The U. S. Dollar The US dollar is a backbone of the world economy, and numerous other currencies are tied to it. A dollar always equals 100 cents, or pennies. The US actually remains in a minority by not having embraced a dollar coin, although it has tried several times to implement one. A number of other countries accept the US dollar as a form of tender, including the Bahamas and former protectorates like the Solomon Islands. The symbol for the dollar is "$."
The Euro The official currency of the European Union, the euro circulates in 16 of the more than 20 EU countries, officially noted as the Eurozone, as of 2010. The symbol for the euro is "€." It was officially adopted in 1999 by 11 countries, before a legal tender bill even existed. The "cash" form of the euro was introduced in 2002 and rapidly replaced local currencies such as the German mark and the French franc. Three countries, Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom, accept the euro even though it has not replaced their native currency.
The Pound The British pound was decimalized in 1971, changing to 100 pence per pound, matching dollar denominations, rather than being divided into shillings and pence. The pound is more technically referred to as the "pound sterling" to differentiate it from the pound weight, since the currency's name was initially associated with the value of a troy pound of sterling silver. Pounds were once used throughout the British Empire, but it is now only the official currency of the United Kingdom, which consists of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The symbol for the pound is "£," and it is colloquially referred to as a "quid."
Other Dollars The term "dollar" is used for the primary currency in many countries in addition to the United States. Among them are American protectorates like the Solomon Islands and Puerto Rico, as well as countries like Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Brunei and Fiji. The East Caribbean dollar is actually a currency used by six independent island states, among them Grenada, St. Lucia and the Grenadines. In all of these countries the "$" symbol comes before the dollar amount, as with the US dollar, except in French Canada, where it comes after the amount, as in 26.50$.
Yen vs. Yuan. Both China and Japan's base currency comes from the same root word meaning round, in reference to coinage. The Chinese yuan is correctly pronounced "wren" and is divided into 10 jiao, which is then divided into 10 fen. The yuan's value was directly tied to the US dollar until 2005. It is referred to in financial writing as either CNY or RNB for Renminbi, a word for legal tender. The Japanese yen was established as a form of currency in 1871, and like most forms of currency at the time, its value was attached to that of gold. After the American occupation of Japan after World War II, the yen's value was attached to that of the American dollar until 1971.
The Great British Pound The British pound is also known as the pound sterling. One pound is made up of a hundred pennies (or pence, to use the British term). Even though it is the official currency of the U. K., a few other countries also use this currency. They include the British Antarctic Territory, Tristan da Cunha, and South Georgia and the South Sandwish Islands
Pesos In older times, a peso was the name of a coin from Spain. When the Spanish invaded other countries like the areas we now know as the Philippines and Mexico, they introduced their currency there. Today those two countries still use pesos, alongwith Uruguay, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba.