The history of money is interesting facts in a nutshell. Amazing facts about money for kids and adults. The largest bill in the world

Interesting facts about money evoke different emotions in different people. Indeed, on the one hand, we know that "happiness is not in money," and on the other hand, we hear how someone supplements this saying with the words: "... but in their quantity!" Indeed, practically everything in this world revolves around money.

There is an opinion that the world government exists, but it does not have a human face, since it is the power of money. So, we bring to your attention about money, starting from the most ancient times.

1. Money is a commodity that is a unique tool for exchanging other goods and services.
2. Some Indians used pearls and shells as money. Various valuables were exchanged for them.
3. The most ancient money is considered to be cattle, animal skins, furs, stones of a certain size, tea bars, dried fish, etc.
   
4. In Kievan Rus, in parallel with the hryvnia, the role of money was played by salt, honey, cattle and skins.
5. Since ancient times, when the first coins appeared, the rulers minted their portraits on them. considered to be the first who decided to immortalize his name in this way.
   
6. For the first time, he ordered to mint kopecks (coins with a denomination of 1 kopeck) (see). Of course, his images were on the pennies. Such a "penny" king!
7. In some other southern countries, plastic money is still used.
8. In 1999, the heaviest silver coin was produced in Russia. She weighs 3 kilograms.
9. In China, the heaviest gold coin was issued, weighing 5 kilograms.
   
10. If we consider the amazing facts of money from the past, then it was in that they made the heaviest coin, weighing 19 kilograms.
11. It's hard to imagine, but it was ordinary playing cards that first played the role of money in.
12. The same Canada surprised the world by issuing 25 thousand extraordinary coins. Their uniqueness lies in the fact that on one side of the coin there is an image, the skeleton of which glows in the dark. For some reason, they never made it into use.
    
13. Another surprising fact about money relates to England. Imagine there is a million pound bill. And no suitcase is needed - he put a million in his pocket and went to the store!
    
14. The most common currency in the world is the British pound: it is used in 105 countries around the world. The second place is taken by the dollar (83 countries), the third place is the French franc (75 countries), the fourth place went to the dinar (33 countries, most of the Arab region), and the fifth place belongs to the Russian ruble (27 countries). Please note that this is a cumulative rating over the past 200 years.
15. It is believed that for the appearance of a standard frayed bend, on a regular bill, it must be folded about four thousand times.
16. What do you think is the most common dollar bill? You may not guess, but this is $ 1 and $ 20. In the rest of the world, the most popular is the one hundred dollar bill, which depicts the great.
    
17. In America, there is a law that prohibits portraying people living today on money. But the dead - please!
18. Not everyone knows that the dollar sign "$" was first used in ledgers by a gentleman named Oliver Pollock in 1778. And only then his friend, Congressman Robert Morris, began to officially use this sign to designate American money.
19. If you like interesting facts about money, then you need to know that paper bills first appeared in China. It happened not so long ago - in 812.
20. The most expensive coin in the world is considered to be a decadrachm, originally from ancient Greece. When sold at auction, it was estimated at 314 thousand dollars.
21. In, up to the middle of the 20th century, cattle were used as money.
22. , like a real capitalist country, in the middle of the 20th century had coins with advertising text. I wish I could advertise on a hundred dollar bill now!
23. in the 16th century she kept in circulation a coin with an uncomplicated name - "Gazeta". And no one asked unnecessary questions. Now you can't buy anything for a newspaper, alas!
24. From 1821 to 1825, the Russian-American company that ran then issued banknotes printed on leather. Of the 10 thousand pieces, only 40 pieces of seal skin remain, and their price is the same as a piece of gold of the same weight.
    
25. Versatility is good quality. Here in

Hello everyone! Let's talk about money today. How often we hear the word "money", we can say we talk and think about it, and very often, because it is an integral part of our life. There are many of the most interesting facts about money.

The most interesting facts about money

1. Cattle were considered the most famous form of money

Even today, in some African countries, cattle are the monetary equivalent and measure in trade or exchange transactions.

2. The first paper money appeared in China in the 9th century

However, paper technology continued its journey only after the Great Silk Road was paved. Then the money went to Spain, where the first European paper mills were built in 1276.

