THE WORLD’S MAJOR CURRENCIES
The currencies of the world’s major economies
have names and backgrounds that are as diverse
as the countries themselves.
The dollar, used in many countries including the
USA, Canada, Australia, gets its name from a
silver coin minted during the Middle Ages in a
small valley, or “Thal”, in Bohemia called
Joachimsthal. Just as a sausage from Frankfurt
came to be called a frankfurter, the coins from
Joachimsthal were called «Joachimsthaler» or
simply «Thaler,» and came to be called «dollar»
in English.
The pound, used in Britain, Egypt, and Lebanon
among others, refers to the weight used in
determining the value of coins, based on precious
metals such as gold or sterling. The penny has
the same origin as the word pawn, found in
terms such as pawn shop, and originally meant
«to pledge». A penny, like any currency, is a
«pledge» of value. In Italy and Turkey, the
currency is called lira. The word is based on the
Latin libra, meaning «pound,» and once again
refers to the weight of the original coins.
In Spanish, the word meaning «weight,» peso, is
used to describe the coins that were based on a
certain weight of gold or silver. Origi–nally, there
were gold coins called peso de ото and silver
ones called peso de plata. In Spain, the currency
is called peseta, meaning «small peso». The word
peso is used to describe the currency in many
Span–ish-speaking countries in Latin America.
In Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, the word for
crown – krone in Denmark and Norway, krona in
Sweden – is used to describe the currency that
was originally minted by the king and queen,
with royal crowns stamped on the earlier coins.
Today, the crown has been replaced by other
symbols, but the name remains.
The franc, used in France, Switzerland, Belgium,
and other coun–tries and territories, is based on
the early coins used in France that bore the Latin
inscription franconium rex, meaning «king of the
Franks». The coin, as well as the country, took
its name from one of the original tribes that
settled in the area, the Franks.
The German mark and Finnish markka derive
their names from the small marks that were cut
into coins to indicate their precious metal
content. The German mark, deutsche mark in
German, is often called by its shortened name,
D-mark.
The riyal, in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and the rial
in Iran, are based on the Spanish word real –
which, in turn, was derived from the Latin regal
(is) – referring to earlier «royal» coins. The dinar,
used in Iraq and Kuwait among others, derives its
name from «denarius,» a Roman coin that was
worth «ten bronze asses,» an item of
considerable value in days of old. In India,
Pakistan, and other countries of the subcontinent,
the currency is called rupee (in Indonesia,
rupiah), based on the Sanskrit word rupya,
meaning «coined silver».
The ancient Chinese wordyiam meant «round,» or
«small round thing». The name of the Japanese
currency, the yen, and the name of the Chinese
currency, the yuan, both derived from the old
Chinese word, refer to the round shape of the
original coins.