World currency

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Historical and current world currencies[edit]

Spanish dollar (17th – 19th centuries)[edit]

In the 17th and 18th century, 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.[1][2] 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 centuries. It was legal tender in Spain's Pacific territories of the Philippines, Micronesia, Guam and the Caroline Islands and later in China and other Southeast Asian countries until the mid-19th century. In the Americas it was legal tender in all of South and Central America (except Brazil) as well as in the US and Canada until the mid-19th century. In Europe the Spanish dollar was legal tender in the Iberian Peninsula, in most of Italy including: Milan, the Kingdom of Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, the Franche-Comté (France), and in the Spanish Netherlands. It was also used in other European states including the Austrian Habsburg territories.

Gold Standard (19th – 20th centuries)[edit]

Prior to and during most of the 19th century, international trade was denominated in terms of currencies that represented weights of gold. Most national currencies at the time were in essence merely different ways of measuring gold weights (much as the yard and the meter both measure length and are related by a constant conversion factor). Hence some assert that gold was the world's first global currency. The emerging collapse of the international gold standard around the time of World War I had significant implications for global trade.

Pound sterling[edit]

Before 1944, the world reference currency was the United Kingdom's pound sterling. The transition between pound sterling and United States dollar and its impact for central banks was described recently.[3]

U.S. dollar[edit]

Worldwide use of the euro and the US$
  United States
  External adopters of the US dollar
  Currencies pegged to the US dollar
  Currencies pegged to the US dollar w/ narrow band
  External adopters of the euro
  Currencies pegged to the euro
  Currencies pegged to the euro w/ narrow band
The Belarusian ruble is pegged to the euro, Russian ruble and U.S. dollar in a currency basket.



Only two serious challengers to the status of the United States dollar as a world currency have arisen. During the 1980s, the Japanese yen became increasingly used as an international currency,[citation needed] but that usage diminished with the Japanese recession in the 1990s. More recently, the euro has increasingly competed with the United States dollar in international finance.


Many of the world's currencies are pegged against the dollar. Some countries, such as Ecuador, El Salvador, and Panama, have gone even further and eliminated their own currency (see dollarization) in favor of the United States dollar. The U.S. dollar continues to dominate global currency reserves, with 63.9% held in dollars, as compared to 26.5% held in euros (see Reserve Currency).


The euro inherited its status as a major reserve currency from the German mark (DM) and its contribution to official reserves has increased as banks seek to diversify their reserves and trade in the eurozone expands.[4]

As with the dollar, some of the world's currencies are pegged against the euro. They are usually Eastern European currencies like the Bulgarian lev, plus several west African currencies like the Cape Verdean escudo and the CFA franc. Other European countries, while not being EU members, have adopted the euro due to currency unions with member states, or by unilaterally superseding their own currencies: Andorra, Monaco, Kosovo, Montenegro, San Marino, and Vatican City.


Chinese renminbi[edit]

As a result of the rapid internationalization of the renminbi,[6][7] it is currently the world's 8th most widely traded currency.[8]

Recent proposals (21st Century)[edit]


On 16 March 2009, in connection with the April 2009 G20 summit, the Kremlin called for a supranational reserve currency as part of a reform of the global financial system. In a document containing proposals for the G20 meeting, it suggested that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (or an Ad Hoc Working Group of G20) should be instructed to carry out specific studies to review the following options:


On 24 March 2009, Zhou Xiaochuan, President of the People's Bank of China, called for "creative reform of the existing international monetary system towards an international reserve currency," believing it would "significantly reduce the risks of a future crisis and enhance crisis management capability."[11] Zhou suggested that the IMF's special drawing rights (a currency basket comprising dollars, euros, yen, and sterling) could serve as a super-sovereign reserve currency, not easily influenced by the policies of individual countries. US President Obama, however, rejected the suggestion stating that "the dollar is extraordinarily strong right now."[12] At the G8 summit in July 2009, the Russian president expressed Russia's desire for a new supranational reserve currency by showing off a coin minted with the words "unity in diversity". The coin, an example of a future world currency, emphasized his call for creating a mix of regional currencies as a way to address the global financial crisis.[13]

On 30 March 2009, at the Second South America-Arab League Summit in Qatar, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez proposed the creation of a petro-currency. It would be backed by the huge oil reserves of the oil producing countries.[14]

Single world currency[edit]

An alternative definition of a world or global currency refers to a hypothetical single global currency or supercurrency, as the proposed terra or the DEY (acronym for Dollar Euro Yen),[15] produced and supported by a central bank which is used for all transactions around the world, regardless of the nationality of the entities (individuals, corporations, governments, or other organizations) involved in the transaction. No such official currency currently exists.

