## The Value of Paper Money Around the World - Currency Notes - IMF F&D Magazine - June 2018 | Volume 55 | Number 2 ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [The Value of Paper Money Around the World - Currency Notes - IMF F&D Magazine - June 2018 | Volume 55 | Number 2](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2018/06/value-of-paper-money-around-the-world-currency) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2018/06/value-of-paper-money-around-the-world-currency/index.md) - [Structured JSON version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2018/06/value-of-paper-money-around-the-world-currency/index.json) - [Bundle manifest](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2018/06/value-of-paper-money-around-the-world-currency/bundle-manifest.json) ## Bibliographic details - Authors: TADEUSZ GALEZA, JAMES CHAN - Published: June 1, 2018 - Volume: 55 --- ### Publication and authors - F&D Magazine, Striking the Right Note - TADEUSZ GALEZA, JAMES CHAN - June 2018 - TADEUSZ GALEZA is a research officer in the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department. - JAMES CHAN is a senior information management assistant in the IMF’s Statistics Department. ### Historical and cultural role of paper money - Money has taken many forms throughout history: strings of shells in the Solomon Islands, large stone disks on Yap, wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese in Italy. - Modern banknotes serve as an artistic expression of national sovereignty, often immortalizing famous authors, activists, local wildlife, and iconic national landmarks. - Banknotes represent the essence, history, beauty, and ideals to which each country aspires. ### Global currency landscape and physical characteristics - The IMF’s 189 member countries issue 136 unique national currencies and form four currency unions. - Banknote physical-size examples: - Malawian kwacha: the smallest banknote in the study at about 87 percent the size of the US dollar bill. - Brunei dollar and Singapore dollar: the largest banknotes in circulation in the study, each with a total area of more than 150 percent of the US dollar bill. - Swiss francs: tend to be very slender. - British pounds and Kenyan shillings: tend to be more square. - Most banknotes are rectangular and wider rather than tall. ### Functional properties of currency - Banknotes fulfill the same defining properties worldwide: they are a unit of measure, a store of value, and a medium of exchange. - Paper bills, or “fiat” money, have no intrinsic value; their worth is determined solely through supply and demand and they are declared legal tender by government decree. ### Nominal vs. real value and notable denominations - Central banks decide largest notes in circulation; nominal value is indicated by the number of zeros. - Current largest bills in circulation range from 20 Bahrain dinars to 500,000 Vietnamese dong. - Historical hyperinflation examples: - Yugoslavia issued a 500 billion dinar bill in 1991. - Zimbabwe issued a 100 trillion dollar bill in 2009. - Common practice: a hundred units of currency (for example, 100 US dollars) is most commonly the highest available banknote in each country. - Real-value highlights: - On average, the largest banknote in circulation across countries is equivalent to 33 US dollars. - It takes three 100 South Sudanese pound notes (their largest in circulation) to purchase a medium coffee at Starbucks. - It takes two of Brunei’s largest bills—10,000 dollar notes—to buy a 2018 Toyota Yaris sedan. ### Future outlook - Digital currencies and online transactions are gaining steam worldwide, putting the future of paper money potentially in jeopardy. - The physicality that once defined value is giving way to a new global, digital economy where more transactions—big and small—are processed electronically. - Possible evolution: countries may one day design and issue virtual banknotes, embedded with richer features to celebrate national heritage. - Short-term outlook: paper banknotes continue to retain an undeniable appeal. *Content based solely on "The Value of Paper Money Around the World - Currency Notes - IMF F&D Magazine - June 2018 | Volume 55 | Number 2."* --- ## Content in this bundle - **اختيار الورقة الصحيحة** - [اختيار الورقة الصحيحة (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/june/ar/currency.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [اختيار الورقة الصحيحة (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/june/ar/currency.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **The Value of Paper Money Around the World - Currency Notes - IMF F&D Magazine - June 2018** - [The Value of Paper Money Around the World - Currency Notes - IMF F&D Magazine - June 2018 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/june/currency.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [The Value of Paper Money Around the World - Currency Notes - IMF F&D Magazine - June 2018 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/june/currency.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **El equilibrio correcto ● El dinero se transforma ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Junio de 2018** - [El equilibrio correcto ● El dinero se transforma ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Junio de 2018 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/june/es/currency.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [El equilibrio correcto ● El dinero se transforma ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Junio de 2018 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/june/es/currency.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **Histoires d’argent : Tirer le bon billet** - [Histoires d’argent : Tirer le bon billet (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/june/fr/currency.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Histoires d’argent : Tirer le bon billet (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/june/fr/currency.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **Денежные знаки. Подобрать подходящую банкноту – Финансы и развитие – июнь 2018 года** - [Денежные знаки. Подобрать подходящую банкноту – Финансы и развитие – июнь 2018 года (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/june/ru/currency.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Денежные знаки. Подобрать подходящую банкноту – Финансы и развитие – июнь 2018 года (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/june/ru/currency.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **纸币遭受打击 - 货币 - 金融与发展** - [纸币遭受打击 - 货币 - 金融与发展 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/june/zh/currency.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [纸币遭受打击 - 货币 - 金融与发展 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/june/zh/currency.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} --- _Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2018/06/value-of-paper-money-around-the-world-currency_