Currency: Did you mean...?

You'll notice that many ex-British Colonies, like Australia, Canada and New Zealand don't use pounds like their former British overlords but instead use dollars. Why? What...

An example of paper money used in Song Dynasty China (960-1279). From Ancient Chinese Cash Notes - The World's First Paper Money by John E. Sandrock.

An eight-dollar bill minted by the Continental Congress in 1775. Collection of the Baker Library, Harvard Business School.

Spanish silver dollar from the reign of Charles III of Spain (r. 1759–1788). Minted in Mexico, under the authority of the Kingdom of Spain, 1771.

A Delaware bill worth five shillings. The bottom caption reads: "To Counterfeit is Death". Minted in Delaware by James Adam (1724-1792 CE) under the authority of George III of Great Britain and Ireland (r. 1760–1820...

A bill worth two shillings, or a "2s", from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Collection of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

The silver "pine tree" shilling minted in the Massachusetts Bay Colony by John Hull in 1652.

The Ghana Empire flourished in West Africa from at least the 6th to 13th century. Not connected geographically to the modern state of Ghana, the Ghana Empire was located in the western Sudan savannah region (modern southern Mauritania...

The Inca civilization flourished in ancient Peru between c. 1400 and 1533 CE. The Inca Empire eventually extended across western South America from Quito in the north to Santiago in the south. It was the largest empire ever seen...

The French Revolution (1789-1799) was a period of major societal and political upheaval in France. It witnessed the collapse of the monarchy, the establishment of the First French Republic, and culminated in the rise of Napoleon...