A currency whose value is guaranteed by a direct correspondence with a product or service (e.g. the gold standard for 19th century U.S. dollars, barter). There are only 3 ways of designing a currency [..]

The direct exchange of goods and services unmediated by any type of currency.

Private organization located in Basle, Switzerland, owned by the eleven key central banks in the world. Initially designed as a clearing house for transactions among central banks, it has evolved into [..]

Township in New Hampshire where the "Bretton Woods Agreement" was finalized after World War II after negotiations mainly between the British and the U.S.. The system agreed upon has also bee [..]

Organization which is officially in charge of managing a national currency. Some Central Banks are owned by private banks (e.g., The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank and the Deutsche Bundesbank); some owned [..]

A currency whose value is guaranteed by the physical availability of the commodity (or service, more recently) which backs the currency. The owner of a backed currency can normally ask for delivery of [..]

A currency is said to be valued by a commodity if its value is tied directly to the value of that commodity. For instance, under the gold bullion standard, the value of each currency was expressed in [..]

See Complementary Currencies and Exchange Systems page. We are accustomed to considering only our national currencies as 'real' money. However, national currencies have been designed for spe [..]

An agreement between different currencies or currency systems setting a ratio for exchanges between their units. They can be formal agreements (such as when an airline decides to make its frequent-tra [..]

Money (emphasizes the medium of exchange function of money).