Establish Currency Article For Free

Changing currency is a complicated process that would take at least six months and probably much longer. Over the last 20 years at the International Monetary Fund, Warren Coats has advised numerous countries on how to create currencies.

Private currencies are not legal tender, and may be illegal in some jurisdictions; however, the advent of cryptocurrencies may spark a renaissance in digital private currencies.

During long periods of history, countries have pegged their currencies to an international standard (such as gold or the U.S. dollar), severely restricting their ability to create money and affect output, prices, or government revenue. Nevertheless, countries generally have maintained their own currencies.

Most countries have their own currency, which is an important part of their national identity, though some belong to a monetary union and share a common currency with the union's members; others use that of another, often larger, country. On occasion, a country must introduce a new currency.

No one knows for sure who first invented such money, but historians believe metal objects were first used as money as early as 5,000 B.C. Around 700 B.C., the Lydians became the first Western culture to make coins. Other countries and civilizations soon began to mint their own coins with specific values.

Currency makes up just a small amount of the overall money supply, much of which exists as credit money or electronic entries in financial ledgers. While early currency derived its value from the content of precious metal inside of it, today's fiat money is backed entirely by social agreement and faith in the issuer.

Although exact regulations vary from country to country, in most places there's nothing stopping you from starting your own currency right now. All you need is someone else who agrees to accept it. But to make it a viable medium of financial exchange takes a bit more planning.