# currency

> generally accepted medium of exchange for goods or services

**Wikidata**: [Q8142](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8142)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/currency

## Summary
Currency is a generally accepted medium of exchange for goods or services. It functions as a unit of account, a store of value, and a means of payment within an economy. Common examples include the United States dollar, euro, and Japanese yen.

## Key Facts
- **Definition**: A generally accepted medium of exchange for goods or services (Wikidata description).
- **Core Classifications**: Subclass of `medium of exchange`, `unit of measurement`, `money`, and `means of payment`.
- **Primary Model Examples**: United States dollar, euro, Indian rupee, and Icelandic króna are specified as model instances.
- **Global Documentation**: The concept is documented in Wikipedia across 166 languages.
- **Key Identifiers**:
  - GND ID: `4064147-8` (German National Library).
  - YSO ID: `3573` (Finnish ontology).
  - BabelNet ID: `00024507n`.
  - Freebase ID: `/m/01q7l`.
- **Common Aliases**: Includes `monetary unit`, `unit of money`, `money unit`, `divisa` (Spanish), `devise` (French), `Geldeinheit` (German), `通貨` (Japanese/Chinese), `валюты` (Russian), and `unidade monetária` (Portuguese).
- **Related Resource**: Has a dedicated `list of currencies`.
- **Digital Symbol**: Represented by the Unicode character `💵`.
- **Taxonomy**: Dewey Decimal Classification `332.4` (Finance).
- **Vital Article**: Listed on Wikipedia's "Vital articles/Level/4" as of October 31, 2022.
- **Distinct From**: Conceptually differentiated from `Devise` (disambiguation), `Munt` (disambiguation), `money`, `foreign currencies`, and `coin`.

## FAQs
**What is the fundamental purpose of currency?**
Currency exists primarily to facilitate trade by eliminating the need for a double coincidence of wants, acting as a commonly accepted intermediary. It serves three core functions: a medium of exchange, a unit of account for pricing, and a store of value over time.

**How does currency differ from money or coin?**
"Currency" specifically refers to the system of money in circulation within a particular country or region, often issued by a government or central bank. "Money" is a broader term encompassing any financial asset used for transactions, including currency, demand deposits, and other liquid assets. A "coin" is a physical, typically metallic, piece of currency, whereas currency also includes paper banknotes and digital forms.

**What are the main types or forms of currency?**
Currencies can be categorized by their issuance and form. Major types include fiat currency (government-decreed, not backed by a physical commodity), commodity currency (value derived from the material, like gold coins), and digital or electronic currency (existing primarily in digital form, including central bank digital currencies and cryptocurrencies). The concept's aliases reflect these forms across languages.

**Why is the concept of currency so widely documented?**
As a foundational element of economics, trade, and national identity, currency is a universal human institution. Its study spans history, economics, political science, and technology, leading to its documentation in major encyclopedias (e.g., Great Soviet Encyclopedia, Brockhaus and Efron), academic thesauri (WordNet, UNESCO), and across virtually all language versions of Wikipedia.

**How is currency represented in digital and cultural contexts?**
Currency has a defined presence in digital systems: it has an OpenStreetMap key (`currency`), a Stack Exchange tag, and a Unicode symbol (`💵`). It also appears in fictional universes, with dedicated Fandom articles for settings like *Star Wars* and *Forgotten Realms*, highlighting its role as a world-building element.

## Why It Matters
Currency is the bedrock of modern economic systems, enabling complex trade, price comparison, savings, and investment across local and global scales. Its development from commodity money to fiat and digital forms represents a major evolution in human social organization, state power, and technological innovation. Understanding currency is essential for grasping economics, international relations, personal finance, and the impact of policies like quantitative easing or currency devaluation. The concept's treatment in historical encyclopedias (Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 1885–1890) and modern sources (Lean Logic) underscores its enduring significance in structuring societies and its continuous adaptation to new challenges, from counterfeiting to digital disruption.

## Notable For
- **Universal Coverage**: The Wikipedia article exists in 166 languages, marking it as a truly global conceptual entry.
- **Foundational Classification**: It is a subclass of four distinct but interrelated concepts (`medium of exchange`, `unit of measurement`, `money`, `means of payment`), highlighting its multifaceted nature.
- **Standardized Symbol**: Has an official Unicode character (`💵`), cementing its place in digital communication.
- **Vital Knowledge**: Recognized as a "Level 4" vital article on Wikipedia, indicating its importance for general knowledge.
- **Comprehensive Aliasing**: Has an exceptionally long and diverse list of aliases across dozens of languages, reflecting its universal relevance.
- **Dedicated Taxonomic IDs**: Possesses specific classification codes in major systems like the Dewey Decimal System (`332.4`) and German basisklassifikation (`83.44`).
- **Fictional Canonization**: Is a documented topic in major fictional universes (e.g., *Star Wars* credits, *Forgotten Realms* currency), demonstrating its narrative importance.
- **Archaeological Recognition**: Has a specific object type ID (`CURRENCY`) in the Portable Antiquities Scheme, acknowledging its historical material significance.

