 onward do not, the following are circulation dates which cover Emperor Hirohitos reign. The dates below correspond with the 26th to the 64th year of his reign, all ten yen coins that were made before 1959 have reeded edges, this has since changed to the present day smooth edge. Coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 昭和. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year, the following are circulation dates in the reign of the current Emperor. Akihito was crowned in 1989, which is marked with a 元 symbol on the coin as a one year type, coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 平成. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year
13.
50 yen coin
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The 50 yen coin is a denomination of Japanese yen. The current design was first minted in 1967, the first 50 yen coin was issued in 1955 and featured a chrysanthemum viewed from the side on the reverse and a stylized ancient weight on the obverse. The coin had a diameter of 25 mm, and was 100% nickel and this design was issued every year from 1959 to 1966. The current design for the 50 Yen coin was first issued in 1967, the metallurgy was changed to a ratio of 75-25 copper-nickel, with the diameter of the coin reduced to 21 mm, and the weight reduced from 5.0 grams to 4.0 grams. The size of the hole was reduced from 6 mm in diameter to 4 mm. The reverse side retained the use of a motif, showing three smaller flowers flanking the center hole. The following are circulation dates which cover Emperor Hirohitos reign, the dates below correspond with the 30th to the 64th year of his reign. Fifty yen coins had three different designs, but there was no overlap in mintage between them, coins for this period will all begin with the Japanese symbol 昭和. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year, the following are circulation dates in the reign of the current Emperor. Akihito was crowned in 1989, which is marked with a 元 symbol on the coin as a one year type, coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 平成. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year
14.
100 yen coin
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The 100 yen coin is a denomination of Japanese yen. The current design was first minted in silver in 1959 and saw a change of metal in 1967 and it is the second-highest denomination coin in Japan after the 500 yen coin. The first 100 yen coin was issued in 1957 and featured a phoenix on the reverse and it featured English language writing in addition to Japanese. This design was issued in 1957 and in 1958, in 1959, the design was modified, removing the English wording, and changing the reverse side to show a sheaf of rice. This design was issued every year from 1959 to 1966, the current design for the 100 Yen coin was first issued in 1967. The metallurgy was changed from the former 60-30-10 ratio of silver-copper-zinc to a ratio of 75-25 copper-nickel, with the weight, the reverse side was changed to show sakura blossoms and the denomination in Japanese. The coin shares, with the 50 yen coin, the emperors rule date expressed with Latin numerals instead of in Japanese numerals, in 1964, a 100 yen coin was issued to mark the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The obverse featured the Olympic torch and Olympic rings while the reverse re-introduced English-language text, in 1970 a 100 Yen coin was issued to mark Expo 70 in Osaka. In 1972 a 100 yen coin commemorated the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, the Olympic Torch remained on the obverse while the rings moved to the reverse. A coin marked Expo 75 in Okinawa, in 1976 a 100-yen coin marked the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Hirohito. A large chrysanthemum, symbolising the Japanese Imperial Family, featured on the reverse, in 2015, a new series of 100 yen coins was introduced to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the inauguration of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen train service. The coins are minted under a different composition of cupronickel, consisting of 87. 5% copper and 12. 5% nickel, the following are circulation dates which cover Emperor Hirohitos reign. The dates below correspond with the 32nd to the 64th year of his reign, one hundred yen coins had three main different designs, but there was no overlap in mintage between them. Coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 昭和. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year, the following are circulation dates in the reign of the current Emperor. Akihito was crowned in 1989, which is marked with a 元 symbol on the coin as a one year type, coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 平成. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year
15.
500 yen coin
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The 500 yen coin is the largest coin denomination of the Japanese yen. The 500 yen coin was first minted in 1982 to replace the 500 yen note, soon, it became the victim of counterfeiting, as neighboring South Korea introduced its 500 won coin and could be easily modified to the exact weight of the ¥500 coin. As the ₩500 coin was roughly one-tenth the value of the ¥500 coin, a new design was minted in 2000. Zinc was added to give it an electrical conductivity, the weight was reduced 0.2 grams. When viewed at an angle, 500円 is printed vertically in each zero, when viewed at a different angle, a bar can be seen running down the inside of each zero. This bar is narrower than the 500円 text, microprinting reading Nippon is found on both the obverse and reverse of the coin. Despite these anti-counterfeiting measures, the coin is still the target of counterfeiters in Japan, throughout the coins history, the Japan Mint has issued 500 yen coins commemorating the various subjects of Japans history. With a mintage of 2,775 coins,1987 is a key date to the series, the dates below correspond with the 57th to the 64th year of his reign. Coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 昭和. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year, the following are circulation dates in the reign of the current Emperor. Akihito was crowned in 1989, which is marked with a 元 symbol on the coin as a one-year type, coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 平成. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year
16.
Japan
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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
17.
Zimbabwe
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Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in southern Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west and southwest, Zambia to the northwest, although it does not border Namibia, less than 200 metres of the Zambezi River separates it from that country. The capital and largest city is Harare, a country of roughly 13 million people, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, with English, Shona, and Ndebele the most commonly used. Since the 11th century, present-day Zimbabwe has been the site of several organised states and kingdoms as well as a route for migration. The British South Africa Company of Cecil Rhodes first demarcated the present territory during the 1890s, in 1965, the conservative white minority government unilaterally declared independence as Rhodesia. Zimbabwe then rejoined the Commonwealth of Nations—which it withdrew from in 2003 and it is a member of the United Nations, the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. Robert Mugabe became Prime Minister of Zimbabwe in 1980, when his ZANU-PF party won the following the end of white minority rule. Under Mugabes authoritarian regime, the security apparatus has dominated the country. Mugabe has maintained the revolutionary socialist rhetoric from the Cold War era, the name Zimbabwe stems from a Shona term for Great Zimbabwe, an ancient ruined city in the countrys south-east whose remains are now a protected site. Two different theories address the origin of the word, many sources hold that Zimbabwe derives from dzimba-dza-mabwe, translated from the Karanga dialect of Shona as large houses of stone. The Karanga-speaking Shona people live around Great Zimbabwe in the province of Masvingo. Zimbabwe was formerly known as Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia, and Zimbabwe Rhodesia, a further alternative, put forward by nationalists in Matabeleland, had been Matopos, referring to the Matopos Hills to the south of Bulawayo. In a 2001 interview, black nationalist Edson Zvobgo recalled that Mawema mentioned the name during a rally, and it caught hold. The black nationalist factions subsequently used the name the during the Second Chimurenga campaigns against the Rhodesian government during the Rhodesian Bush War of 1964-1979, major factions in this camp included the Zimbabwe African National Union, and the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union. Proto-Shona-speaking societies first emerged in the middle Limpopo valley in the 9th century before moving on to the Zimbabwean highlands, the Zimbabwean plateau eventually became the centre of subsequent Shona states, beginning around the 10th century. Around the early 10th century, trade developed with Arab merchants on the Indian Ocean coast, the main archaeological site uses a unique dry stone architecture. The Kingdom of Mapungubwe was the first in a series of sophisticated trade states developed in Zimbabwe by the time of the first European explorers from Portugal and they traded in gold, ivory, and copper for cloth and glass. From about 1300 until 1600, Mapungubwe was eclipsed by the Kingdom of Zimbabwe and this Shona state further refined and expanded upon Mapungubwes stone architecture, which survives to this day at the ruins of the kingdoms capital of Great Zimbabwe
18.
