Face of Money

Function of Money

2010-05-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

In the past, money was generally considered to have the following four main functions, which are summed up in a rhyme found in older economics textbooks:

"Money is a matter of functions four, a medium, a measure, a standard, a store." That is, money functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a standard of deferred payment, and a store of value.

However, most modern textbooks now list only three functions, that of medium of exchange, unit of account, and store of value, not considering a standard of deferred payment as a distinguished function, but rather subsuming it in the others.

There have been many historical disputes regarding the combination of money's functions, some arguing that they need more separation and that a single unit is insufficient to deal with them all. One of these arguments is that the role of money as a medium of exchange is in conflict with its role as a store of value:

Its role as a store of value requires holding it without spending, whereas its role as a medium of exchange requires it to circulate.

Others argue that storing of value is just deferral of the exchange, but does not diminish the fact that money is a medium of exchange that can be transported both across space and time.

The term 'financial capital' is a more general and inclusive term for all liquid instruments, whether or not they are a uniformly recognized tender.

Medium of Exchange

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When money is used to intermediate the exchange of goods and services, it is performing a function as a medium of exchange. It thereby avoids the inefficiencies of a barter system, such as the 'double coincidence of wants' problems.

Unit of Account

2010-05-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

A unit of account is a standard numerical unit of measurement of the market value of goods, services, and other transactions. Also known as a "measure" or "standard" of relative worth and deferred payment, a unit of account is a necessary prerequisite for the formulation of commercial agreements that involve debt. To function as a 'unit of account', whatever is being used as money must be:

* Divisible into smaller units without loss of value; precious metals can be coined from bars, or melted down into bars again.

* Fungible: that is, one unit or piece must be perceived as equivalent to any other, which is why diamonds, works of art or real estate are not suitable as money.

* A specific weight, or measure, or size to be verifiably countable. For instance, coins are often made with ridges around the edges, so that any removal of material from the coin (lowering its commodity value) will be easy to detect.

Commercial Bank Money

2010-05-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

Commercial bank money or demand deposits are claims against financial institutions that can be used for the purchase of goods and services. A demand deposit account is an account from which funds can be withdrawn at any time by check or cash withdrawal without giving the bank or financial institution any prior notice.

Banks have the legal obligation to return funds held in demand deposits immediately upon demand (or 'at call'). Demand deposit withdrawals can be performed in person, via checks or bank drafts, using automatic teller machines (ATMs), or through online banking.

Commercial bank money is created through fractional-reserve banking, the banking practice where banks keep only a fraction of their deposits in reserve (as cash and other highly liquid assets) and lend out the remainder, while maintaining the simultaneous obligation to redeem all these deposits upon demand.

Commercial bank money differs from commodity and fiat money in two ways, firstly it is non-physical, as its existence is only reflected in the account ledges of banks and other financial institutions, and secondly, there is some element of risk that the claim will not be fulfilled if the financial institution becomes insolvent.

The process of fractional-reserve banking has a cumulative effect of money creation by commercial banks, as it expands money supply (cash and demand deposits) beyond what it would otherwise be. Because of the prevalence of fractional reserve banking, the broad money supply of most countries is a multiple larger than the amount of base money created by the country's central bank. That multiple (called the money multiplier) is determined by the reserve requirement or other financial ratio requirements imposed by financial regulators.

The money supply of a country is usually held to be the total amount of currency in circulation plus the total amount of checking and savings deposits in the commercial banks in the country.

Commodity Money

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Many items have been used as commodity money such as naturally scarce precious metals, conch shells, barley, beads etc., as well as many other things that are thought of as having value. Commodity money value comes from the commodity out of which it is made. The commodity itself constitutes the money, and the money is the commodity.

Examples of commodities that have been used as mediums of exchange include:

gold
silver
copper
rice
salt
peppercorns
large stones
decorated belts
shells
alcohol
cigarettes
cannabis
candy
etc.

These items were sometimes used in a metric of perceived value in conjunction to one another, in various commodity valuation or Price System economies.

