Can You Identify Money Around the World?

In the early days of commerce, people used nuts, shells and stones to barter and pay for goods. Today, countries use sophisticated banknotes and coins — often featuring important figures and cultural symbols — to keep their economies humming.

The U.S. dollar is the most traded legal tender in the world, but the euro isn’t far behind. The most valuable currencies in the world are the Kuwaiti dinar, Bahraini dinar and Oman riel; the least valuable are the Iranian real, Vietnamese dong and Indonesian rupiah.

The United Nations recognizes 180 different currencies used globally in 195 countries. We’ve singled out some of the most distinctive, from odd coins to noteworthy bills.

How many can you identify?

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Japan — It’s the Japanese Yen

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The Japanese yen was established as the official currency of Japan in the late 1800s and is one of the most traded currencies in the foreign exchange market.

Coins depict natural features like bamboo, rice, mandarin oranges and cherry blossoms. The 500-yen coin is one of the highest-valued used as regular currency in the world; as of October 2017, it was valued at 4.50 USD.

Good luck counterfeiting this currency — Japan has made it exceptionally difficult to do so, thanks to anti-security measures including holograms and luminescent ink that glows under UV light.

Want to learn more? The Currency Museum Bank of Japan in Tokyo is free of charge.

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Australia — It’s the Australian Dollar

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Did the kangaroo give it away?

Appropriately, Australia uses a dollar coin adorned with Australia’s beloved national animal. The country also has 5-, 10-, 20- and 50-cent coins, as well as a two-dollar coin that depicts an Aboriginal tribal elder.

The country’s colorful bills show off portraits of notable Australians, such as Aboriginal writer and inventor David Unaipon on the 50-dollar bill. And, since Australia is still a part of the Commonwealth, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II graces the five-dollar banknote.

Australia was the first country in the world to introduce polymer banknotes in 1988. The material has since become very popular, since polymer is more durable than paper and can be recycled.

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Kenya — It’s the Kenyan Shilling

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Kenya recently made headlines when it swapped out images of former rulers for wildlife imagery on its newly minted shilling coins. The new currency features the extraordinary animals that call the African country home: elephants, giraffes, lions and rhinos. It’s expected that Kenyan banknotes will follow suit and switch to animal artwork in the near future as well.

Previously, the coins were adorned with portraits of former presidents and prime ministers. The new currency is supported by current President Uhuru Kenyatta — the son of Jomo Kenyatta, who used to be depicted on the coins.

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Costa Rica — It’s the Costa Rican Colon

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The Costa Rican Colon is named after the Spanish explorer Cristobal Colon, otherwise known as Christopher Columbus.

On one side, the country’s colorful banknotes — which come in six denominations — honor people who’ve helped shape Costa Rica, such as Maria Isabel Carvajal, a famous Costa Rican female writer.

The flipside pays homage to Costa Rica’s extraordinary eco-diversity by depicting the flora and fauna of different ecosystems, including a rainforest, mangrove swamp and coral reef.

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Aruba — It’s the Aruban Florin

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Aruba introduced its own currency in the ‘80s, after pushing for independence from the Netherlands and replacing the Netherlands Antillean guilder.

The country’s colorful paper money is visually dazzling, with geometrical motifs from pre-Columbian-era pottery. Each banknote is a different color and displays a local animal such as a frog, conch shell, rattlesnake or owl.

Most florin coins are silver — but the beautiful five-cent coin is golden. The most unusual coin is the 50-cent yotin, which is square-shaped even though round coins are harder to counterfeit.

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Canada — It’s the Canadian Dollar

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The new purple Canadian $10 notes are vertical, which is rare for banknotes. They feature Viola Desmond, who was a successful black businesswoman and a pioneer for human rights in the country. Desmond spent time in jail in 1946 after she was arrested for staying in the whites-only area of a movie theater.

On the flipside of the bill is an image of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which was the world’s first museum dedicated to human rights.