3. The form of payment was not only money, but also other items

It was in China that money was made from bronze in the form of tools, cutlery, interior items, and in other countries, cocoa beans, fertilizers, tea bars, dried fish, rice grains, walnuts, sugar and even salt were also of value.

4. The first ruler in the world to be depicted on coins was Alexander the Great

On the coins there was an inscription “Coin of Tsar Alexander”. His coins were minted from copper, gold and silver. Alexander's money quickly spread throughout the empire, becoming the generally accepted currency of the ancient world. The most popular were silver drachmas weighing 4.2 g and tetradrachms 17.2 g each. The denomination of the coins differed not only in weight, but also in sound, which allowed experienced traders to easily determine their authenticity.

5. Word "Penny" originates from the time of Ivan the Terrible

In 1535-1538. under Ivan 4 the Terrible, a major monetary reform was carried out in Russia under the leadership of his mother, Grand Duchess Elena Glinskaya. At this time, the monetary crisis in the country lasted, the cause of which was the large use of the cut coin. Coins began to be accepted not as "counting", but by weight. Counterfeit money was actively produced and coins were spoiled.

This reform carried a ban on the acceptance as a means of payment of all old coins, both as a whole and cut. To replace the old coins, new silver coins were minted at the state courts, or they were called "Novgorodki" or "Kopeyki", weighing 0.68 grams each, twice the size of the old money.

Since that time, "Kopeyka" has long remained a major currency in the country.

6. How did the ruble appear

In times Tatar-Mongolian Yoke in Russia, silver ingots were used as a means of calculation, they were called "hryvnias". For one hryvnia, they gave as many as 200 squirrel skins. To make calculations, the hryvnia was cut in half - hence the word ruble.

There is another version of the origin of the ruble - the ruble is a derivative of the word "rub", which means "seam". The Novgorod ruble was minted using the technology, according to which first half of the silver was poured into the mold, and then its second part, while a seam was formed in the middle of the ingot. Therefore, this is how the name went - the ruble.

In 1654, a one ruble coin was issued for the first time. In general, these were Germanic coins, on which the coat of arms (two-headed eagle) was imprinted on one side, and on the other side there was an image of the king on horseback. The coin was called "Ruble", but it weighed less than its dignity - 64 grams.

During the reign of Peter I, copper pennies weighing 28 grams and a denomination of one hundredth of a ruble were introduced. In addition to copper kopecks, gold chervontsy appeared in denominations of 3 rubles and weighing a little more than 3 grams of gold. Later, by the end of the 18th century, the weight of silver in a 1 ruble coin dropped to 18 grams.

7. The largest and heaviest copper coin was issued under Catherine I

It was 1 ruble, its weight reached 1.6 kg, dimensions 18 by 18 cm, with a thickness of 5 mm, it was produced in 1725-1726. Ten coins weighed a whole pood. Now an especially rare coin.

8.In the era of Catherine II in 1768-1769, the first Russian paper money was issued

They were made from old palace napkins and tablecloths. In 1768, Count K.E. Sivers proved to Catherine II the necessity and benefit of the introduction of paper banknotes in Russia.

He proposed to establish a government bank with the right to issue paper money and exchange it for hard currency, which would be fully backed by copper. After that, Catherine instructed to the prosecutor general Prince A. A. Vyazemsky, manager of the financial affairs of the state, to prepare a detailed plan for issuing paper money. Vyazemsky proposed to use the issued money to cover military expenses, which solved the problem of financing the war.

9. Reform of 1961, the most ambitious monetary reform in the history of the Soviet Union

Perhaps this reform is the largest in Russia, it was being prepared for 10 years. In 1958, in an atmosphere of strict secrecy, the issues of a general recovery of the USSR monetary system, the denomination of the ruble and the issue of new money, which began to be issued on January 1, 1961, and the old ones were withdrawn from circulation and changed to the new 10 to 1, were discussed in an atmosphere of strict secrecy.

The consequences of this reform were dire: imports rose sharply, and foreign things, which the Soviet buyer had not been particularly pampered with before, became worth a fortune. From that moment on, the economic power of the USSR began to decline, and 30 years after the Khrushchev reform, the Soviet Union ceased to exist.