Central bank
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A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages a states currency, money supply, and interest rates. Central banks also usually oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries, Central banks in most developed nations are institutionally designed to be independent from political interference. Still, limited control by the executive and legislative bodies usually exists, prior to the 17th century most money was commodity money, typically gold or silver. However, promises to pay were widely circulated and accepted as value at least five hundred years earlier in both Europe and Asia. The Song dynasty was the first to issue generally circulating paper currency, in 1455, in an effort to control inflation, the succeeding Ming Dynasty ended the use of paper money and closed much of Chinese trade. The Bank of Amsterdam, established in the Dutch Republic in 1609, is considered to be the forerunner to modern central banks. The Wisselbanks innovations helped lay the foundations for the birth and development of the banking system that now plays a vital role in the worlds economy. Along with a number of local banks, it performed many functions of a central banking system. Lucien Gillard calls it the European guilder, and Adam Smith devotes many pages to explaining how the bank guilder works, the model of the Wisselbank as a state bank was adapted throughout Europe, including the Bank of Sweden and the Bank of England. Established by Dutch-Latvian Johan Palmstruch in 1668, Sveriges Riksbank is often considered by many as the worlds oldest central bank, the lenders would give the government cash and also issue notes against the government bonds, which could be lent again. A Royal Charter was granted on 27 July through the passage of the Tonnage Act 1694, the bank was given exclusive possession of the governments balances, and was the only limited-liability corporation allowed to issue banknotes. The £1. 2M was raised in 12 days, half of this was used to rebuild the Navy and these modern central banking functions evolved slowly through the 18th and 19th centuries. The currency crisis of 1797, caused by panicked depositors withdrawing from the Bank led to the government suspending convertibility of notes into specie payment. The bank was accused by the bullionists of causing the exchange rate to fall from over issuing banknotes. Nevertheless, it was clear that the Bank was being treated as an organ of the state, henry Thornton, a merchant banker and monetary theorist has been described as the father of the modern central bank. An opponent of the real bills doctrine, he was a defender of the bullionist position, thorntons process of monetary expansion anticipated the theories of Knut Wicksell regarding the cumulative process which restates the Quantity Theory in a theoretically coherent form. Until the mid-nineteenth century, commercial banks were able to issue their own banknotes, many consider the origins of the central bank to lie with the passage of the Bank Charter Act of 1844. Under this law, authorisation to issue new banknotes was restricted to the Bank of England, at the same time, the Bank of England was restricted to issue new banknotes only if they were 100% backed by gold or up to £14 million in government debt
19.
Bank of Japan
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The Bank of Japan is the central bank of Japan. The Bank is often called Nichigin for short and it has its headquarters in Chūō, Tokyo. Like most modern Japanese institutions, the Bank of Japan was founded after the Meiji Restoration, the former han became prefectures and their mints became private chartered banks which, however, initially retained the right to print money. For a time both the government and these so-called national banks issued money. A period of unanticipated consequences was ended when the Bank of Japan was founded in Meiji 15, under the Bank of Japan Act 1882 and it has since been partly privately owned. A number of based on other national banks were encompassed within the regulations under which the bank was founded. The institution was given a monopoly on controlling the supply in 1884. Following the passage of the Convertible Bank Note Regulations, the Bank of Japan issued its first banknotes in 1885. Despite some small glitches—for example, it turned out that the konjac powder mixed in the paper to prevent counterfeiting made the bills a delicacy for rats—the run was largely successful. In 1897, Japan joined the standard, and in 1899 the former national banknotes were formally phased out. Since its Meiji era beginnings, the Bank of Japan has operated continuously from main offices in Tokyo, the Bank of Japan was reorganized in 1942, under the Bank of Japan Act of 1942, promulgated on February 24,1942. There was a brief period during the Occupation of Japan when the banks functions were suspended. In 1949, the bank was again restructured, the tool was instrumental in the creation of the bubble economy of the 1980s. It was implemented by the Bank of Japans then Business Department, however, since the introduction of the new law, the Bank of Japan has rebuffed government requests to stimulate the economy. When the Nixon shock happened in August 1971, BOJ should have appreciate d the currency in order to avoid inflation, however, they still kept the fixed exchange rate as 360Yen/$ for two weeks, so it caused excess liquidity. In addition, they persisted with the Smithsonian rate, and continued monetary easing until 1973 and this created a greater than 10% inflation rate at that time. In order to control the stagflation, they raised the official bank rate from 7% to 9%, in 1979, when the energy crisis happened, they raised the official bank rate rapidly. BOJ succeeded in an economic recovery
20.
Mint (facility)
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A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins that can be used in currency. The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins, in the beginning, hammered coinage or cast coinage were the chief means of coin minting, with resulting production runs numbering as little as the hundreds or thousands. In modern mints, coin dies are manufactured in large numbers, with the mass production of currency, the production cost is weighed when minting coins. For example, it costs the United States Mint much less than 25 cents to make a quarter, metals were well suited to represent wealth, owing to their great intrinsic value and their durability, divisibility and rarity. The first mint was established in Lydia in the 7th century BC, for coining gold, silver. The Lydian innovation of manufacturing coins under the authority of the spread to neighboring Greece. Some of the earliest Greek mints were within city-states on Greek islands such as Crete, at about the same time, coins and mints appeared independently in China and spread to Korea and Japan. The manufacture of coins in the Roman Empire, 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, Ancient coins were made by casting in moulds or by striking between engraved dies. The Romans cast their larger copper coins in clay moulds carrying distinctive markings, not because they knew nothing of striking, casting is now used only by counterfeiters. The most ancient coins were cast in bulletshaped or conical moulds, the blank or unmarked piece of metal was placed on a small anvil, and the die was held in position with tongs. The reverse or lower side of the received a rectangular mark made by the sharp edges of the little anvil. Subsequently the anvil was marked in ways, and decorated with letters and figures of beasts. The spherical blanks soon gave place to lenticular-shaped ones, the blank was made red-hot and struck between cold dies. One blow was usually insufficient, and the method was similar to that used in striking medals in high relief. With the substitution of iron for bronze as the material for dies, about 300 AD, in the Middle Ages bars of metal were cast and hammered out on an anvil. Portions of the sheets were then cut out with shears
21.
