Whenever 
people pay for goods or services, they use some form of money. Money can be almost anything, as long as everyone agrees on its value. One of the earliest forms of money was metal, such as gold or silver. In North America, Native Americans used beads made of shell, called wampum, as a form of money.
Today, the paper money and coins that people use are called currency. Each country has its own form of currency. In the United States, Canada, Australia, and several other countries the currency is the dollar. Other common currencies are the peso, the dinar, the crown, and the rupee. Most countries of the European Union use the euro. Other currencies include the pound in the United Kingdom and the yen in Japan.