Advocates, notably Keynes,[16] of a global currency often argue[16] that such a currency would not suffer from inflation, which, in extreme cases, has had disastrous effects for economies. In addition, many[16] argue that a single global currency would make conducting international business more efficient and would encourage foreign direct investment (FDI).

There are many different variations of the idea, including a possibility that it would be administered by a global central bank that would define its own monetary standard or that it would be on the gold standard.[17] Supporters often point to the euro as an example of a supranational currency successfully[dubious ] implemented by a union of nations with disparate languages, cultures, and economies. Alternatively, digital gold currency can be viewed as an example of how global currency can be implemented without achieving national government consensus.

A limited alternative would be a world reserve currency issued by the International Monetary Fund, as an evolution of the existing special drawing rights and used as reserve assets by all national and regional central banks. On 26 March 2009, a UN panel of expert economists called for a new global currency reserve scheme to replace the current US dollar-based system. The panel's report pointed out that the "greatly expanded SDR (special drawing rights), with regular or cyclically adjusted emissions calibrated to the size of reserve accumulations, could contribute to global stability, economic strength and global equity."[18]

In addition to the idea of a single world currency, some evidence suggests the world may evolve multiple global currencies that exchange on a singular market system. The rise of digital global currencies owned by privately held companies or groups such as Ven[19] suggest that multiple global currencies may offer wider formats for trade as they gain strength and wider acceptance.


Limited additional benefit with extra cost[edit]

Some economists argue that a single world currency is unnecessary, because the U.S. dollar is providing many of the benefits of a world currency while avoiding some of the costs.[20] If the world does not form an optimum currency area, then it would be economically inefficient for the world to share one currency.

Economically incompatible nations[edit]


Wealth redistribution[edit]



Usury – the accumulation of interest on loan principal – is prohibited by the texts of some major religions. In Christianity and Judaism, adherents are forbidden to charge interest to other adherents or to the poor (Leviticus 25:35–38; Deuteronomy 23:19). Islam forbids usury, known in Arabic as riba.[21]

Some religious adherents who oppose the paying of interest are currently able to use banking facilities in their countries which regulate interest. An example of this is the Islamic banking system, which is characterized by a nation's central bank setting interest rates for most other transactions.[citation needed]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ Ray Woodcock (1 May 2009). Globalization from Genesis to Geneva: A Confluence of Humanity. Trafford Publishing. pp. 104–105. ISBN 978-1-4251-8853-5. Retrieved 13 August 2013. 
  2. ^ Thomas J. Osborne (29 November 2012). Pacific Eldorado: A History of Greater California. John Wiley & Sons. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-118-29217-4. Retrieved 13 August 2013. 
  3. ^ "The Retirement of Sterling as a Reserve Currency after 1945: Lessons for the US Dollar ?", Catherine R. Schenk, Canadian Network for Economic History conference,10/2009
  4. ^ Lim, Ewe-Ghee (June 2006). "The Euro’s Challenge to the Dollar". In San Jose, Armida. Statistics Department. IMF Working Paper (Technical report) (International Monetary Fund). Retrieved 9 February 2013. 
  5. ^ / MARKETS / Currencies – Euro notes cash in to overtake dollar
  6. ^ Wagner, Wieland (26 January 2011). "China Plans Path to Economic Hegemony". Der Spiegel. 
  7. ^ Frankel, Jeffrey (10 October 2011). "The rise of the renminbi as international currency: Historical precedents". 
  8. ^ "RMB now 8th most traded currency in the world". Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. Retrieved 10 October 2013. 
  9. ^ Russian Proposals to the London Summit (April 2009). Kremlin website. 16 March 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
  10. ^ At G20, Kremlin to Pitch New Currency. Moscow Times. 17 March 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
  11. ^ China presses G20 reform plans. BBC News, 24 March 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
  12. ^ Obama rejects China's call for new global currency. AFP, 25 March 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
  13. ^ Pronina, Lyubov (10 July 2009). "Medvedev Shows Off Sample Coin of New ‘World Currency’ at G-8". Bloomberg. Retrieved 18 November 2010. 
  14. ^ Chavez to seek Arab backing for `petro-currency'
  15. ^ "There's a New 'Dey' Coming!"
  16. ^ a b c "related sites". Retrieved 18 November 2010. 
  17. ^ A Single Global Currency
  18. ^ UN panel touts new global currency reserve system. AFP, 26 March 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
  19. ^ "The dollar alternatives – Ven (4) – FORTUNE". CNN. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2010. 
  20. ^ [1][dead link]
  21. ^ "The facts about usury : Why Islam is against lending money at interest". Retrieved 18 November 2010. 

External links[edit]