## Body

### Core Definition and Conceptual Framework
The entity "currency" is defined by its primary function as a "generally accepted medium of exchange for goods or services." This definition is consistently provided in its Wikidata description and source materials. Structurally, it is classified as a **subclass of** four key concepts:
*   `medium of exchange`
*   `unit of measurement`
*   `money`
*   `means of payment`

This multi-parent classification illustrates that currency is not merely a physical object but a social and economic institution with measurable units. It possesses the **characteristic** of being a `currency unit`. The concept is explicitly **said_to_be_the_same_as** `electronic money`, acknowledging the evolution of its form. It is **different_from** several terms that are often confused or used in disambiguation contexts:
*   `Devise` (French for "currency," but also a separate disambiguation item).
*   `Currency` (as a disambiguation page versus the descriptive main article).
*   `Munt` (Dutch/German for "coin," a separate item).
*   `money` (the broader category).
*   `foreign currencies` (a subset/plural form).
*   `coin` (a specific physical form).

### Global Recognition and Documentation
The concept of currency has an extraordinary level of documentation and cross-referencing across global knowledge systems.
*   **Wikipedia Presence**: The main article `wikipedia_title: Currency` is linked across **166 language editions**, a metric captured by `sitelink_count: 166`. This places it among the most widely translated conceptual articles.
*   **Multilingual Thesauri and Ontologies**: It is mapped to numerous controlled vocabularies:
    *   `unesco_thesaurus_id: concept7246`
    *   `wordnet_3.1_synset_id: 13407086-n`
    *   `stw_thesaurus_for_economics_id: 10764-3` (exact match).
    *   `asc_leiden_thesaurus_id: 29490669X`
    *   `unbis_thesaurus_id: 1001449`
    *   `bncf_thesaurus_id: 9912`
    *   `uk_parliament_thesaurus_id: 90801` (with label "Currencies").
*   **Library and Archive Classification**:
    *   `dewey_decimal_classification: 332.4` (Finance).
    *   `colon_classification: X61` (CC 6).
    *   `basisklassifikation: 83.44` (German system).
*   **Specialized IDs**: It has identifiers in domain-specific databases like `joconde_object_type_id: T505-2230` (French museum objects), `fish_archaeological_objects_thesaurus_id: 97209`, and `portable_antiquities_scheme_object_type_id: CURRENCY`.

### Model Examples and Instances
The entity is anchored by specific, real-world model currencies that serve as prime examples.
*   **Model Items** (with qualifier `P11527: P31` indicating they are instances of the class "currency"):
    *   `United States dollar`
    *   `euro`
    *   `Indian rupee`
    *   `Icelandic króna`
*   **Related List**: The property `has_list: list of currencies` points to a comprehensive enumeration of specific currency units, which is a fundamental related resource for the topic.

### Distinctions and Related Concepts
To clarify its scope, the knowledge base explicitly distinguishes "currency" from several related but distinct ideas.
*   **Not a Disambiguation Page**: The `different_from` statements with qualifier `P5168` clarify that the main descriptive article for "currency" is a separate Wikidata item from disambiguation pages for terms like "Devise," "Currency," and "Munt."
*   **Broader vs. Narrower**: It is distinguished from the hypernym `money` and the hyponym/related term `foreign currencies`.
*   **Specific Form**: It is distinguished from the specific physical manifestation `coin`.
*   **Digital Evolution**: The link `said_to_be_the_same_as: electronic money` connects it to its modern, non-physical manifestation.

### Historical and Academic Sources
The concept's description is grounded in authoritative historical and academic references.
*   **Encyclopedic Sources** (`described_by_source`):
    *   `Lean Logic` (online glossary).
    *   `Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1926–1947)`.
    *   `Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary`.
    *   `Small Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary`.
    *   `Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition (1885–1890)`.
*   **Historical Topic Link**: `history_of_topic: Q3137262` (with qualifier `P3005: Galicia`), suggesting a specific historical article or context.
*   **Klexikon Article**: `klexikon_article_id: Währung` (German children's encyclopedia).
*   **National Encyclopedias**: `encyclopedia_of_korean_culture_id: E0064923`, `encyclopedia_of_modern_ukraine_id: 33047`, `encyclopedia_of_china_(third_edition)_id: 527212`, `georgian_encyclopedia_id: 8573`, `banglapedia_id_(bengali): মুদ্রা`.

