Currency Currency A currency (from , "in circulation", from ), 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" (monetary units) in common use, especially in a nation. Under this definition, US dollars, British pounds, Australian dollars, European euros and Russian ruble are examples of currency. These various currencies are recognized as stores of value and are traded between nations in foreign exchange markets, which determine the
World currency World currency In the foreign exchange market and international finance, a world currency, supranational currency, or global currency is a currency that is transacted internationally, with no set borders. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the use of silver Spanish dollars or "pieces of eight" spread from the Spanish territories in the Americas westwards to Asia and eastwards to Europe, forming the first worldwide currency. Spain's political supremacy on the world stage, the importance of Spanish commercial routes across the Atlantic and the Pacific, and the coin's quality and purity of silver helped it become internationally accepted for over two