Use of commodity money is similar to barter, but a commodity money provides a simple and automatic unit of account for the commodity which is being used as money. Although some gold coins such as the Krugerrand are considered legal tender, there is no record of their face value on either side of the coin. The rationale for this is that emphasis is laid on their direct link to the prevailing value of their fine gold content.

American Eagles are imprinted with their gold content and legal tender face value.

Store of Value

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A recognized form of exchange can be a form of money or currency, a commodity like gold, or financial capital. To act as a store of value, these forms must be able to be saved and retrieved at a later time, and be predictably useful when retrieved.

Storage of value is one of several distinct functions of money. The other functions are the standard of deferred payment, which requires acceptability to parties owed a debt, and the unit of account, which requires fungibility so accounts in any amount can be readily settled. It is also distinct from the medium of exchange function which requires durability when used in trade and to minimize fraud opportunities.

1. With money being a storage of value was the start of monetary inflation cycles where the under and over abundance of market goods can lead to price instability.

2. Common alternatives that act as stores of value are:

* real estate - actual deeds in protectible land
* gold - once the basis of the gold standard
* silver - once the basis of the silver standard
* precious stones, and precious metals
* collectibles, e.g. original art by a famous artist or antiques
* livestock (see African currency)
* stock

While these items may be inconvenient to trade daily or store, and may vary in value quite significantly, they rarely or never lose all value. This is the point of any store of value, to impose a natural risk management simply due to inherent stable demand for the underlying asset. It need not be a capital asset at all, merely have economic value that is not known to disappear even in the worst situation. In principle, this could be true of any industrial commodity, but gold and precious metals are generally favored because of their demand and rarity in nature, which reduces the risk of devaluation associated with increased production and supply.

Money Impact On Other Variables

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High growth rates in nominal money quantity, if clearly exeeding nominal GDP rates, can exert inflationary pressures.

If economic agents base their expectations about future inflation on the money quantity, one would expect the present inflation rate boosted by money quantity growth. But this is dependent on how present prices are influenced by mere expectations.

In many empirical instances, a certain increase of money quantity have turned out to be conducive to growth in real GDP.

Many short run acceleration or deceleration of the money quantity remain without any noticeable effects on other variables.

Long-term trends

Nominal money quantity has always grown, apart from few pathological events. Real money quantity has grown most of the time.

In hyperinflation episodes, real quantity of money sharply fell and remained at low levels for a long time.

Business cycle behaviour

Nominal money quantity is usually pro-cyclical, sometimes leading real GDP peaks.

Determinants of Money

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Narrowly-defined money is heavily influenced by central banks.

Instead, depositors, banks, financial and public institutions play a crucial role for broad money aggregates.

International money quantity, i.e. the national quantities of money converted in one common currency at the prevailing nominal exchange rates, is completely out of control.

With respect to the general economic climate, a booming economy usually exhibits a high growth of money quantity. By contrast, in hyperinflation, real money is drastically squeezed.

Roles of Money

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Money is whatever can be used in order to settle payments. Nowadays, the most common kind of money are current accounts in the banks.

Cash, a self-evident component of money, has a short life out of the banks. Within few days is spent, for example in a shop, and the shopkeeper brings urgently cash back to a bank.

1. it is the medium of exchange that settle payments. People accept money in exchange of goods and services. Nothing is owed anymore.

2. money is the most common medium of account, i.e. it is the good some quantity of which serves as unit of account for prices. Prices are expressed using monetary expressions.

3. money is a store of value over time and across people, firms, countries. Selling things gives money that can be saved and spent in the future for many different goods and services. However, there exist other financial instruments - and even goods - that can serve as a store of value as well.

Money Composition

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Money quantity is the nominal value of particularly "liquid" financial instruments in an economy. "Liquidity" means that an asset is easy to sell in any moment with small or no losses in respect to nominal price

There exist a few definitions of money quantity, some broader than others, i.e. including a wider range of financial instruments.

For the following definitions, a series of simplification has been taken to keep things easy. Moreover, there exist significant international differences in definitions, especially for broader money definitions (M2 and M3).