10.In 1923, the only gold coin was created in Russia

Gold ducats were minted at the Petrograd Mint in 1923 - 1924, for external economic calculations. They were practically not in internal circulation, and despite the very large circulation of 2 mil. 750 thousand copies have survived to this day very few of them.

Most of the circulation was melted back into gold bars and re-minted into pre-revolutionary chervonets with different dates set retroactively. Since the "old tsarist" gold, on the international market at that time, aroused much more confidence than the "new Soviet". Now collectors' prices for the 1923 gold ducat exceed 150,000 rubles.

11. The very first ATM appeared in 1967

He issued money for paper vouchers and appeared in the English bank Barclays Bank. The ATM was created by the Englishman John Shepherd-Barron. A little later, he improved his miracle machine, and replaced paper vouchers with the first plastic cards.

The client indicated the bank account in such cards using special holes. The ATM from the English inventor gained immense popularity, but due to its limited capabilities, it did not live long.

Then came the ATMs of the American engineer Don Wetzel, vice president of Docutel. Despite the high price of the device, he was also able to convince bankers that the "iron cashier", who will work around the clock, will attract new customers.

12. The oldest bank

The oldest bank in the world today is the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena Bank. The Italian bank was founded in 1472. It was originally created to provide loans to the poorest people. How do you think why the poor need loans so that they have even less money. There are no words just ...

13. Silver coin

The heaviest silver coin was issued in Russia in 1999 by the Bank of Russia. Her weight is as much as 3 kilograms. Its denomination was only 10 thousand rubles, its real value is hundreds of times more.

14. The sexiest bill in the world is our "hundred-ruble bill"

It depicts the Bolshoi Theater with Apollo, who drives a chariot and a fun fact, his genitals are not covered by anything, which is why this bill is called the sexiest. There is no more money in the world where the phallus is depicted.

15. In 1778, the $ symbol was coined.

A New Orleans merchant and planter used this mark on his ledgers. He bought weapons from the Spaniards and then in the United States they used Spanish piastres as money. The abbreviation for this currency was PS, and later, for convenience, the merchant began to write S, crossed out with two vertical lines. And in 1786, the dollar became the national currency of the United States.

16. Part of the US coat of arms is the pyramid

It is depicted on the back of the banknote and consists of 13 levels, they mean 13 states that originally formed the United States. There is a second version, that the pyramid is the deity of the Freemasons. It is believed that the Freemasons profess a scheme of world governance, which is a specific pyramid of knowledge.

17.In 1949, the idea for a universal credit card came up

It was invented by the founders of the non-bank financial institution Diners Club International. The idea arose with the ability to use a bank account for a certain percentage . Initially it was 7%. In the first month, credit cards became popular and had a good turnover of almost $ 2,000.

And in 1958, the American bank Bank of America issued BankAmericard, a credit card project and which was later renamed VISA, in 1959 cards became not paper, but plastic.

18. The dollar is an IOU

It is issued by a private structure in the United States and is called the Federal Reserve System or the Fed. Buying dollars creates collateral for the bills printed by the reserve system, in fact, the Fed prints just a picture, and people and countries around the world provide it with their assets, thereby creating a strong and powerful dollar. The power of the dollar itself lies in the demand for it.

Well done, they created pieces of paper and a very clever scheme that has been working for several decades and will work for a long time, although I don’t know ... There is a very interesting book Technology of money creation, I really liked it, it tells very interestingly about the financial system of the world and not only.

19. The most popular US dollar bills - $ 1 and $ 20

And in the world, the more common 100-dollar bills. There is such a riddle on the $ 100 banknote. The clock on the tower of the Independence Hall in Philadelphia shows 4 hours 10 minutes, why this time, until now, no one can guess

20. American paper money is not really paper money.

They are made from cotton (75%) and linen (25%). If dollars were actually paper dollars, then the bills forgotten in the pockets of your trousers would not withstand a single machine wash.

21. In order for a new banknote to have a characteristic abrasion on the bend, you need to fold it 4 thousand times

Partially or completely damaged bills are subject to free exchange. Damaged banknotes can be exchanged at the bank, you need to have your passport with you.