Japan Mint
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The Japan Mint is an Incorporated Administrative Agency of the Japanese government, responsible for producing and circulating the coins of Japan. The agency has its office in Osaka with branches in Tokyo. Amongst the first acts of the Meiji government was the establishment of the Imperial Japanese Mint as a step towards modernising Japans circulating currency. In the early Meiji era, paper currency was printed by Dondorf. The European production was inspected and sealed by Banknote Annex Office of the Ministry of Finance, a proposal to construct a banknote manufacturing plant was submitted to Grand Council of State in May,1874, and construction was approved in December of that same year. A two-story Western red brick building was completed in October 1876, the Mint became an Incorporated Administrative Agency on April 1,2003. 1871, After an inaugural ceremony was held in Kawasaki, Osaka, the mints work was urgently necessary to rectify confusion over coins which was a recurrent feature of the Tokugawa period. 1879, This branch of the Mint was set up in the Ministry of Finance building, the primary function of this office was to accept gold and silver to be made into coins which would then be returned to the bearer, however the sub-branch was abolished in 1907. 1929, The branch is established at Kōjimachi-ku, the primary function of this office focused on certifying the fineness certification of precious metal wares. 1939, The branch moved to the present address in Toshima-ku to enable the expansion of its operations,1942, The construction of a minting plant in Hiroshima Prefecture was decided with the aim of minting coins in Japan for various Southeast Asian countries. 1945, The minting of coins was initially begun in February,1946, Operations resumed at the present address. 1948, The branch becomes capable of managing the entire coinage process, Japan Mint has sought to bring its operations within an ambit proposed by the International Standard for Quality Management System
22.
Hepburn romanization
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The system was originally proposed by the Romanization Club in 1885. The revised edition by Romaji-Hirome-kai in 1908 is called standard style romanization, Hepburn is based on English phonology and has competed with the alternative Nihon-shiki romanization, which was developed in Japan as a replacement of Japanese script. In 1930, a Special Romanization Study Commission was appointed to compare the two, the ordinance was temporarily overturned by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers during the Occupation of Japan, but was reissued in 1954. In 1972, a version of Hepburn was codified as ANSI standard Z39. 11-1972. It was proposed in 1989 as a draft for ISO3602, the ANSI Z39. 11-1972 standard was consequently deprecated on October 6,1994. As of 1978, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, in addition The Japan Times, the Japan Travel Bureau, and many other private organizations used Hepburn instead of Kunrei-shiki. The National Diet Library used Kunrei-shiki, although Hepburn is not a government standard, some government agencies mandate it. In many other areas where it de jure status, Hepburn remains the de facto standard. Signs and notices in city offices and police stations, at shrines, temples, English-language newspapers and media use the simplified form of Hepburn. Cities and prefectures use it in information for English-speaking residents and visitors, official tourism information put out by the government uses it, as do guidebooks, local and foreign, on Japan. Many students of Japanese as a foreign language learn Hepburn, there are many variants of Hepburn romanization. The two most common styles are, Traditional Hepburn, as defined in various editions of Hepburns dictionary and this variant is characterized by the rendering of syllabic n as m before the consonants b, m and p, e. g. Shimbashi for 新橋. Modified Hepburn, also known as Revised Hepburn, in which the rendering of syllabic n as m before certain consonants is no longer used, in Japan itself, there are some variants officially mandated for various uses, Railway Standard, which follows the Hyōjun-shiki Rōmaji. All JR railways and other major railways use this type for station names, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Standard, which follows the modified Hepburn style. This is used for road signs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Passport Standard, a permissive standard which explicitly allows the use of non-Hepburn romaji in personal names, notably for passports. In particular, rendering the syllabic n as m before b, m, p, details of these variants can be found below. The romanizations set out in the first and second versions of Hepburns dictionary are primarily of historical interest, supporters argue that Hepburn is not intended as a linguistic tool. The long vowels are indicated by macrons
23.
Currency
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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
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Foreign exchange market
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The foreign exchange market is a global decentralized market for the trading of currencies. This includes all aspects of buying, selling and exchanging currencies at current or determined prices, in terms of trading volume, it is by far the largest market in the world, followed by the Credit market. The main participants in this market are the international banks. Financial centers around the function as anchors of trading between a wide range of multiple types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends. The foreign exchange market does not determine the values of different currencies. The foreign exchange market works through financial institutions, and operates on several levels, behind the scenes, banks turn to a smaller number of financial firms known as dealers, who are actively involved in large quantities of foreign exchange trading. Most foreign exchange dealers are banks, so this behind-the-scenes market is called the interbank market. Trades between foreign exchange dealers can be large, involving hundreds of millions of dollars. Because of the sovereignty issue when involving two currencies, Forex has little supervisory entity regulating its actions, the foreign exchange market assists international trade and investments by enabling currency conversion. It also supports direct speculation and evaluation relative to the value of currencies, in a typical foreign exchange transaction, a party purchases some quantity of one currency by paying with some quantity of another currency. The modern foreign exchange market began forming during the 1970s. e, as such, it has been referred to as the market closest to the ideal of perfect competition, notwithstanding currency intervention by central banks.1 trillion per day in April 2016. This is down from $5.4 trillion in April 2013, Foreign exchange swaps were the most actively traded instruments in April 2016, at $2.4 trillion per day, followed by spot trading at $1.7 trillion. According to the Bank for International Settlements, as of April 2016 and this marks a decline of approximately 5% from the $5.355 trillion daily volume as of April 2013. Some firms specializing in the exchange market had put the average daily turnover in excess of US$4 trillion. Money-changers were living in the Holy Land in the times of the Talmudic writings and these people used city stalls, and at feast times the Temples Court of the Gentiles instead. Money-changers were also the silversmiths and/or goldsmiths of more recent ancient times, during the 4th century AD, the Byzantine government kept a monopoly on the exchange of currency. Papyri PCZ I59021, shows the occurrences of exchange of coinage in Ancient Egypt, Currency and exchange were important elements of trade in the ancient world, enabling people to buy and sell items like food, pottery and raw materials. If a Greek coin held more gold than an Egyptian coin due to its size or content, then a merchant could barter fewer Greek gold coins for more Egyptian ones, or for more material goods
25.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
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Euro
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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
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Reserve currency
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A reserve currency is a currency that is held in significant quantities by governments and institutions as part of their foreign exchange reserves. The reserve currency is used in international transactions and often considered a hard currency or safe-haven currency. However, the U. S. dollars status as a currency, by increasing in value. International currencies in the past have included the Greek drachma, coined in the fifth century B. C. S. dollar, the Dutch guilder emerged as a de facto world currency in the 18th century due to unprecedented domination of trade by the Dutch East India Company. By the 1860s, most industrialised countries had followed the lead of the United Kingdom, at that point the UK was the primary exporter of manufactured goods and services and over 60% of world trade was invoiced in pound sterling. Attempts were made in the period to restore the gold standard. The British Gold Standard Act reintroduced the gold standard in 1925. This led to stability, followed by deflation, but because the onset of the Great Depression and other factors, global trade greatly declined. Speculative attacks on the pound forced Britain entirely off the standard in 1931. By the mid 1930s, many governments introduced tariffs and autarkic policies, after World War II, the international financial system was governed by a formal agreement, the Bretton Woods System. Economists debate whether a single reserve currency will always dominate the global economy, the argument is that, in the absence of sufficiently large shocks, a currency that dominates the marketplace will not lose much ground to challengers. However, some economists, such as Barry Eichengreen argue that this is not as true when it comes to the denomination of official reserves because the network externalities are not strong. As long as the market is sufficiently liquid, the benefits of reserve diversification are strong. The implication is that the world may soon begin to move away from a financial system dominated uniquely by the US dollar. In the first half of the 20th century multiple currencies did share the status as primary reserve currencies, the top reserve currency is generally selected by the banking community for the strength and stability of the economy in which it is used. Thus, as a currency becomes less stable, or its economy becomes less dominant and this can take a relatively long time, as recognition is important in determining a reserve currency. In 1944, when the US dollar was chosen as the reference currency at Bretton Woods. The G8 also frequently issues public statements as to exchange rates, in the past due to the Plaza Accord, its predecessor bodies could directly manipulate rates to reverse large trade deficits