The narrowest definition of money, the monetary base comprehends only cash outside banks plus bank reserves, the latter including both cash reserves held by banks and banks' deposits at the central bank.

Larger than the monetary base, M1 comprehends cash and current accounts in banks.

M2 is M1 plus the savings account.

M3 is M2 plus other liquid liabilities of monetary financial institutions.

Thus, although a largely accepted image of money doesn't associate it to interest-bearing, some definitions do comprehend interest-bearing assets.

A crucial distinction is between nominal and real quantity of money, the latter being equal to the former divided by price level. In this way, real money dynamics becomes dependent on inflation.

This is particularly important, since inflation, in its turn, is dependent on nominal and real quantity of money, too.

Currency Degradation

2009-05-30T23:31:00.000-07:00

Currency Degradation is utilized world wide by most bank, ATM and armored vehicle companies. Currency degradation systems are designed to stain money when it is stolen. Smoke packs and dye packs are the most commonly used types of currency degradation.

Many systems emit tear gas as well as smoke in order to hinder a criminal's escape. Currency degradation systems offer an effective way to prevent the theft of large sums of money. Once activated, there is nothing a criminal can do to prevent the degradation device from marking the money. And once the currency is marked, it cannot be spent.

In 2006, over 7,000 attempted thefts involving financial institutions, totaled more than $70 million in cash taken in the United States alone. Twenty percent of the affected institutions utilized smoke packs, dye packs or some other form of currency degradation system. Likewise, twenty percent of all cash stolen was recovered. Currency degradation systems provide an effective method of theft prevention.*

Stored Energy Concepts has over 20 years of experience in currency degradation. Our research and development focuses primarily on igniters for smoke packs. We also manufacture and assemble both smoke packs and dye pack gas cylinders. Stored Energy Concepts has been at the forefront of currency degradation systems since it's founding in 1996. Contact us or request a quote to see what we can do for you.

*All figures taken from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Bank Crime Statistics for 2006

MARKED MONEY

A Graphic Timeline of the History of Money

2009-05-30T22:45:00.001-07:00

Money has been used for something like 3000 years. City-states in the ancient near east had extensive trade from city to city, and they used precious metals as a medium of exchange. When trades were settled a certain amount of metal could be used to settle the difference. There was a problem of quality control, however. There were problems of determining that the quantity and purity of the metal was as agreed.
The answer was quality control and certification. The early kings of Lydia standardized the hunks of metal and guaranteed their quality by stamping the king's picture on them. These were the first coins. This guarantee of quality by the Lydian kingdom -- already a rich and powerful one -- was very successful, and made the Kingdom of Lydia even richer, indeed proverbially rich. Croesus and Midas -- of all kings the most proverbially wealthy ones -- were among the kings of Lydia.

But what Lydia could do, other kingdoms could also do. By 1000 AD, metallic coin monetary systems had spread through much of the old world.

As in so many other things, the Chinese were the innovators for the next step. The Chinese invented printing, and not too much later, they also invented paper money. It was widespread in China by around 1000 AD, but the Chinese abandoned it after about 1500, in the general decline of Chinese society after the Mongol conquest.

Time Value of Money

2009-05-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

Simply put, time value of money is the value of money figuring in a given amount of interest for a given amount of time. For example 100 dollars of todays money held for a year at 5 percent interest is worth 105 dollars, therefore 100 dollars paid now or 105 dollars paid exactly one year from now is the same amount of payment of money with that given intersest at that given amount of time. This notion dates at least to Martín de Azpilcueta of the School of Salamanca.

All of the standard calculations for time value money derive from the most basic algebraic expression for the present value of a future sum, "discounted" to the present by an amount equal to the time value of money.

For example, a sum of FV to be received in one year is discounted (at the rate of interest r) to give a sum of PV at present: PV = FV — r·PV = FV/(1+r).