Canada also has special-edition coins in circulation for Remembrance Day, honoring Canadians who died during conflicts from WWI to modern day. The unique quarter has a red poppy flower in the center; the poppy has become a symbol of remembrance, as the flowers grew from the graves of fallen soldiers.

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Guatemala — It’s the Guatemalan Quetzal

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Before there was modern money, Mayans would use tailfeathers from the resplendent quetzal bird as currency. Today, the resplendent quetzal is the Guatemalan national bird and the namesake for Guatemala’s currency, first introduced in 1925.

Guatemalan quetzal banknotes feature the images of important historical figures, including former presidents and Liberal Revolution leaders, and honor the country’s Mayan heritage and culture.

In addition to Mayan numerals in the top right corner, featured Mayan motifs include Tikal’s Temple (also known as the Temple of the Great Jaguar) and the Marimba, a wooden percussion instrument that can be traced back to Mayan times and is the national Guatemalan instrument.

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Switzerland — It’s the Swiss Franc

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Switzerland is one of the few countries in western Europe that uses an independent currency instead of the euro. The Swiss Franc is also the official currency of Liechtenstein — which is a completely separate country. Neither country joined the European Union, which is why they’re not required to use the euro.

The 10 Swiss Franc note won the 2017 Banknote of the Year award from the International Banknote Society, which described it as a “gorgeous yellow vertical banknote [depicting] human hands conducting an orchestra with a globe showing time zones and the punctual Swiss rail system.”

The Swiss Franc 1,000 bill is one of the highest-value banknotes in circulation worldwide — it accounts for 10.5 percent of the number and 62 percent of the value of all banknotes in Switzerland. The newest release of the bill is lilac in color and features a vertical design.

High-valued bills are very popular among the Swiss, who use them for large payments. Other European countries have phased out valuable notes in order to avoid criminal activity, but the Swiss aren’t too concerned about the bills being misused.

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Iceland — It’s the Icelandic Króna

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Iceland is another European country that doesn’t use the euro, and its independent currency is among the world’s most beautiful. The country’s five intricate króna banknotes feature adornments that honor famous Icelandic people, such as painter Jóhannes Kjarval and seamstress Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir.

Its coins, meanwhile, showcase all four of the guardian spirits of Iceland — a bull, mountain giant, bird and dragon. The opposite side of the coins feature imagery of local marine wildlife, including a lumpfish, shore crab, capelin, dolphins and cod.

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Cambodia — It’s the Cambodian Riel and U.S. Dollar

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Cambodia operates on a dual currency system that can be entirely confusing for travelers. Most transactions are done using the U.S. dollar, but change is given in Cambodian riel — with 4,000 riel having the same value as 1 USD.

It’s rare to even see menu prices displayed in the local currency, as costs are usually listed in USD.

While the USD is not an official currency in Cambodia, it can be withdrawn from most ATM machines across the country. The Cambodian riel currency does not include any coins — and U.S. coins aren’t used in the country either.

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Cuba — It’s the Cuban Peso

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Cuba has two official currencies: the Cuban peso (CUP) and the convertible Cuban peso (CUC).

The CUP features images of famous Cuban figures, including Cuban revolutionaries like Camilo Cienfuegos and Che Guevara.

The CUC features images of important socialist monuments and battles. It was introduced in 1994 to support the weak economy and was intended to be specifically for tourist use.

Both are legal tender, but the former is not nearly as valuable as the latter.

The U.S. dollar was used in Cuba until 2004, when it was officially taken out of circulation in favor of the Cuban convertible peso, which has the same value as the U.S. dollar.

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England — It’s the Pound Sterling

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Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II first appeared on English money in 1960 and was the first monarch to be featured on a banknote. Her portrait also adorns at least 35 currencies from the countries of the Commonwealth.

A new five-pound note, featuring Winston Churchill, was introduced in 2016, followed a couple years later by a new 10-pound note showcasing Jane Austen. Both have trace elements of tallow, animal fat, which has incited a national uproar among vegetarians.