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Pound sterling
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It is subdivided into 100 pence. A number of nations that do not use sterling also have called the pound. At various times, the sterling was commodity money or bank notes backed by silver or gold. The pound sterling is the worlds oldest currency still in use, the British Crown dependencies of Guernsey and Jersey produce their own local issues of sterling, the Guernsey pound and the Jersey pound. The pound sterling is also used in the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, the Bank of England is the central bank for the pound sterling, issuing its own coins and banknotes, and regulating issuance of banknotes by private banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Sterling is the fourth most-traded currency in the exchange market, after the United States dollar, the euro. Together with those three currencies it forms the basket of currencies which calculate the value of IMF special drawing rights, Sterling is also the third most-held reserve currency in global reserves. The full, official name, pound sterling, is used mainly in formal contexts, otherwise the term pound is normally used. The abbreviations ster. or stg. are sometimes used, the term British pound is commonly used in less formal contexts, although it is not an official name of the currency. The pound sterling is also referred to as cable amongst forex traders, the origins of this term are attributed to the fact that in the 1800s, the dollar/pound sterling exchange rate was transmitted via transatlantic cable. Forex brokers are sometimes referred to as cable dealers, as another established source notes, the compound expression was then derived, silver coins known as sterlings were issued in the Saxon kingdoms,240 of them being minted from a pound of silver. Hence, large payments came to be reckoned in pounds of sterlings, in 1260, Henry III granted them a charter of protection. And because the Leagues money was not frequently debased like that of England, English traders stipulated to be paid in pounds of the Easterlings, and land for their Kontor, the Steelyard of London, which by the 1340s was also called Easterlings Hall, or Esterlingeshalle. For further discussion of the etymology of sterling, see sterling silver, the currency sign for the pound sign is £, which is usually written with a single cross-bar, though a version with a double cross-bar is also sometimes seen. The ISO4217 currency code is GBP, occasionally, the abbreviation UKP is used but this is non-standard because the ISO3166 country code for the United Kingdom is GB. The Crown dependencies use their own codes, GGP, JEP, stocks are often traded in pence, so traders may refer to pence sterling, GBX, when listing stock prices. A common slang term for the pound sterling or pound is quid, since decimalisation in 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 pence. The symbol for the penny is p, hence an amount such as 50p properly pronounced fifty pence is more colloquially, quite often, pronounced fifty pee /fɪfti, pi and this also helped to distinguish between new and old pence amounts during the changeover to the decimal system
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Meiji period
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The Meiji period, also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from October 23,1868 through July 30,1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan during which Japanese society moved from being a feudal society to its modern form. Fundamental changes affected its structure, internal politics, economy, military. The period corresponded with the reign of Emperor Meiji after 1868 and it was succeeded by the Taishō period upon the accession of Emperor Taishō to the throne. On February 3,1867, the 14-year-old Prince Mutsuhito succeeded his father, Emperor Kōmei, on November 9,1867, then-Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu tendered his resignation to the Emperor, and formally stepped down ten days later. Imperial restoration occurred the year on January 3,1868. The fall of Edo in the summer of 1868 marked the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, and a new era, Meiji, was proclaimed. The first reform was the promulgation of the Five Charter Oath in 1868, implicit in the Charter Oath was an end to exclusive political rule by the bakufu, and a move toward more democratic participation in government. To implement the Charter Oath, a rather short-lived constitution with eleven articles was drawn up in June 1868, the Meiji government assured the foreign powers that it would follow the old treaties negotiated by the bakufu and announced that it would act in accordance with international law. Mutsuhito, who was to reign until 1912, selected a new reign title—Meiji, to further dramatize the new order, the capital was relocated from Kyoto, where it had been situated since 794, to Tokyo, the new name for Edo. Confirmed in their positions, the daimyo became governors. The han were replaced with prefectures in 1871, and authority continued to flow to the national government, officials from the favored former han, such as Satsuma, Chōshū, Tosa, and Hizen staffed the new ministries. Formerly old court nobles, and lower-ranking but more radical samurai, replaced bakufu appointees, in as much as the Meiji Restoration had sought to return the Emperor to a preeminent position, efforts were made to establish a Shinto-oriented state much like it was 1,000 years earlier. Furthermore, a new State Shinto had to be constructed for the purpose, in 1871, the Office of Shinto Worship was established, ranking even above the Council of State in importance. The kokutai ideas of the Mito school were embraced, and the ancestry of the Imperial House was emphasized. The government supported Shinto teachers, a small but important move, although the Office of Shinto Worship was demoted in 1872, by 1877 the Home Ministry controlled all Shinto shrines and certain Shinto sects were given state recognition. Shinto was released from Buddhist administration and its properties restored, although Buddhism suffered from state sponsorship of Shinto, it had its own resurgence. Christianity also was legalized, and Confucianism remained an important ethical doctrine, increasingly, however, Japanese thinkers identified with Western ideology and methods
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Meiji Restoration
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The Meiji Restoration, also known as the Meiji Ishin, Renovation, Revolution, Reform, or Renewal, was an event of change that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were Emperors before the Meiji Restoration, the events restored practical abilities, Meiji government also made education compulsory for both boys and girls at minimal fees. The goals of the government were expressed by the new emperor in the Charter Oath. The Restoration led to changes in Japans political and social structure. In Japan however, unlike China, foreign ideas were not associated with opium addiction. Figures like Shimazu Nariakira concluded that if we take the initiative, we can dominate, if we do not, we will be dominated, leading Japan to throw open its doors to foreign technology. Observing Japans response to the powers, Li Hongzhang considered Japan Chinas principal security threat as early as 1863. The word Meiji means enlightened rule and the goal was to modern advances with traditional eastern values. The main leaders of this were Itō Hirobumi, Matsukata Masayoshi, Kido Takayoshi, Itagaki Taisuke, Yamagata Aritomo, Mori Arinori, Ōkubo Toshimichi, and Yamaguchi Naoyoshi. The foundation of the Meiji restoration was the 1866 Satsuma-Chōshū Alliance between Saigō Takamori and Kido Takayoshi, leaders of the reformist elements in the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain. These two leaders supported the Emperor Kōmei and were brought together by Sakamoto Ryōma for the purpose of challenging the ruling Tokugawa shogunate, after Emperor Kōmeis death on January 30,1867, Emperor Meiji ascended the throne on February 3. This period also saw Japan change from being a society to having a market economy. The Tokugawa Shogunate came to its end on November 9,1867, when Tokugawa Yoshinobu. Shortly thereafter in January 1868, the Boshin War started with the Battle of Toba–Fushimi in which Chōshū and this forced the Emperor to strip Yoshinobu of all power, setting the stage for official restoration. We shall henceforward exercise supreme authority in all the internal and external affairs of the country, consequently the title of Emperor must be substituted for that of Taikun, in which the treaties have been made. Officers are being appointed by us to the conduct of foreign affairs and it is desirable that the representatives of the treaty powers recognize this announcement. All Tokugawa lands were seized and placed under control, thus placing them under the prerogative of the new Meiji government. With Fuhanken sanchisei, the areas were split into three types, urban prefectures, rural prefectures and the already existing domains
31.