Some standard calculations based on the time value of money are:

Present Value The current worth of a future sum of money or stream of cash flows given a specified rate of return. Future cash flows are discounted at the discount rate, and the higher the discount rate, the lower the present value of the future cash flows. Determining the appropriate discount rate is the key to properly valuing future cash flows, whether they be earnings or obligations.
Present Value of a Annuity An annuity is a series of equal payments or receipts that occur at evenly spaced intervals. Leases and rental payments are examples. The payments or receipts occur at the end of each period for an ordinary annuity while they occur at the beginning of each period for an annuity due.
Present Value of a Perpetuity is a constant stream of identical cash flows with no end.
Future Value is the value of an asset or cash at a specified date in the future that is equivalent in value to a specified sum today.
Future Value of an Annuity (FVA) is the future value of a stream of payments (annuity), assuming the payments are invested at a given rate of interest.

The History of Money

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The history of money spans thousands of years. Numismatics is the scientific study of money and its history in all its varied forms.

Many items have been used as commodity money such as naturally scarce precious metals, conch shells, barley, beads etc., as well as many other things that are thought of as having value.

The history of money and banking are inseparably interlinked. The multiplication of money really took off when banks got into the business. Inspired by the success of the London goldsmiths, some of which became the forerunners of great English banks, banks began issuing paper notes quite properly termed ‘banknotes’ which circulated in the same way that government issued currency circulates today.

In England this practice continued up to 1694. Scottish banks continued issuing notes until 1850. In USA, this practice continued through the 19th Century, where at one time there were more than 5000 different types of bank notes issued by various commercial banks in America. Only the notes issued by the largest, most creditworthy banks were widely accepted.

The script of smaller, lesser known institutions circulated locally. Farther from home it was only accepted at a discounted rate, if it was accepted at all. The proliferation of types of money went hand in hand with a multiplication in the number of financial institutions.

Banknote

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A banknote (often known as a bill, paper money or simply a note) is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender.

Along with coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern money. With the exception of non-circulating high-value or precious metal commemorative issues, coins are generally used for lower valued monetary units, while banknotes are used for higher values.

These banknotes were a form of representative money which could be converted into gold or silver by application at the bank. Since banks issued notes far in excess of the gold and silver they kept on deposit, sudden loss of public confidence in a bank could precipitate mass redemption of banknotes and result in ‘’bankruptcy’’.

The use of bank notes issued by private commercial banks as legal tender has gradually been replaced by the issuance of bank notes authorized and controlled by national governments. The Bank of England was granted sole rights for the issuance of banknotes in England after 1694.

In the USA, the Federal Reserve Bank was granted similar rights after its establishment in 1913. Until recently, these government-authorized currencies were forms of representative money, since they were partially backed by gold or silver and convertible into metal under certain circumstances.

Fiat Money

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Fiat Money, type of currency issued by governments as legal tender, the value of which is based solely on decree or law rather than on actual coin or precious-metal reserves (called specie), and the redemption of which is not guaranteed by the government.

Such money was issued in quantity in the United States during the American Revolution and during the American Civil War. The Civil War currency, known colloquially as greenbacks, was made redeemable in specie by the Specie Resumption Act of 1875.

The issuance of fiat money frequently results in a steeply spiraling inflation, as specie-based currency is withdrawn from circulation, causing a sharp rise in prices.

Weight of a Dollar bill

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The basic unit of weight in the metric system is called a gram, and it is equal to the weight of one cubic centimeter of water. This is a very small amount, but it is easy to comprehend.

Just pick up a U.S. dollar bill (or any bank note), and its weight is one gram. Because the gram is too light to be a convenient standard of weight, a larger unit has been chosen. This unit is 1,000 grams.

Following the regular pattern of metric naming, it is called one kilogram. One thousand grams of water occupy a volume of 1,000 cubic centimeters or one liter. So a person need only pick up a plastic one-liter bottle of water to understand how heavy a kilogram is.

Very heavy objects are weighed in tons of 1,000 kilograms each. One thousand kilograms is equal to one metric ton and is not the same as the usual American ton of 907.2 kg.

Mark Money

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Mark (money), former monetary unit of Germany, from a Norse term for a unit of measure that probably dates as far back as the 3rd century ad. It was employed as a monetary unit by the Goths and then the Germans.