As for England’s coins, you may hear them slangily referred to as “quid.” This derives from the Latin word meaning “what, something, anything” — as in quid pro quo.

Charmingly, 10-pence coins feature children’s literature characters on them, including Paddington Bear and characters from Beatrix Potter stories.

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Scotland — It’s the Pound Sterling and Banknote of Scotland

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Scotland’s complicated relationship with the UK is reflected in its currency.

The country uses the UK’s official currency, the pound sterling — but only its coins. For banknotes, Scotland prints its own currency, the Banknotes of Scotland.

These bills have been in use since the 19th century, and their status is fraught. While they’re not technically considered legal tender anywhere in the United Kingdom, including Scotland, they’re allowed to be used as legal currency since they’re approved by the UK Parliament.

In 2007, a series of banknotes were put into circulation featuring Scotland’s most noteworthy bridges. Over the last few years, a new series of banknotes made of polymer have been introduced. So far, only the five note (featuring Scottish civil engineer and politician Sir William Arrol) and 10 note (depicting poet Robert Burns) have been unveiled.

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South Africa — It’s the South African Rand

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Fittingly, South African rand bills feature the country’s “Big Five” wild animals: the elephant, leopard, lion, rhino and water buffalo. On the reverse side is an image of anti-apartheid revolutionary and former President Nelson Mandela.

Rand coins also honor South Africa’s nature with the likeness of native animals and plants, such as the black wildebeest and the bird-of-paradise flower.

To be inclusive of the 11 official languages in the country, text on the currency’s coins rotates yearly.

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The Philippines — It’s the Philippine Peso

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Philippine peso banknotes are 80 percent cotton and 20 percent abaca fibers sourced locally from farmers. Bills come in vibrant hues and feature noteworthy Filipinos, endemic animals like whale sharks, and natural landmarks such as Bohol’s stunning chocolate hills.

The Philippines also mints centavo coins. The five-cenatavo coin is so low value, it’s sometimes utilized as a key-ring decoration. The even less valuable one-centavo coin is almost impossible to find.

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The Czech Republic — it’s the Czech Koruna

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The Czech Republic is one of just 12 countries in the EU to not use the euro. It joined the European Union in 2004, but has continued to operate its own currency, the koruna.

Legally, the country is bound to eventually adopt the euro, but it looks like that transition won’t come easy; a 2018 poll found that 70 percent of Czech locals were against introducing the euro.

It seems citizens are happy with their koruna banknotes and coins, which feature attractions like Devin Castle and the Charles Bridge, and notable people like Czech opera singer Emmy Destinn.

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Israel — It’s the Israeli New Shekel

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Israel’s new shekel bills showcase prominent figures, from former Prime Ministers to Nobel Prize winners. The latest series of notes focuses on Hebrew poets.

Coins, called agurot, come adorned with culturally important symbols like a menorah and lyre.

Importantly, Israel is inclusive with its currency; in 2015, it introduced 20 and 200 shekel bills of different sizes, to help the blind and visually impaired distinguish between the two notes. Coins are also differently sized and feature elevated design elements so that they can be identified by touch.

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Nepal — It’s the Nepalese Rupee

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The Nepalese rupee traded portraits of leaders for imagery of Mount Everest in 2007.

The country also got rid of any reference to King Gyanendra, who fell to disgrace after he was stripped of power following civilian protests. An image of Nepal’s national flower, the red Rhododendron, was placed over the watermarked area that featured the king’s crowned portrait.

The 100, 500 and 1,000 Nepalese rupees have raised dots so visually impaired people can recognize the banknotes.

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The United States of America — It’s the U.S. Dollar

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Okay, this was an easy one!

The United States dollar is the most widely used currency around the world. It’s utilized by more than 30 countries spread across four continents, including East Timor, Palu, Ecuador, El Salvador, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Panama and Zimbabwe.

The United States dollar is also famously (or infamously) the source of many conspiracy theories, about everything from secret Satanic symbolism to hidden codes about the Illuminati. None of the theories, alas, appear to have any basis in reality.