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Commodity money is to be distinguished from representative money, which is a certificate or token which can be exchanged for the underlying commodity, but only by a formal process. A key feature of commodity money is that the value is directly perceived by its users, who recognize the utility or beauty of the tokens as goods in themselves.
The alternative to a commodity money system is fiat money which is defined by a central bank and government law as legal tender even if it has no intrinsic value. Originally fiat money was paper currency or base metal coinage, but in modern economies it mainly exists as data such as bank balances and records of credit or debit card purchases, [3] and the fraction that exists as notes and coins ...
A commodity currency is a currency that co-moves with the world prices of primary commodity products, due to these countries' heavy dependency on the export of certain raw materials for income. [1] Commodity currencies are most prevalent in developing countries (eg. Burundi, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea).
Representative money or receipt money is any medium of exchange, physical or digital, that represents something of value, but has little or no value of its own (intrinsic value). Unlike some forms of fiat money (which may have no commodity backing), genuine representative money must have something of intrinsic value supporting the face value .
Specifically, prevailing fiat money is free-floating, and depending upon its supply market finds or sets a value to it that continues to change as the supply of money shifts with respect to the economy's demand. Increasing free-floating money supply with respect to needs of the economy reduces the quantity of the basket of the goods and services.
A potential problem arises when the price of the anchor good (or goods) regularly fluctuates. Since the prices of all other goods in the economy are determined by the price of the anchor good(s), they adjust to price fluctuations of the anchor good. Take for example an economy operating under a commodity standard where gasoline is the anchor ...
Metallism is the economic principle that the value of money derives from the purchasing power of the commodity upon which it is based. The currency in a metallist monetary system may be made from the commodity itself (commodity money) or it may use tokens (such as national banknotes) redeemable in that commodity.
A currency [a] is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. [1] [2] A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money in common use within a specific environment over time, especially for people in a nation state. [3]