It was given a uniform value (0.35842 metric grains of fine gold) throughout the German Empire in 1873. After a period of inflation it was again stabilized as the reichsmark in 1924. It was reestablished (1948) as the deutsche mark in West Germany and the ostmark in East Germany.

When Germany unified in 1990, the deutsche mark, divided into 100 pfennige, became the national monetary unit. The deutsche mark was replaced by the euro, the monetary unit of the European Union (EU), on January 1, 2002.

Prof. Carroll Quigley

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The powers of financial capitalism had a far-reaching plan, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole...Their secret is that they have annexed from governments, monarchies, and republics the power to create the world's money...Prof. Carroll Quigley,Georgetown macro-historian

The 2$ U.S Dollar denomination

2009-04-10T22:38:00.000-07:00

The United States Two-Dollar Bill ($2) is a current denomination of U.S. currency. Former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson is featured on the obverse of the note. An engraved reproduction of the painting The Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull is featured on the reverse. The design on the obverse (excluding the elements of a Federal Reserve Note) is the oldest design of current U.S. currency, having been adopted in 1929; the reverse is the second oldest design, having been adopted in 1976. It is also the only U.S. Currency note that features two Presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. The only other currently circulating piece of money that features two Presidents is the Illinois State Quarter (George Washington and Abraham Lincoln).

The denomination of two dollars was first used by the United States federal government in July 1862. The denomination was continuously used until 1966 when the only class of U.S. currency it was then assigned to, United States Notes, began to be discontinued.

The $2 bill initially was not reassigned to the Federal Reserve Note class of United States currency and was thus discontinued; the Treasury Department cited the $2 bill's low use and unpopularity as the reason for not resuming use of the denomination.

Today, two-dollar bills are not frequently reissued in a new series like other denominations which are printed according to demand. When the Federal Reserve Banking System runs low on its current supply of $2 bills, it will submit an order to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which will then print more. Demand for $2 bills is low enough that one printing can last for many years.

A new issue of Series 2003A $2 bills was printed from July to September 2006 for all 12 Federal Reserve Banks. In all, 220,800,000 notes were printed.

July 1862: The first $2 bill was issued as a Legal Tender Note (United States Note) with a portrait of Alexander Hamilton;

1869: The $2 United States Note was redesigned with the now familiar portrait of Thomas Jefferson to the left and a vignette of the United States Capitol in the center of the obverse. This note also featured green tinting on the top and left side of the obverse.

In 1953 the $2 bill received design changes analogous to the $5 United States Note. The treasury seal was made smaller and moved to the right side of the bill; it was superimposed over the gray word TWO.

In 1976, the Treasury Department reintroduced the $2 bill as a cost-saving measure.[3] As part of the United States Bicentennial celebration, the note was redesigned and issued as a Federal Reserve Note. The obverse featured the same portrait of Jefferson, a green instead of red seal and serial numbers, and an engraved rendition of John Trumbull's The Declaration of Independence on the reverse. First day issues of the new bicentennial $2 bills could be taken to a post office and stamped with the date "APR 13 1976". In all, 590,720,000 notes from Series 1976 were printed.

Dow up 169 as Fed leaves rates alone

2009-03-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

The central bank says it will continue pumping money into the economy. Investors cheer a hint in today's GDP report that consumers are still spending. Bank of America chief Ken Lewis keeps his job but is no longer chairman. Starbucks earnings beat estimates.

By Charley Blaine and Elizabeth Strott

Don't expect interest rates to rise anytime soon, the Federal Reserve said today. The economy is so weak that there are no inflationary pressures to worry about yet.

So, the central bank decided to leave interest rates at record low levels. The decision -- and a hint that consumers may be starting to spend again -- was expected and cheered by investors, who pushed stocks to their highest levels since January.

The Dow Jones industrials ($INDU) closed up 169 points, or 2.1%, to 8,185.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) was up 18 points, or 2.2%, to 873.64.

The Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX) was up 38 points, or 2.3%, to 1,711.94, and the Nasdaq-100 Index ($NDX.X), which tracks the largest Nasdaq stocks, jumped 20 points, or 1.5%, to 1,382.38.