22. The 500 euro bill is the most popular in the world

It is very convenient to store savings in it for ordinary citizens in Europe, and criminal groups also prefer to use these bills. In this regard, the European Central Bank in 2005 almost doubled the issue of this banknote.

23. "Swiss Franc" - the most common currency in the world

Franc is used in 34 countries around the world. Swiss banks are the most reliable in the world. The Swiss National Bank does not allow devaluation, as well as a sharp rise in the currency. Buying the Swiss franc is a very good way to invest in currency.

24. Plastic money

Residents of Australia and some other countries (Vietnam, Brunei, Maldives, New Zealand and others) use plastic money, and they have a small transparent window. Australia was the first to start making that kind of money. This happened in 1988, and later animation appeared on polymer banknotes.

25. Turkish coin has the largest denomination

In the modern world, the Turkish coin is considered the coin with the largest denomination, it costs 100,000 lira. This was due to high inflation at the end of the 20th century. Such a large denomination had also commemorative coins made of silver, in denomination of 4 million lire.

26. Bitcoin became the first electronic currency

In fact, the creation of cryptocurrency dates back to 1983, when David Chaum thought about the anonymity of payments and the security of money payments, and then developed an electronic cash protocol.

The very first bitcoin appeared in October 2008, when Satoshi Nakamoto published a document that describes the principle of the cryptocurrency and on May 22, 2010, the first purchase for 10 thousand bitcoins was made, it was two pizzas. Two months after that, the bitcoin rate increased many times.

27. Canada made coins depicting dinosaurs

In the daytime, a dinosaur is seen on the coin, and when darkness falls, the skeleton of an ancient animal glows on the coin. They are listed in the Guinness Book of Records. These coins have no value and are only of interest to collectors, since only 25 thousand pieces of them were issued.

28. Until 1826, money made from the skin of a seal was in circulation

They were used to pay off in Alaska. Today, such an antique coin is worth like a piece of gold.

29. Fiat money

The concept of fiat money is increasingly common, it is just money that is used as the main means of payment, based on state laws. These are rubles, dollars, euros, francs and other currencies, and they are also an alternative to digital currencies, for which virtual coins can or cannot be exchanged.

30. Sad , but the fact is that more than a third of the world's population live on less than $ 2 a day

Hunger is the world's leading cause of death. 98% of them live in developing countries (Indonesia, the Philippines, Haiti, Guatemala, African countries and others).

Many low-income families are completely dependent on land and livestock, therefore they are very dependent on natural disasters.

Surprisingly, a third of the world's food production is not consumed. A large amount of food is spoiled in developing countries due to improper food production systems. Some of the factors that contribute to food loss are ineffective farming practices, a lack of storage facilities for the harvested crop, and weak market links.

Russians perceive their financial situation very painfully and they are ashamed to live in poverty, despite the status of a great and rich country.

In January 2018, 5% of Russians said that they did not even have enough money for food. Another 20% of citizens said that they can collect food for food, but if there is a question about buying clothes,

All the most useful in my group in VK

An important and indispensable tool of modern society is money passing through a huge number of hands. The average man, treating them as a means of calculation, does not even think that he is involuntarily touching history. In this article, we will look at the most interesting facts about money.

Interesting about money: how it all began

The very first coins made from an alloy of silver and gold (called an electron) appeared in Libya in the 7th century BC. NS. The first paper money was introduced in China due to the lack of raw materials for making copper coins. Surprising fact about money: paper bills were originally used in burial ceremonies. They were burned at bonfires near the grave, believing that in this way they would end up in another world, where they would greatly facilitate the life of the departed.

Paper money appeared in mass use much later. The greed of the rulers and the understanding of the possibility of printing an immense number of pieces of paper with pictures led to their devaluation; the cost of candy wrappers has decreased almost 70 times, which forced the reintroduction of copper coins.

China is a country of romantics

Surprising fact about money: In modern China, paper bills are a great way to find your other half. To do this, girls and boys who are in search write their data and the desired requirements for a partner on them, after which they put money into circulation. Unfortunately, the most popular pieces of paper in the world are also the dirtiest banknotes, with about hundreds of thousands of microbes on their surface.

First money

There are such interesting facts about money: in ancient times, items that were of the highest value during their era were used for settlement operations: stones, shells, bird feathers, dog teeth, pork tails, dried fish, glass beads, cocoa beans, tea bars, tobacco, corn and rice grains, livestock. In ancient Russia, when trading with eastern countries, marten skins were used (which was the name of the kuna coin), in China - pieces of silk, and in Asia - opium.

With the development of civilizations, commodity barter became more inconvenient, then the exchange of products began to be made for

The history of the origin of round coins

What other interesting facts about money are there? Modern coins have a round shape familiar to everyone. However, this was not always the case. During excavations in ancient Greece, thin strange rods were found, similar in weight and size. They were also depicted on frescoes of the past period, and, as scientists have established, these were just ancient Greek coins. The knitting of such coins had a certain value, fit tightly in the palm and had the name "drachma", which has survived to this day.

The familiar round shape of coins came from ancient Rome, where they were printed in the temple of Juno. At first, images of goddesses were minted on them, which over time changed to images of emperors - great and who contributed to the development of their country.

It was not customary to post images of living rulers, although he did not consider it a bad sign, having ordered to mint his own image on money.

Russia: its own history of money

In Russia, as in other countries, before the appearance of paper money, ordinary coins were in use. The history of Russia has preserved many amazing facts about money. Here is one of them: when Lomonosov was paid a bonus of 2,000 rubles, he needed to hire workers with carts to transport it, because the total weight of the bonus was approximately 1 ton.

The history of the origin of the familiar to all the word "penny" is interesting. In ancient times, minted coins with a denomination of less than a ruble were depicted with a spear in hand. Such money, at the behest of Ivan the Terrible, began to be called kopeck money, and then acquired the name familiar to everyone. A kopeck today is considered the smallest coin in denomination, however, under Peter I, there was a coin of a smaller denomination. It was equal to 1/8 of a penny, weighed 0.17 grams and was called a half-half. The largest coin (copper ruble) weighing 1,636 kg was issued in 1725 during the reign of Catherine I. There is such an amazing fact about money that in Sweden the heaviest coin weighed 19 kilograms and was issued in the 18th century. It had a rectangular shape, and the prints of the royal seal were placed in the corners.

How much does a million dollars weigh?

Almost everyone has imagined themselves to be the owner of a million dollars at least once. So, the amazing facts about money suggest that if the future wealth is put on the scales, then in one hundred dollar bills its weight will be 10 kilograms, and in one-cent coins - 246 tons. And if you gradually accumulate coins, which is what almost all the children of our planet do, then you can pour out the bells of the world, as was done by Japanese children. One of them is installed in New York.

The most surprising fact about money is that it is unnecessary. In 1923, in Germany, during the period of hyperinflation, money completely lost its value and was worth so little that it was pasted over walls instead of wallpaper or given to children to play.

1. For the production of paper money, linen and cotton are used in a ratio of 1: 3, which determines the strength of the product, which can withstand 400 double folds.
2. About 1/3 of the world's population lives on less than $ 2 a day, more than a billion people spend less than $ 1 a day.
3. In Canada, the first banknotes were playing cards. And in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century, money made from the skin of seals was released into circulation and was in circulation until 1826.
4. In the world in turnover, according to rough estimates, there are about 845 billion dollars.
5. The first woman depicted on the money, and the only one of her kind, is Martha Washington, whose portrait is adorned with a denomination of 1 dollar.
6. Money facts state that a bill has an average lifespan of 7 years and 4 months.
7. The plastic credit card was invented in 1949 by Frank McNamara during a dinner in a restaurant. The idea not to have large quantities with you, but to replace them with a card, came to mind when Frank did not have enough cash to pay for dinner.
8. The most unusual name was a Venetian coin dated the 16th century - "newspaper". The usual printed editions began to be called so much later. The cost of the first news printed on paper was equal to one newspaper.
9. The largest banknote was the $ 100,000 denomination. It was released in 1934 with the aim of using it in large banking operations. By the way, the $ sign was invented in 1788 by Oliver Pollock. In the US, the most popular are the 1- and 20-dollar bills, while in the rest of the world, the preference is given to $ 100. The franc is the most widespread in the world, used in 34 countries.
10. There is the following surprising fact about money: obsolete and outdated bills in Russia serve as raw materials for the manufacture of roofing material, and in Germany, fertilizers are produced from them.

