# rai stone

> former Micronesian currency of Yap Islands and Palau Islands; national symbol the the Federated States of Micronedia

**Wikidata**: [Q917019](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q917019)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/rai-stone

## Summary
Rai stone is a former currency used in the Yap Islands and Palau Islands, serving as a national symbol of the Federated States of Micronesia. It was a medium of exchange for goods and services, functioning similarly to modern currencies. The stones were a unique form of currency, reflecting the cultural and economic history of the region.

## Key Facts
- **Classification**: Subclass of `medium of exchange`, `unit of measurement`, `money`, and `means of payment`.
- **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`.
- **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).
- **Country**: Federated States of Micronesia, Yap Islands, Palau Islands.
- **Coordinates**: Latitude 9.533333, Longitude 138.116667.
- **Instance of**: Currency.
- **Wikipedia Title**: Rai stones.
- **Wikidata Description**: Former Micronesian currency of Yap Islands and Palau Islands; national symbol of the Federated States of Micronesia.
- **Sitelink Count**: 33.

## FAQs
**What was the purpose of rai stone as currency?**
Rai stone served as a generally accepted medium of exchange for goods and services in the Yap Islands and Palau Islands, functioning as a unit of account, a store of value, and a means of payment within the local economy.

**How did rai stone differ from modern currencies?**
Unlike modern currencies, rai stone was a physical medium of exchange, specifically stones that held cultural and economic significance. It was a form of commodity currency, reflecting the unique economic practices of the region.

**What is the historical significance of rai stone?**
Rai stone was a national symbol of the Federated States of Micronesia, representing the cultural and economic history of the Yap Islands and Palau Islands. It played a crucial role in the local economy before being replaced by modern currencies.

**Why is rai stone notable in the context of Micronesia?**
Rai stone is notable for its role as a former currency in the Yap Islands and Palau Islands, serving as a national symbol of the Federated States of Micronesia. It reflects the unique economic and cultural practices of the region.

**What are the key distinctions of rai stone from other currencies?**
Rai stone is distinct from other currencies due to its physical form as stones, its role as a national symbol, and its historical significance in the Yap Islands and Palau Islands. It is also differentiated from modern currencies by its lack of digital or fiat forms.

## Why It Matters
Rai stone holds significant historical and cultural importance in the Federated States of Micronesia, serving as a former currency in the Yap Islands and Palau Islands. It represents the economic and cultural practices of the region, reflecting the unique social organization and state power of the time. Understanding rai stone provides insight into the evolution of currency systems and the role of physical commodities in economic transactions. Its treatment in historical encyclopedias and academic sources underscores its enduring significance in structuring societies and adapting to new challenges. The concept of rai stone is also notable for its representation in digital and cultural contexts, highlighting its role as a world-building element in fictional universes.

## Notable For
- **National Symbol**: Served as a national symbol of the Federated States of Micronesia.
- **Cultural Significance**: Reflected the cultural and economic history of the Yap Islands and Palau Islands.
- **Unique Form**: Was a physical medium of exchange, specifically stones, distinguishing it from modern currencies.
- **Historical Role**: Played a crucial role in the local economy before being replaced by modern currencies.
- **Cultural Heritage**: Preserved the traditional practices and languages of the region.
- **Economic Evolution**: Represented the evolution of currency systems from commodity money to fiat and digital forms.
- **Global Recognition**: Documented in major encyclopedias and academic thesauri, reflecting its universal relevance.
- **Fictional Canonization**: Appeared in fictional universes, demonstrating its narrative importance.

## Body

### Core Definition and Conceptual Framework
Rai stone 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 rai stone 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 rai stone has an extraordinary level of documentation and cross-referencing across global knowledge systems.
- **Wikipedia Presence**: The main article `wikipedia_title: Rai stones` is linked across **33 language editions**, a metric captured by `sitelink_count: 33`. 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 "rai stone" from several related but distinct ideas.
- **Not a Disambiguation Page**: The `different_from` statements with qualifier `P5168` clarify that the main descriptive article for "rai stone" 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
Rai stone's representation extends beyond economics into culture, digital infrastructure, and fiction.
- **Visual Media**:
  - `image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Yap Stone Money.jpg`.
  - `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 rai stone 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 33 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`.

### Related Entities
- **Federated States of Micronesia**: An island sovereign state in Oceania, consisting of four states: Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap. It is a federal republic with a population of approximately 75,817 (as of 2023) and an area of 702 square kilometers. The country gained independence in 1986 and is a member of the United Nations. Its official languages are English, and it uses the United States dollar as its currency.
- **Palau**: An island sovereign state located in the western Pacific Ocean, part of the region of Micronesia in Oceania. It gained full independence on October 1, 1994, and its capital is Ngerulmud, a status it has held since 2006. The official languages are English and Palauan. Japanese is also official on the island of Angaur. The currency is the United States dollar.

## References

1. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
2. [Rai Stones – Federated States of Micronesia - Atlas Obscura](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/rai-stones)