The rally broke a two-day losing streak for the major averages. It produced the best close for the Dow since Jan. 29 and since Jan. 28 for the S&P 500. The Nasdaq saw its first close above 1,700 since Nov. 4. The Dow had been up as many as 241 points before profit-taking set in.

Futures trading suggests the U.S. stock market will open modestly higher on Thursday.

The Fed left its key federal funds rate, the rate banks charge each other for overnight loans, at 0% to 0.25%. The discount rate -- what the Fed charges financial institutions for short-term loans -- was left at 0.5%.

Because of the economy's fragile state, the Fed said it will continue to leave interest rates at record low levels to try to get the economy moving. Moreover, the Fed's statement said the central bank will continue to buy government and government-related securities to give the economy the fuel to start a recovery.

The Fed expects to continue its plan to spend $1.75 trillion buying mortgage-backed securities and related debt and $300 billion in Treasury securities later this year.

About the only good economic news in the statement was the Fed's note that "the pace of contraction appears to be somewhat slower. Household spending has shown signs of stabilizing but remains constrained by ongoing job losses, lower housing wealth, and tight credit.

KNOW YOUR MONEY

2009-03-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

How To Detect Counterfeit Money
The public has a role in maintaining the integrity of U.S. currency. You can help guard against the threat from counterfeiters by becoming more familiar with United States currency.

Look at the money you receive. Compare a suspect note with a genuine note of the same denomination and series, paying attention to the quality of printing and paper characteristics. Look for differences, not similarities.

United States Dollars
Portrait
The genuine portrait appears lifelike and stands out distinctly from the background. The counterfeit portrait is usually lifeless and flat. Details merge into the background which is often too dark or mottled.

Federal Reserve and Treasury Seals
On a genuine bill, the saw-tooth points of the Federal Reserve and Treasury seals are clear, distinct, and sharp. The counterfeit seals may have uneven, blunt, or broken saw-tooth points.

Border
The fine lines in the border of a genuine bill are clear and unbroken. On the counterfeit, the lines in the outer margin and scrollwork may be blurred and indistinct.

Serial Numbers
Genuine serial numbers have a distinctive style and are evenly spaced. The serial numbers are printed in the same ink color as the Treasury Seal. On a counterfeit, the serial numbers may differ in color or shade of ink from the Treasury seal. The numbers may not be uniformly spaced or aligned.

Paper
Genuine currency paper has tiny red and blue fibers embedded throughout. Often counterfeiters try to simulate these fibers by printing tiny red and blue lines on their paper. Close inspection reveals, however, that on the counterfeit note the lines are printed on the surface, not embedded in the paper. It is illegal to reproduce the distinctive paper used in the manufacturing of United States currency.

Counterfeit banknote detection pen

2009-03-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

Counterfeit pens are pens containing an iodine-based ink. They can be used to detect counterfeit Swiss franc, euro and United States banknotes amongst others. Typically, genuine banknotes are printed on paper based on cotton fibers, and do not contain the starches that react with iodine. When the pen is used to mark genuine bills, the mark is yellowish or clear. Counterfeit pens are most effective against notes printed on standard printer or photocopier paper.

1. Pen manufacturers claim such pens will detect a great majority of counterfeit bills
2. but critics suggest the effectiveness is much lower.
Critics claim that professional counterfeiters use starch-free paper, making the pen unable to detect the majority of counterfeit money in circulation.
3. Magician and skeptic James Randi has written about the ineffectiveness of counterfeit pens on numerous occasions
4. The Secret Service does not include such pens in their guidelines for the public's detection of counterfeit US currency.
5. Uses a pen as an example during his lectures.
6. Randi claims to have contacted a United States Secret Service inspector and asked whether the pen works as advertised, to which the inspector replied "it is not dependable."

7. Some US counterfeiters bleach small denominations and print more valuable bills on the resulting blank paper to evade this test,
8. Although changes to the currency since 2004 have made this method easier to detect.

This is one reason that many currencies use different sized notes for different denominations.