### Cultural, Digital, and Fictional Depictions
Currency's representation extends beyond economics into culture, digital infrastructure, and fiction.
*   **Visual Media**:
    *   `image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Billets_de_5000.jpg` (5000 franc banknote).
    *   `page_banner: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Money_and_pills_in_three_colors_banner.jpg`.
*   **Digital Infrastructure**:
    *   `openstreetmap_key: currency`.
    *   `stack_exchange_tag: https://stackoverflow.com/tags/currency`.
    *   `unicode_character: 💵`.
    *   `store_id_google_play: valuta` (exact match), `myntenhet`.
*   **Fictional Universes** (`fandom_article_id`): The concept has dedicated articles in multiple languages for:
    *   `starwars:Currency` (English), `es.starwars:Divisa` (Spanish), `ka.starwars:ვალუტა` (Georgian), `ja.starwars:通貨` (Japanese), `ru.starwars:Валюта/Канон` (Russian).
    *   `forgottenrealms:Currency` (English).
*   **Media Topics**: It is a topic for `quora_topic: Currencies`, `abc_news_topic_id: currency`, `the_guardian_topic_id: business/currencies`, `france_24_topic_id_(french): monnaie`, `courrier_international_topic_id: monnaie`, `radio_algeria_topic_id_(french): monnaie`, `le_monde_diplomatique_subject_id: sujet/monnaie`, `el_moudjahid_topic_id: monnaie`.

### Organizational and Platform Contexts
The entity is integrated into various organizational taxonomies and platform schemas.
*   **News & Media**: `bbc_things_id: 7d90003a-a69d-4d26-abdd-bb9aea6bc5dc`.
*   **Academic (Discontinued)**: `microsoft_academic_id_(discontinued): 141121606`.
*   **Gaming**: `giant_bomb_id_(former_scheme): 3015-575`.
*   **Federal Reserve**: `federal_reserve_subject_taxonomy_id: 112`.
*   **Great Russian Encyclopedia**: `great_russian_encyclopedia_portal_id: valiuta-6aef72`.
*   **Wikimedia Projects**: `on_focus_list_of_wikimedia_project: Wikipedia:List of articles all languages should have` and `Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4`.
*   **Template Association**: `topic_has_template: Template:Infobox currency`.
*   **Commons Category**: `commons_category: Currencies`.
*   **Main Wikidata Property**: `main_wikidata_property: P38` (currency).
*   **Properties for This Type**: The types that use currency as an object include `P498` (currency of), `P562` (currency of the former), `P17` (country), `P489` (currency), `P9059` (currency of the administrative territorial entity).

### Linguistic and Lexical Data
The entry provides extensive lexical information.
*   **Aliases**: A comprehensive list in over 20 languages, including `monetary unit`, `unit of money`, `money unit`, `currencies`, `unidad monetaria` (Spanish), `divisa` (Spanish), `unité monétaire` (French), `devise` (French), `Geldeinheit` (German), `つうか`, `お金`, `かね`, `カネ`, `金` (Japanese), `通货` (Chinese), `валюты`, `нацвалюта`, `государственная валюта`, `национальная валюта`, `денежная единица` (Russian), `unidade monetária` (Portuguese), `moeda` (Portuguese).
*   **Lexical IDs**:
    *   `lex_id: valuta` (likely a lexical database ID).
    *   `psh_id: 1488`.
    *   `nl_cr_aut_id: ph115397` (with Czech label `měna`).
*   **Language Coverage**: The `wikipedia_languages` list confirms the 166 language editions, spanning from `af` (Afrikaans) to `zh_yue` (Cantonese).

### Reference and Authority Control
The entity is firmly anchored in authority control files.
*   **GND**: `gnd_id: 4064147-8` with German label `Währung` and reference `P143: Q48183` (GND itself).
*   **FactGrid**: `factgrid_item_id: Eric Fraser` (with reference `Q90405608` and date `2024-12-11`).
*   **KBPedia**: `kbpedia_id: Currency` (reference `Q64139102`, date `2020-07-09`).
*   **BabelNet**: `babelnet_id: 00024507n` (reference `Q4837690`).
*   **Freebase**: `freebase_id: /m/01q7l` (reference `Q15241312`, publication date `2013-10-28`), and a partial ID `/m/019_`.
*   **Nomisma**: `nomisma_id: currency`.
*   **Omegawiki**: `omegawiki_defined_meaning: 347472`.
*   **JSTOR**: `jstor_topic_id_(archived): currency`.
*   **Encyclopædia Britannica**: `encyclopaedia_britannica_online_id: money/currency` (label "currency").
*   **Other Thesauri**: `museum_digital_tag_id: 4576`, `münzkabinett_id: category/currency`.

## References

1. Nuovo soggettario
2. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
3. [Source](https://currency.world/)
4. Integrated Authority File
5. BBC Things
6. YSO-Wikidata mapping project
7. BabelNet
8. FactGrid
9. KBpedia
10. [OpenAlex](https://docs.openalex.org/download-snapshot/snapshot-data-format)