Such interesting facts about money give rise to thinking about the unusual and multifaceted history of the means of calculation familiar to everyone.

Ban on the image of living people, plastic money, bills with the highest denomination and more

The main trend of the last year was the news about which we were bombarded every day from morning to evening by all well-known media outlets. Perhaps now even a schoolboy knows what blockchain is, and he collects money for a new bike through ICO. Against this background, we decided to recall the undeservedly forgotten ordinary currencies and have collected nine facts about them that will definitely surprise you.

1. One, two, more?
There are at least 25 different dollars in the world

How much is a dollar now? 60 rubles? Or 40? Or maybe 50 kopecks? Do not rush to answer, as all the above options are correct. For one American dollar, they now give about 60 rubles, for a New Zealand dollar - in the region of 40, and for a Jamaican one - less than 50 kopecks. At the moment, around the world, there are two and a half dozen different dollars in circulation: from Surinamese and Tuvaluan to Bermuda and Barbados.

The word "dollar" is the undisputed leader in the ranking of the most popular names for national currencies today. It is followed by the pound, franc, dinar, peso and rupee. For example, the pound is called the currency of Syria, in Serbia they pay with a dinar, and in the Seychelles the rupee is used. The latter, by the way, is four times more expensive than the Russian ruble.

2. One and a half one bill
The denomination of banknotes can be very strange

We are all accustomed to the fact that coins and banknotes are issued in "round" denominations - 1, 2, 5, 10, 100, and so on. However, sometimes this system fails and such copies as 35 Burmese kyats in one bill are born. Similar money was printed in Burma in 1985, and you can still get it in your collection, as well as 45, 75 and 90 kyats. At the same time, using this money, you can partially learn Burmese numbers, since the denomination on them is given in two units of measurement - the usual Arabic numbers and exotic Burmese ones.

An even stranger denomination was the commemorative coins that Bulgaria issued by the date of the signing of the treaty on accession to the European Union. The coin cost 1.95583 leva - it was at this rate that German marks were exchanged for euros, to which the Bulgarian lev was equated at the rate since 1999. The logic is, perhaps, as strange as the denomination of the anniversary lev.

3. Cotton, plastic and more
Paper money is not made entirely of paper.

The phrase "paper money" is firmly entrenched in everyday life, but if you look into the intricacies of the technology of banknotes production, it turns out that in most cases they are not made of paper in our usual sense. Plain paper does not have the required resistance to wear, so you have to use cotton or linen raw materials, plastic, semi-synthetic materials and their various combinations.

How many trees are cut down per year to print dollars? Correct answer: zero. The paper for them consists mainly of cotton and linen (the once torn dollar could even be sewn with a needle and thread). Vietnamese dongs, Maldivian rufias and bills of many other countries are made entirely of plastic. The most advanced banknote in Russia is the 100 rubles issued for the Olympics, which are classified as hybrid money (that is, banknotes with a paper base, but with an insert made of polymer material, which allows them to provide additional degrees of protection).

As for the coins, here it is necessary to note the Transnistrian rubles, some of which are made not of metal, but of composite materials.

4. No, Mr. President
Not all US currencies feature US presidents

Everyone knows that American dollars depicts prominent US presidents, but in reality they are not. Moreover, you yourself, most likely, were holding an American bill without a portrait of the president. The fact is that Alexander Hamilton (he is depicted on the $ 10 banknote) and Benjamin Franklin (on the $ 100 banknote) have never been the heads of the American state.

If you study the rare and rarity banknotes, then you can find on them other public figures who were not presidents, but made a significant contribution to the history of the United States. Thus, the 1918 $ 500 bill depicts the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Marshall, the $ 10,000 of the same year depicts the head of the Treasury Salmon Chase, and the 1891 dollar 1 dollar silver certificate depicts a portrait of Martha Washington. The wife of the President of Washington is the only woman in history whose portrait was funded by American money.

