Foreign Currencies of the World

I traveled to several countries and collected their currency. However, I discovered it was an expensive habit, and started to scan in the currency to save money. Unfortunately, countries change and continuously update their currency's overtime. Some currencies shown below are no longer in circulation or inflation causes the currencies to lose their value over time.

Bosnia and Herzegovina uses the Convertible Mark (KM), and a 10, 20, 50, and 100 KM Notes are shown below. The exchange rate was approximately $1 = 1.5 KM in 2010. The Bosnian government pegs the KM to the Euro. Convertible marks mean the Bosnian government first pegged the KM to the German Deutsche Mark. Once Germany switched to the Euro, then the Bosnian government pegged the KM to the Euro, but kept the name Convertible Mark.

Croatia calles their currency, the Kuna, which is an animal. The denominations for the 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 Kunas are shown below. The exchange rate was approximately $1 = 5.32 Kunas in 2011.

The European Union is composed of 27 countries. All the countries use the Euro as their currency except for Great Britain and Hungary. After traveling through several European countries, the Euro is definitely a strong currency. Two coffees at Starbuck's in Thessaloniki, Greece were 9 Euros, which was approximately $12.60.

Hungary joined the European Union. However, it still uses its currency the Forint. Five-hundred Forints were worth about $2.70 in June 2011. Unlike the other European Union countries, the prices in Budapest were not as crazy as Greece and Italy.

Below are several Kazakh Tenge Notes. The 1, 3, 5, 10, 20 and 50 Tenge Notes are no longer in circulation, while the 200 and 10,000 Tenge Note are still circulating. The Kazakh government removed people's faces from their new currency, which is a Muslim tradition. The exchange rate was approximately $1 = 150 Tenge in 2009. Consequently, the 10,000 Tenge Note was approximately $66.67.

Four Kyrgyz Som Notes are shown below. The 20 Som Note was worth about $6.25 in 1997. This is a picturesque country located in Central Asia, and is the only former Soviet Union Republic with a Lenin Statue still standing in the capital's downtown area. Unfortunately, this country experienced two revolutions. The Tulip Revolution in 2005 and another one in 2010.

Malaysia uses the Ringgit as its currency. The Malaysian Ringgit was approximately $1 = 3 Ringgets in 2012. Several Ringgit Notes are shown below. The King of Malaysia is featured prominently on the notes.

Mexico uses the Peso as its currency, and it borders the United States to the south. The Mexican Peso was approximately $1 = 11 Pesos in 2005. A 20 Peso Note is shown below with front and back.

Below are several Russian Rubles. The exchange rate was $1 to 5,000 Rubles in 1997. My Big Mac Value Meal in Moscow was about 26,500 Rubles, which was approximately $5.

Serbia uses the Dinar as its currency. The exchange rate was $1= 74.1 Dinars in 2010. The capital of Serbia is Belgrade, and was the former capital of Yugoslavia. The Serbian currency is interesting because the name Dinar is very similar to Denarius, which was the currency of the Roman Empire.

Below are two notes from the Soviet Union. This currency became useless with the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Notice how Vladimir Lenin appears on the currency, and was elevated to a god-like status in the Soviet Union.

Below is the Tadjik currency. This is a small former Soviet State that lies in Center Asia, bordering China on the east side. This country was torn by civil war and this currency was worth nothing. Ironically, the currency name is the Ruble.

Below is the Thai currency called the Baht. On December 28, 2011, the exchange rate was a U.S. dollar equaled 30.34 Baht. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy headed by King Rama IX. The Thai people love their king, and his portrait is shown prominently throughout the country. His portrait is also on the currency. King Rama IX has reigned since 1946, and he is the ninth king of the House of Chakri.

The currency for United Arab Emirates is the Dirhams. This currency reflects Muslim culture, because no human faces are shown on money. Luckily on the reverse side of the bill are standard numbers. The United Arab Emirates pegged the currency rate to $1 = 3 Dirhams. However, during the 2008 Financial Crisis, the Dirham was devalued to $1 = 3.67 Dirhams.

Below are six Uzbek notes. The highest denomination note is the 100 Som note, which was worth less than a U.S. dollar in 1996. Uzbekistan is a police state and a difficult place for tourists to visit.

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Last updated May 5, 2012

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