Enjoy reading our fun money facts for Hometown Kids Club members. Learn interesting information about currencies, notes and coins, credit cards, the history of money and much more.
- Money is used to pay for various goods and services.
- It is also used to measure and store value.
- Money usually takes the form of coins, banknotes and bank balances.
- There are a number of different currencies used in countries around the world.
- Many countries have their own currency, while some use a shared currency.
- An example of a shared currency is the euro used in the European Union by countries such as France, Germany and Spain.
- The currency most traded around the world is the United States dollar.
- Other heavily traded currencies include the euro, Japanese yen and pound sterling (British pound).
- It is believed that products such as livestock and grain were used to barter (exchange goods and services without the use of money) over 10,000 years ago.
- The first coins were minted (made) around 2,500 years ago.
- Paper money was first used in China over 1,000 years ago.
- The benefit of metal coins is that they are portable and durable.
- The original value of a British pound was equal to a pound (in weight) of silver.
- Credit cards were first used in the United States in the 1920’s.
- The US dollar and many other currencies use the dollar sign $ as a symbol.
- US currency features former presidents such as George Washington ($1 bill), Abraham Lincoln ($5 bill), Andrew Jackson ($20 bill) and Ulysses S. Grant ($50 bill).
- Coins and banknotes are popular items for collectors, especially rare, old and misprinted ones.
- Inflation decreases the purchasing power of money over time.
