Danzig Gulden was introduced in 1923 in the Free City of Danzig to replace the German mark. It was used as currency until the end of 1939. It referred to the currency of the Free City of Danzig in Napoleonic times. ¹⁾

The official currency of Ecuador is the United States dollar. The change from the Sucre to the dollar in 2000 allowed the country to stabilize its economy. Ecuador mints its centavo coins, equivalent in size and value to U.S. cents. ²⁾

Florentines were the currency of Florence. It was one of the financial centers of medieval Europe, and because many Florentine banks had branches scattered across the continent, the florin quickly became the main currency for large transactions. ³⁾

Cristóbal Colón means Christopher Columbus in Spanish. Today two countries, El Salvador and Costa Rica, use a currency named colón in their honor. ⁴⁾

It was not until February 15, 1971, that the United Kingdom switched its currency system to a decimal scale. Until then, one pound sterling was divided into 240 pence or 20 shillings. Because of the currency union, the change also affected the Irish Republic pound. ⁵⁾

The origin of modern Japanese currency can be traced back to silver thalers, which were used by American and European merchants to pay for tea, silk, porcelain, and gold bars. The thaler was called a round coin, which meant “yen” in Japanese. ⁶⁾

The basic monetary unit of the Republic of Indonesia since August 17, 1945, has been the rupiah - an ancient measure of value in trade, like cattle, a medium of exchange. The first banknotes after independence were issued by the Indonesian government. ⁷⁾

Throughout the ancient to medieval periods, beginning with the Harappa culture period (ca. 2500 BC-1550), the people of present-day India adopted grain as their primary means of payment. The money economy did not exist in India until the time of the Buddha. The first coins were flat plates of silver or bronze, irregular in shape, with fairly accurate weights and no inscription. ⁸⁾

Iraq lies in the basin of two great rivers - the Tigris and the Euphrates, surrounding the territory of ancient Mesopotamia. There was already a lively barter trade in ancient Mesopotamia. Measures of value included domestic animals, hides, and cloth, among others. The successively ruling Persians took over the monetary system from the Lydians. The current name of the Iraqi dinar passed into Arabic terminology in the Middle Ages under the name dirhem. ⁹⁾

Historians include independent states in East Africa: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. As the economy developed, salt, millet, and animal skins, among other things, were exchanged at marketplaces on the coasts and around the lakes. Among East African countries, the earliest Ethiopian bank bills were in circulation, in 1932. ¹⁰⁾

The first money used in Argentina since the late 16th century was imported from Spain - mainly gold escudos and silver reales. ¹¹⁾

To commemorate Brazil's 500th anniversary, the Central Bank issued a commemorative circulation banknote of 10 reales on April 22. The obverse of the banknote features a portrait of Pedro Alvares Cabral, working Indians, flora, and fauna. On the reverse are the faces of the people of Brazil. The banknote was made on polymer fiber paper, characterized by the high durability of matter. ¹²⁾

In Afghanistan, the first banknotes were issued in 1919-1920. In 1925, the decimal system was introduced (1 afghani - 100 pul, 1 amani - 20 afghani). Nickel-plated steel or aluminum coins began to be issued. The term “pul” or “pulo” as a copper coin was borrowed from the Tatars. The original content of this name referred to a bag that contained a precise number of Roman copper coins, representing a unit of value. After the 1973 coup, the currency changed twice. The motifs of modern banknotes are important buildings, monuments, scenes from life, and landscapes. Banknotes are described (letters and numbers) in Pashto (the national language of Afghanistan) and Latin. ¹³⁾

The first Sudanese coins appeared in 1885. At first, the coins of Rome circulated for many centuries, then of Egypt, and when Arab Muslims overran the country in the mid-7th century, they introduced their own coins with the inscription: “One is God and Muhammad is his prophet.” When Egypt overran northern Sudan in 1821, Egyptian coins minted in Kaine were introduced, and when Sudan became an Anglo-Egyptian condominium (joint rule by two or more countries over a country) in 1898, British currency produced for Egypt was in use. After independence (1956), the currency was the millem and the piaster (Arabic for “girsh”). 10 millems equals 1 piaster, and 100 piasters equals 1 pound. The camel rider on the reverse side was replaced in 1971 by an eagle with outspread wings (Sudan's national emblem). The first Sudanese banknotes were issued in 1956. Sudan Currency Board, and after 1961 the State Bank of Sudan issued them with Arabic and English inscriptions. The civil war in the 1980s and the drought in the 1990s caused massive inflation, which contributed to a change in the monetary system and the adoption of a new currency, the dinar (equal to 100 dirhams). ¹⁴⁾

Since 1991, Peru's monetary unit has been the new sol divided into 100 centimes. Current coins are minted mostly from brass and cupro-nickel alloy. Coins composed of a core and a ring are also issued. It is interesting to note that the denominations of modern coins of Peru use not only numerals but also Braille for the blind. ¹⁵⁾

Bulgaria's post-World War II inflation ended with the introduction of a new lev equivalent to 100 old ones in May 1952. A major success of Bulgaria's anti-crime services was the recent seizure of counterfeit banknotes with a nominal value of $1.45 million and 24,000 euros. In nine months of 2004, eight printing plants were broken up and 17 gangs of counterfeiters were dismantled. The counterfeit euro bills were of good quality, and the left bills were easily recognizable as counterfeits. It is interesting to note that the Sofia National Bank is in possession of an unusual treasure - a sarcophagus made of sincere gold. This sarcophagus was found on the hill of Javanavar Tepe on Lake Varna. It was found in another sarcophagus made of silver, and this one in another outer sarcophagus made of alabaster. ¹⁶⁾