Scrip of Edo period Japan
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During the Edo period, feudal domains of Japan issued scrip called hansatsu for use within the domain. This paper currency supplemented the coinage of the Tokugawa shogunate, most scrip carried a face value in silver coinage, but gold and copper scrip also circulated. In addition, some scrip was marked for exchange in kind for a commodity such as rice, in addition to those issued by the domains, forms of paper money were also issued by rice brokers in Osaka and Edo. Originally used only as a representation of amounts of rice owned by the scrip-holder and held in the Osaka or Edo merchants storehouse, japans first banknotes, called Yamada Hagaki, were issued around 1600 by Shinto priests also working as merchants in the Ise-Yamada, in exchange for silver. This was earlier than the first goldsmith notes issued in England around 1640, an early issue of domain scrip took place in the Fukui domain in 1661. As early as 1610, private notes had been printed for purposes such as payment of workers on construction projects, domains issued scrip to supplement coins in times of shortage and to adjust the amount in circulation. They also exchanged scrip for coins to improve the situation of the domain. By the end of the period, eight out of ten domains issued paper, as did a few daikan-sho, accepting scrip always carried the risk of forfeiture. During the Edo period, the shogunate seized some domains, and transferred others, on such occasions, the new daimyo might not honor the old scrip. Following the condemnation and death of the daimyo Asano Naganori, for example, Ōishi Yoshio, in addition, in times of financial difficulty, the domain might simply declare scrip void. Early in the period, domains printed their own scrip, later, they operated through prominent merchants, the shogunate prohibited the use of scrip in 1707. In 1730, however, Tokugawa Yoshimune authorized domains to issue paper with time limits for redemption, large domains could issue currency valid for 25 years, and small domains for 15 years. His son Ieshige prohibited new issue of scrip, and restricted the circulation of scrip other than that exchangeable for silver, despite the prohibitions, domains in severe financial straits occasionally issued paper money. Each domain formulated its own rules about its scrip, while there were some that forbade the shogunates coinage, many allowed both coins and scrip to circulate. As a rule, scrip circulated only within the domain that issued it, for example, paper issued by the Kishū domain in 1866 was also used in Yamato, Izumi, Kawachi, Settsu, and Harima Provinces. In 1871, the Government of Meiji Japan ordered the abolition of the han system, in the interim, some scrip carried markings from the central government indicating the value in yen and the smaller sen and rin. This article incorporates information from the Japanese Wikipedia, bank of Japan 新井政義（編集者）『日本史事典』。東京：旺文社1987 竹内理三（編）『日本史小辞典』。東京：角川書店1985 Hansatsu for 1 momme of silver at the British Museum with photo and explanation
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World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
33.
Exchange rate
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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
34.
Bretton Woods system
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The Bretton Woods system was the first example of a fully negotiated monetary order intended to govern monetary relations among independent nation-states. Also, there was a need to address the lack of cooperation among other countries, the delegates deliberated during 1–22 July 1944, and signed the Bretton Woods agreement on its final day. The United States, which controlled two thirds of the gold, insisted that the Bretton Woods system rest on both gold and the US dollar. Soviet representatives attended the conference but later declined to ratify the final agreements and these organizations became operational in 1945 after a sufficient number of countries had ratified the agreement. On 15 August 1971, the United States unilaterally terminated convertibility of the US dollar to gold, effectively bringing the Bretton Woods system to an end and rendering the dollar a fiat currency. This action, referred to as the Nixon shock, created the situation in which the US dollar became a currency used by many states. At the same time, many fixed currencies also became free-floating, there was a high level of agreement among the powerful nations that failure to coordinate exchange rates during the interwar period had exacerbated political tensions. This facilitated the decisions reached by the Bretton Woods Conference, furthermore, all the participating governments at Bretton Woods agreed that the monetary chaos of the interwar period had yielded several valuable lessons. The experience of World War II was fresh in the minds of public officials, the planners at Bretton Woods hoped to avoid a repeat of the Treaty of Versailles after World War I, which had created enough economic and political tension to lead to WWII. The solution at Versailles for the French, British, and Americans seemed to be make Germany pay for it all, if the demands on Germany were unrealistic, then it was unrealistic for France to pay back Britain, and for Britain to pay back the US. Thus, many assets on bank balance sheets internationally were actually unrecoverable loans, in the 1920s, international flows of speculative financial capital increased, leading to extremes in balance of payments situations in various European countries and the US. In the 1930s, world markets never broke through the barriers and restrictions on trade and investment volume – barriers haphazardly constructed. The lesson was that simply having responsible, hard-working central bankers was not enough, Britain in the 1930s had an exclusionary trading bloc with nations of the British Empire known as the Sterling Area. If Britain imported more than it exported to, say, South Africa and this meant that though Britain was running a trade deficit, it had a financial account surplus, and payments balanced. Increasingly, Britains positive balance of payments required keeping the wealth of Empire nations in British banks, one incentive for, say, South African holders of rand to park their wealth in London and to keep the money in Sterling, was a strongly valued pound sterling. Unfortunately, as Britain deindustrialized in the 1920s, the way out of the deficit was to devalue the currency. But Britain couldnt devalue, or the Empire surplus would leave its banking system, nazi Germany also worked with a bloc of controlled nations by 1940. Germany forced trading partners with a surplus to spend that surplus importing products from Germany, thus, Britain survived by keeping Sterling nation surpluses in its banking system, and Germany survived by forcing trading partners to purchase its own products
35.
