There Are No World Coins
Coins have been in use as a form of money for over 2000 years. They were probably the first form of money. Coins are still used for smaller amounts of money, though paper money and non cash forms of money are used for larger payments. Coin collecting is a popular hobby. Some people specialize in collecting the coins of one country. Others collect world coins, coins from anywhere in the world.
One could also use the term world coin to refer to a coin that can be used anywhere in the world. Is there such a thing? Well, coins are generally issued in the currency of a country, as in Mexican pesos or Russian rubles. Since pesos are only legal tender in Mexico, a peso coin could not be a world coin.
Some currencies are accepted in countries where they are not the official currency. For example, one could use Canadian coins in some American stores. I'm not aware of any currency that is accepted anywhere in the world. The US dollar and the euro are pretty widely accepted, but neither could be considered a world currency.
What about bullion coins? Would they qualify? Bullion coins are strange creatures. The American Gold Eagle is a typical example. These coins are official United States currency, with values of $5, $10, $25, and $50. However, they are made of 22 karat gold and all have market values way over their official currency values. The $5 coin has a market value of about $145 as of July 9, 2010, though of course it will almost certainly be different by the time you read this!
Suppose you go to an American grocery store and use a $25 Gold Eagle to pay your bill. If the store accepted this, they would probably treat it as $25. This would not be a good deal for you since you could sell it as gold for a lot more. Not many would choose to do this.
Suppose you try the same thing in a Japanese grocery that does not take American currency. They could either refuse the payment or treat the coin like gold. I'm guessing that most would probably refuse it, and with those who did, you might have to haggle about the value of the gold. One of the benefits of standard currency is that it reduces the necessity for this kind of haggling. Anyway, it would be hard to consider this coin to be a world coin.
So what are the chances that we will see world coins someday? If there is ever a true world currency, then the world coin will follow. Otherwise, we probably won't have them.
world coins
Article Source: FxTradingStock.com
About the Author
Looking to find the definitive source of information on world coins?
by: Kaitlin Vaughn
Total views: 36
Word Count: 448
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2010
Publish/Share this article
To use this article on your site click here to get the HTML code
Rating: Not yet rated
Login to vote
Related Articles
Tips On How To Profit In Virtual Stock TradingLet's Choose A Forex Broker.
Some Tips On How To Forex Trade Online To Know
Stay Away From Requotes In Forex.
Helpful tips for Finding the right Forex Trading Program
Forex Currency Trading Software program -- Pick the Proper 1!
Forex Trading Strategies - What To Do When You Loose
Currency exchange Robot Trading Systems - Get the Full Benefit!