5. It will not be enough!
The denomination of banknotes can be large. Very large

One of the most striking examples of hyperinflation (and numerous zeros on banknotes) is the history of Zimbabwe, where at one time they issued notes in denominations of up to 1 trillion Zimbabwean dollars. However, a trillion is far from the limit. In 1946, Hungary issued a banknote with a face value of ... 1 billion trillion penge (10 in the 21st degree penge). Unlike colleagues from Zimbabwe, the Hungarian authorities decided not to list all the zeros on the banknote itself and made the entry more concise - 1 billion B-penge. Because of this, on the Internet you can often find the opinion that the record for denomination belongs to Zimbabwe, although this is not the case.

The largest denomination banknote in the history of the United States - the gold certificate of the Treasury for 100 thousand dollars from 1934-1935. The largest Russian banknote at face value is 500 thousand rubles of the 1995 model (except for the banknotes of 10 billion rubles, which were printed by the Transcaucasian SFSR in 1924).

6. A venerable age
The Russian ruble is one of the oldest national currencies in the world

Nothing lasts forever under the moon, and states with their currencies are no exception in this regard. Neither Roman denarii, nor Greek drachmas, nor Venetian ducats as legal tender have survived to this day. The main centenarians, who lived centuries ago and still feel great, are the British pound sterling and the Russian ruble. Pounds were in use in East Anglia as early as the 8th century AD, and rubles were paid in Russia from about the 12th – 13th centuries (the first documentary mention dates back to 1316). Against the background of the pound and the ruble, the US dollar looks like an extremely young currency (the end of the 17th century), not to mention the euro, which is still not even 20 years old. By the way, if it were not for the transition of Greece to the single European currency, the oldest existing money would have been drachmas.

7. How much to weigh in baht?
In Thailand, the baht is both a currency and a measure of mass.

The names of many currencies in the world originated from units of mass, but with the spread of the metric system, the use of these words in their original meaning ceased. Neither the pound in Great Britain, nor the shekel in Israel, nor the lira in Italy are the official units of mass, although they were originally.

Another thing is the tradition-honoring Thailand, where the baht is both the national currency and the official measure of mass when it comes to precious metals. Conservative Thais still measure the mass of gold bars and jewelry in baht, and the baht value is different: for bullion it is 15.244 grams, and for gold jewelry - 15.160 grams. Now one baht of gold costs about 20 thousand baht in Thailand.

8. Contemporaries have no place here
Live people cannot be depicted on American dollars.

US legislation really prohibits placing images of living people on the national currency, and the same applies to stocks, bonds and a number of other securities. The corresponding law was passed in 1866, and one of the prerequisites for its appearance was the story of Spencer Clark, then head of the National Currency Bureau. At some point, the US Congress decided to immortalize the traveler William Clarke, the namesake of the head of the Bureau, on the dollar bill. The document received by Clark indicated only the name of the person whose portrait was to be placed on the banknote, and he ended up decorating the banknote with himself, not a heroic traveler.

In total, only five people were able to see their portraits on American banknotes and their equivalents during their lifetime: Abraham Lincoln, Winfield Scott, Salmon Chase, Francis Spinner and the aforementioned Spencer Clark.

9. Overwhelming income
The weight of the heaviest coin of our time is more than 1 ton

In October 2011, the Australian Perth Mint set a world record. The employees of the mint minted a coin of truly gigantic dimensions. Its diameter was 80 centimeters, thickness - 12 centimeters, and weight - 1012 kilograms of the purest gold. Queen Elizabeth II is depicted on one side of the coin and a red-haired kangaroo on the other. The coin has a face value of 1 million Australian dollars, and it is legal tender, although hardly anyone decides to pay with it, since the value of the gold contained in it exceeds 50 million.

By the way, the Australians are also approaching the minting of ordinary coins on a grand scale. So, the Australian 50 cents is one of the largest coins today. The diameter of the coin is more than 3 centimeters, the weight is 15 grams. For comparison: Russian 5 rubles are 2.5 centimeters in diameter and weigh 6 grams.

Since December 2017, some of VTB's ATMs and offices in Moscow began to accept and issue bills of 200 and 2,000 rubles. The rest of the Bank's ATMs will start working with new banknotes by the end of the first quarter of 2018.