1973 oil crisis
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The 1973 oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo occurred in response to United States support for Israel during the Yom Kippur War, by the end of the embargo in March 1974, the price of oil had risen from US$3 per barrel to nearly $12 globally, US prices were significantly higher. The embargo caused an oil crisis, or shock, with many short- and long-term effects on global politics and it was later called the first oil shock, followed by the 1979 oil crisis, termed the second oil shock. The embargo was a response to American involvement in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, six days after Egypt and Syria launched a surprise military campaign against Israel, the US supplied Israel with arms. In response to this, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries announced an oil embargo against Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the crisis had a major impact on international relations and created a rift within NATO. Some European nations and Japan sought to disassociate themselves from United States foreign policy in the Middle East to avoid being targeted by the boycott, Arab oil producers linked any future policy changes to peace between the belligerents. To address this, the Nixon Administration began multilateral negotiations with the combatants and they arranged for Israel to pull back from the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. By January 18,1974, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had negotiated an Israeli troop withdrawal from parts of the Sinai Peninsula, the promise of a negotiated settlement between Israel and Syria was enough to convince Arab oil producers to lift the embargo in March 1974. The embargo occurred at a time of rising petroleum consumption by industrialized countries and coincided with an increase in oil imports by the worlds largest oil consumer. In the aftermath, targeted countries initiated a variety of policies to contain their future dependency. The 1973 oil price shock, with the accompanying 1973–74 stock market crash, was regarded as the first discrete event since the Great Depression to have a persistent effect on the US economy, the embargos success demonstrated Saudi Arabias diplomatic and economic power. It was the largest oil exporter and a politically and religiously conservative kingdom, in 1970, US oil production started to decline, exacerbating the embargos impact. Following this, Nixon named James E. Akins as US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia to audit US production capacity, the confidential results were alarming—no spare capacity was available and production could only decrease. The oil embargo had little effect on supply, according to Akins. OPEC was organized to resist pressure by the Seven Sisters to reduce oil prices, at first, OPEC operated as an informal bargaining unit for resource-rich third-world countries. OPEC confined its activities to gaining a share of the profits generated by oil companies. In the early 1970s it began to exert economic and political strength, on August 15,1971, the United States unilaterally pulled out of the Bretton Woods Accord. The US abandoned the Gold Exchange Standard whereby the value of the dollar had been pegged to the price of gold and all other currencies were pegged to the dollar, shortly thereafter, Britain followed, floating the pound sterling
36.
Plaza Accord
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The five governments signed the accord on September 22,1985 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Between 1980 and 1985 the dollar had appreciated by about 50% against the Japanese yen, Deutsche Mark, French Franc and British pound and this caused considerable difficulties for American industry but at first their lobbying was largely ignored by government. The financial sector was able to profit from the dollar. A broad alliance of manufacturers, service providers, and farmers responded by running an increasingly high-profile campaign asking for protection against foreign competition, major players included grain exporters, car producers, engineering companies like Caterpillar Inc. as well as high-tech companies including IBM and Motorola. By 1985, their campaign had acquired sufficient traction for Congress to begin considering passing protectionist laws, the prospect of trade restrictions spurred the White House to begin the negotiations that led to the Plaza Accord. The U. S. S. less competitive in the global market, devaluing the dollar made U. S. exports cheaper to purchase for its trading partners, which in turn allegedly meant that other countries would buy more American-made goods and services. The exchange rate value of the dollar versus the yen declined by 51% from 1985 to 1987, most of this devaluation was due to the $10 billion spent by the participating central banks. Currency speculation caused the dollar to continue its fall after the end of coordinated interventions, the Plaza Accord was successful in reducing the U. S. trade deficit with Western European nations but largely failed to fulfill its primary objective of alleviating the trade deficit with Japan. This deficit was due to conditions that were insensitive to monetary policy. The Louvre Accord would be signed in 1987 to halt the decline of the U. S. dollar. The signing of the Plaza Accord was significant in that it reflected Japans emergence as a player in managing the international monetary system. It is thus postulated that Plaza Accord contributed to the Japanese asset price bubble, treasury - Exchange Stabilization Fund, Intervention Operations 1985-90 Plaza Agreement, ANZ Financial Dictionary from Language of Money by Edna Carew Reverse Plaza Accord
37.
GDP
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Gross Domestic Product is a monetary measure of the market value of all final goods and services produced in a period. Nominal GDP estimates are used to determine the economic performance of a whole country or region. The OECD defines GDP as a measure of production equal to the sum of the gross values added of all resident and institutional units engaged in production. ”An IMF publication states that GDP measures the monetary value of final goods and services - that is. Total GDP can also be broken down into the contribution of industry or sector of the economy. The ratio of GDP to the population of the region is the per capita GDP. William Petty came up with a concept of GDP to defend landlords against unfair taxation during warfare between the Dutch and the English between 1652 and 1674. Charles Davenant developed the method further in 1695, the modern concept of GDP was first developed by Simon Kuznets for a US Congress report in 1934. In this report, Kuznets warned against its use as a measure of welfare, after the Bretton Woods conference in 1944, GDP became the main tool for measuring a countrys economy. The switch from GNP to GDP in the US was in 1991, the history of the concept of GDP should be distinguished from the history of changes in ways of estimating it. The value added by firms is relatively easy to calculate from their accounts, but the value added by the sector, by financial industries. GDP can be determined in three ways, all of which should, in principle, give the same result and they are the production approach, the income approach, or the expenditure approach. The most direct of the three is the approach, which sums the outputs of every class of enterprise to arrive at the total. The income approach works on the principle that the incomes of the factors must be equal to the value of their product. This approach mirrors the OECD definition given above, deduct intermediate consumption from gross value to obtain the gross value added. Gross value added = gross value of output – value of intermediate consumption, value of output = value of the total sales of goods and services plus value of changes in the inventories. The sum of the value added in the various economic activities is known as GDP at factor cost. GDP at factor cost plus indirect taxes less subsidies on products = GDP at producer price, for measuring output of domestic product, economic activities are classified into various sectors. Subtracting each sectors intermediate consumption from gross output gives the GDP at factor cost, adding indirect tax minus subsidies in GDP at factor cost gives the GDP at producer prices
38.
Interest rate
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An interest rate, is the amount of interest due per period, as a proportion of the amount lent, deposited or borrowed. The total interest on an amount lent or borrowed depends on the sum, the interest rate, the compounding frequency. It is defined as the proportion of an amount loaned which a lender charges as interest to the borrower and it is the rate a bank or other lender charges to borrow its money, or the rate a bank pays its savers for keeping money in an account. Annual interest rate is the rate over a period of one year, other interest rates apply over different periods, such as a month or a day, but they are usually annualised. A company borrows capital from a bank to buy assets for its business, in return, the bank charges the company interest. Base rate usually refers to the rate offered on overnight deposits by the central bank or other monetary authority. Annual percentage rate and effective annual rate or annual equivalent rate are used to help consumers compare products with different payment structures on a common basis, a discount rate is applied to calculate present value. Interest rate targets are a tool of monetary policy and are taken into account when dealing with variables like investment, inflation. The central banks of countries tend to reduce interest rates when they wish to increase investment. In the past two centuries, interest rates have been variously set either by national governments or central banks, during an attempt to tackle spiraling hyperinflation in 2007, the Central Bank of Zimbabwe increased interest rates for borrowing to 800%. Possibly before modern capital markets, there have been some accounts that savings deposits could achieve a return of at least 25%. Political short-term gain, Lowering interest rates can give the economy a short-run boost, under normal conditions, most economists think a cut in interest rates will only give a short term gain in economic activity that will soon be offset by inflation. The quick boost can influence elections, Most economists advocate independent central banks to limit the influence of politics on interest rates. Deferred consumption, When money is loaned the lender delays spending the money on consumption goods, since according to time preference theory people prefer goods now to goods later, in a free market there will be a positive interest rate. Inflationary expectations, Most economies generally exhibit inflation, meaning a given amount of money buys fewer goods in the future than it will now, the borrower needs to compensate the lender for this. Alternative investments, The lender has a choice between using his money in different investments, if he chooses one, he forgoes the returns from all the others. Different investments effectively compete for funds, risks of investment, There is always a risk that the borrower will go bankrupt, abscond, die, or otherwise default on the loan. This means that a lender generally charges a premium to ensure that, across his investments
39.
Yuan (currency)
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The yuan is the base unit of a number of former and present-day Chinese currencies, and usually refers to the primary unit of account of the renminbi, the currency of the Peoples Republic of China. It is also used as a synonym of that currency, especially in international contexts – the ISO4217 standard code for renminbi is CNY, a yuan is also known colloquially as a kuai. One yuan is divided into 10 jiao or colloquially mao, one jiao is divided into 10 fen. When used in English in the context of the foreign exchange market, the Chinese yuan refers to the renminbi. Having been in use for at least 2000 years, the yuan was probably the first decimal currency system and it is also considered the first to use metal coins and bank notes. In Standard Chinese, yuán literally means an object or round coin. During the Qing Dynasty, the yuan was a coin made of silver. In informal contexts, the word is written with the simplified Chinese character 元, in formal contexts it is written with the simplified character 圆 or with the traditional version 圓, both meaning round, after the shape of the coins. These are all pronounced yuán in modern Standard Chinese, but were originally pronounced differently, in the Peoples Republic of China, ￥ or RMB is often prefixed to the amount to indicate that the currency is the renminbi. In many parts of China, the unit of renminbi is sometimes colloquially called kuài rather than yuán, in Cantonese, widely spoken in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong and Macau, the yuan, jiao, and fen are called mān, hòuh, and sīn, respectively. Sīn is a word from the English cent. The traditional character 圓 is also used to denote the Hong Kong dollar, the Macanese pataca, however, they do not share the same names for the subdivisions. The New Taiwan dollar is referred to in Standard Chinese as yuán. The names of the Korean and Japanese currency units, won and yen respectively, are cognates of Mandarin yuán, also meaning round in the Korean and Japanese languages. The Japanese yen was also written with the kanji character 圓. The Korean won used to be written with the hanja character 圜 from 1902 to 1910 and it is now written as 원 in Hangul exclusively, in both North and South Korea. It was subdivided into 1000 cash,100 cents or fen and it replaced copper cash and various silver ingots called sycees. The sycees were denominated in tael, the yuan was valued at 0.72 tael
40.
North Korean won
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The won or Korean Peoples Won is the official currency of North Korea. It is subdivided into 100 chon, the won is issued by the Central Bank of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, based in the capital city, Pyongyang. Won is a cognate of the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen, all three names derive from the Chinese word written 圓, which means round shape. The won is subdivided into 100 chon, the won became the currency of North Korea on December 6,1947, replacing the Korean yen that was still in circulation. North Korean won are intended exclusively for North Korean citizens, fECs were used until 1999, then officially abolished in 2002, in favor of visitors paying directly with hard currency, especially the euro. Since at least 2012 foreigners can buy goods priced in tied won using a debit card. One euro would provide a credit of 130 won and this card can be used for instance at the famous Pyongyang Store or at the different stores at the international hotels, where the goods are priced at the tied won rate. This tied won does not exist in the form of bank notes, in normal stores and markets goods are priced in what has been called the untied won or free market rate and regular banknotes can be used here. However, the prices in the normal shops outside the tied won, since 2001, the North Korean government has abandoned the iconic rate of 2.16 won to the dollar and banks in the country now issue at rates closer to the black market rate. More recent official rates have shown the North Korean won to be ₩129.559 to the US dollar, however, rampant inflation has been eroding the North Korean wons value. A report by defectors from North Korea claimed that the market rate was ₩570 to the Chinese yuan in June 2009. The won was revalued in November 2009 for the first time in 50 years, the official exchange rate at this time was around $740 but black market value of the ₩150,000 was estimated to be near $30. The revaluation, seen as a move against private market activity, the Times speculated that the move may have been an attempt by the North Korean government to control price inflation and destroy the fortunes of local black market money traders. The announcement was made to foreign embassies but not in North Korean state media, information was later carried via a wire-based radio service only available within North Korea. As part of the process, the old notes ceased to be legal tender on November 30,2009, with notes valued in the new won not being distributed until December 7,2009. This meant that North Koreans would not be able to exchange any money for goods or services until that date and most shops, restaurants, the only services that remained open were those catering to the political elite and foreigners which continued to trade exclusively in foreign currency. The measure had led to concerns amongst North Korean officials that it would result in civil unrest, authorities threatened merciless punishment for any person who violated the rules of the currency change. Pictures of the new notes were published on December 4,2009, in the Chosun Shinbo, the paper claimed that the measure would weaken the free market and strengthen the countrys socialist system
41.
South Korean won
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The won or the Korean Republic Won is the currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit, the jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and appears only in foreign exchange rates. The won is issued by the Bank of Korea, based in the capital city, the old won was a cognate of the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen. It is derived from the hanja 圓, meaning currency or coin, the won was subdivided into 100 jeon, itself a cognate of the Chinese character 錢 which means money and also used as a unit of money in ancient times. The current won is written in hangul only. During the Colonial era, the won was replaced at par by the yen, in 1945 after World War II, Korea became divided, resulting in two separate currencies, both called won, for the South and the North. Both the Southern won and the Northern won replaced the yen at par, the first South Korean won was subdivided into 100 jeon. The South Korean won was pegged to the U. S. dollar at a rate of 15 won =1 dollar. A series of devaluations followed, the ones in part due to the Korean War. The pegs were, The first South Korean won was replaced by the hwan on February 15,1953 at a rate of 1 hwan =100 won, Republic of Korea Banknotes 5th Edition In 1946, the Bank of Joseon introduced 10- and 100-won notes. These were followed in 1949 by 5- and 1, 000-won notes, a new central bank, the Bank of Korea, was established on 12 June 1950, and assumed the duties of Bank of Joseon. Notes were introduced in denominations of 5,10 and 50 jeon, the 500-won notes were introduced in 1952. In 1953, a series of banknotes was issued which, although it gave the denominations in English in won, were, in fact, the won was reintroduced on June 10,1962, at a rate of 1 won =10 hwan. It became the legal tender on March 22,1975. Its ISO4217 code is KRW, at the reintroduction of the won in 1962, its value was pegged at 125 won = $US1. The following pegs operated between 1962 and 1980, On February 27,1980, efforts were initiated to lead to an exchange rate. The won was allowed to float on December 24,1997. Shortly after, the won was devalued to almost half of its value, until 1966, 10- and 50-hwan coins, revalued as 1 and 5 won, were the only coins in circulation
42.
Sycee
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A sycee or yuanbao was a type of silver or gold ingot currency used in imperial China from its founding under the Qin dynasty until the fall of the Qing in the 20th century. Sycee were not made by a bank or mint but by individual silversmiths for local exchange, consequently. Square and oval shapes were common, but boat, flower, tortoise, in present-day China, gold sycees remain a symbol of wealth and prosperity and are commonly depicted during the Lunar New Year festivities. Paper imitations of gold- or silver-colored paper are burned along with money as a part of Chinese ancestral veneration for Tomb Sweeping Day. The name sycee is a romanization of the Cantonese pronunciation of the characters for fine silk. This is variously explained as deriving from the ability to draw pure gold or silver out into fine threads or from the sheen of quality silver. The name yuanbao is the romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of the characters for inaugural treasures. Under Chinas Tang dynasty, coins were inscribed Kaiyuan tongbao, later abbreviated to yuanbao, the name was also applied to other non-coin forms of currency. Yuanbao was spelt yamboo and yambu in the 19th-century English-language literature on Xinjiang, sycees were first used as a medium for exchange as early as the Qin Dynasty. During the Tang Dynasty, a standard system of silver and copper coinage was codified with 10 silver coins equal to 1,000 copper cash coins. Paper money and bonds started to be used in China in the 9th century, most of the so-called opium scales seen in museums were actually for weighing payments in silver. The tael was still the basis of the currency and sycees remained in use until the end of the Qing Dynasty. Common weights were 50 taels,10 taels, and 5 down to 1 tael, when foreign silver coins began to circulate in China in the later 16th century, they were initially considered a type of quasi-sycee and imprinted with seals just as sycees were. Today, imitation gold sycees are used a symbol of prosperity among Chinese people and they are frequently displayed during Chinese New Year, representing a fortunate year to come. Reproduction or commemorative gold sycees continue to be minted as collectibles, another form of imitation yuanbao – made by folding gold- or silver-colored paper – can be burned at ancestors graves during the Ghost Festival, along with imitation paper money. g. Chat fan yi or saam fan luk, Gold bar Gold standard Silver standard Economic history of China Cribb, Joe. A Catalogue of Sycee in the British Museum, Chinese Silver Currency Ingots c, examples of Chinese silver sycee Sycee On Line Chinese Sycee History at Sycee-on-line. com
43.
Spanish dollar
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Its purpose was to correspond to the German thaler. The Spanish dollar was used by many countries as the first international currency because of its uniformity in standard. Some countries countersigned the Spanish dollar so it could be used as their local currency, the Spanish dollar was the coin upon which the original United States dollar was based, and it remained legal tender in the United States until the Coinage Act of 1857. Because it was used in Europe, the Americas. Diverse theories link the origin of the $ symbol to the columns, millions of Spanish dollars were minted over the course of several centuries. They were among the most widely circulating coins of the period in the Americas. In the 16th century, Count Hieronymus Schlick of Bohemia began minting coins known as Joachimsthalers, named for Joachimsthal, the Joachimsthalers weighed 451 Troy grains of silver. So successful were these coins that similar thalers were minted in Burgundy, the Burgundian Cross Thaler depicted the Cross of Burgundy and was prevalent in the Burgundian Netherlands that were revolting against the Spanish king and Duke of Burgundy Philip II. After 1575, the Dutch revolting provinces replaced the currency with a daalder depicting a lion, specifically to facilitate export trade, the leeuwendaalder was authorized to contain 427.16 grains of.750 fine silver, lighter than the large denomination coins then in circulation. Clearly it was advantageous for a Dutch merchant to pay a foreign debt in leeuwendaalders rather than in other heavier. Thus, the leeuwendaalder or lion dollar became the coin of choice for foreign trade and it became popular in the Middle East, and colonies in the east and west. They also circulated throughout the English colonies during the Seventeenth and early Eighteenth centuries, from New Netherland the lion dollar spread to all thirteen colonies in the west. After the introduction of the Guldengroschen in Austria in 1486, the concept of a silver coin with high purity eventually spread throughout the rest of Europe. Monetary reform in Spain brought about the introduction of an 8-real coin in 1497, in 1537 the Spanish escudo gold coin was introduced, which was worth 16 reales. The later Gold Doubloon was worth 32 reales or 2 escudos and it is this divisibility into 8 which caused the silver coins to be named pieces of eight. In the following centuries, the coin was minted with different designs at various mints in Spain. In the 19th century, the denomination was changed to 20 reales. Spains adoption of the peseta in 1869 and its joining the Latin Monetary Union meant the end of the last vestiges of the Spanish dollar in Spain itself
Japan
Zimbabwe
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United States dollar
Euro
Pound sterling
Australian dollar
Canadian dollar
Swiss franc
Renminbi
Swedish krona
New Zealand dollar
Mexican peso
Singapore dollar
Hong Kong dollar
Norwegian krone
South Korean won
Turkish lira
Russian ruble
Indian rupee
Brazilian real
South African rand
This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/.
This article incorporates 
