Coins and Monetary Units: From Gold Coins to Cryptocurrency!

#88 Week 18

Author

Sigrun Sørumgård
May 02, 2025

How well do you know the history and variations of the world's currencies?

  1. What is the name of the currency used in Japan?

  2. What was the name of the currency used in France before the euro?

  3. Which kingdom is believed to have minted the world's first coins around 600 BC?

  4. What is the name of the currency in India?

  5. Which country has a coin called the "loonie" because of the motif of a lorikeet (bird)?

  6. What is a coin worth five cents called in the United States?

  7. Which country uses the currency "real"?

  8. What is the name of the currency in Poland?

  9. What is the name of the currency used in Thailand?

  10. What kind of metal was most often used for Roman coins in late antiquity?

The Wonder Wall

  • The practice of putting portraits of significant figures on currency began with the Roman Empire. Rulers were depicted on coins to establish authority and legitimacy.

  • The first paper money originated in China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE). Merchants used promissory notes as a form of currency, which were easier to carry and exchange than metallic coins. This innovation revolutionised the concept of money and helped with trade.

  • Tossing a coin to determine between two possible outcomes started in the time of Emperor Julius Caesar. Romans called this game of chance navia aut caput (“ship or head”), referring to the image of a ship’s prow on one side of the coin and the emperor’s head on the other.

Yesterday´s Questions & Answers

  1. Which Roman goddess is the month of May named after?

    Maia – goddess of growth and fertility

  2. Which famous flower is often associated with May Day celebrations in France?

    Lily of the valley

  3. Which famous disaster occurred on May 6, 1937, in New Jersey, leading to the downfall of the airship?

    The Hindenburg disaster

  4. What is the name of the famous film festival held in May in a French city on the Riviera?

    The Cannes Film Festival

  5. Which revolutionary movement arose in Paris in May 1968?

    The student uprising

  6. Which famous tennis championship starts in late May?

    The French Open (Roland-Garros)

  7. Which band had a hit with “First of May”?

    The Bee Gees, released in 1969

  8. Which famous American civil rights leader was born on May 19, 1925?

    Malcolm X

  9. The Empire State Building opened on May 1 in which year? Construction work began: March 17, 1930.

    1931, so it took just over a year to build the skyscraper that was the tallest building in the world for 39 years.

  10. "Maggio" is the word for May in which language?

    Italian