Franc currencies around the world

The origins of the term Franc, unsurprisingly, date back to medieval France.  The Franc was historically used as a term to denote various monetary amounts in France. Following the French Revolution, a decimalised Franc was introduced as the national currency. The Franc was exported around the world in the 1800s and many countries which were previously […]

Who is next to join the European Union?

The European Union hasn’t finished expanding, there are actually several countries who are in the process of joining right now! Any country who joins is legally obliged via EU treaty to replace their own domestic currency with the Euro. Following recent news that both Ukraine and Moldova were granted ‘EU candidate status’ we’ll take a […]

The world’s newest and oldest currencies

(Public Domain Image, University of Birmingham Library) c.800AD: Pound Sterling Pretty much for as long as there has been an England, there has been the Pound. Even before 1066 and William the Conquerer, the British Isles have been using some form of Pound. The Pound Sterling began back in the reign of King Offa of […]

Currency Unions outside of Europe

When you hear the term ‘Currency Union’ you probably think: Euro. Most people would. It’s by far the most high profile and successful monetary union. However what surprises many people is the fact that: a) it’s not the only one currently in existence and; b) it’s not the first one either. In fact there are […]