Counterfeiting Prevention

2009-03-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

Overall, counterfeiting of U.S. currency remains extremely low. This is due primarily to the combination of improvements in the notes' security features as mentioned above, aggressive law enforcement, and educational efforts to inform the public about how to verify their currency. According to statistics, the amount of counterfeit U.S. currency worldwide is less than one percent of genuine U.S. currency in circulation.

Most recently, the government has detected a pattern of which counterfeiters bleach the ink off of the $5 bills, and then print counterfeit $100 bills on the paper. This is especially deceiving to the public because of the similar placement of security features on the bills. In response to this, the government has decided to redesign the $5 bill in an attempt to ensure that this problem does not continue into the future.

The best way the public can protect themselves from counterfeit currency is to know the different security features to look for in authentic U.S. currency. The government will continue their worldwide public education program to raise awareness of changes to the U.S. currency and help to protect our money.

Counterfeit Money

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Some of the ill-effects that counterfeit money has on society are:

1. Reduction in the value of real money
2. Increase in prices (inflation) due to more money getting circulated in the economy - an unauthorized artificial increase in the money supply
3. Decrease in the acceptability (satisfactoriness) of money - payees may demand electronic transfers of real money or payment in another currency
(or even payment in a precious metal such as gold)
4. Companies are not reimbursed for counterfeits. This forces them to increase prices of commodities

At the same time, in countries where paper money is a small fraction of the total money in circulation, the macroeconomic effects of counterfeiting of currency may not be significant.
The microeconomic effects, such as confidence in currency, however, may be large.

Anti-counterfeiting measures

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Traditionally, anti-counterfeiting measures involved including fine detail with raised intaglio printing on bills which would allow non-experts to easily spot forgeries. On coins, milled or reeded (marked with parallel grooves) edges are used to show that none of the valuable metal has been scraped off.

This detects the shaving or clipping (paring off) of the rim of the coin. However, it does not detect sweating, or shaking coins in a bag and collecting the resulting dust. Since this technique removes a smaller amount, it is primarily used on the most valuable coins, such as gold.
In early paper money in Colonial North America, one creative means of deterring counterfeiters was to print the impression of a leaf in the bill. Since the patterns found in a leaf were unique and complex, they were nearly impossible to reproduce.

In the late twentieth century advances in computer and photocopy technology made it possible for people without sophisticated training to easily copy currency. In response, national engraving bureaus began to include new more sophisticated anti-counterfeiting systems such as holograms, multi-colored bills, embedded devices such as strips, microprinting and inks whose colors changed depending on the angle of the light, and the use of design features such as the "EURion constellation" which disables modern photocopiers. Software programs such as Adobe Photoshop have been modified by their manufacturers to obstruct manipulation of scanned images of banknotes.

Money determines how our economies work

2009-03-15T18:35:00.000-07:00

The way our money works determines how our economies work. If we are prepared to see 'money' in the broadest possible sense as the set of laws, rules, regulations and conventions that govern our behaviour in the realm of producing our means of life, then it becomes apparent how 'money' produces the general characteristics of modern economies identified above. This is the 'operating system' of our economies.

All national money systems are debt-based. This means that money is issued into circulation by financial institutions when it is loaned in one form or another. These loans have to be repaid, usually with interest or benefit of some kind (i.e. more has to be paid back than was originally loaned). The only way that the extra amount can enter the economy so that the borrowers can earn it to pay back the interest as well as the principal is if more money is loaned into existence by others.

The rate at which new money enters the economy must be equal to or exceed the amount of interest that has to be paid back. There is thus a never-ending, upward spiral of debt, interest and money creation. If the amount of new money created is less than the amount owed in interest, the economy enters into recession with the dire consequences that are so familiar, including foreclosures and rising unemployment.

This need for the money supply to grow the driving force behind the need for all economies to grow.

Money in existence

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We have money because private, profit-making institutions (banks) provide it as a business service. The money we use is thus not a neutral mechanism provided to us purely for the benefit of facilitating exchange.

All our money is lent into existence and it comes into circulation because banks want to make a profit through the interest that borrowers have to pay for using it. At the time that the banks create the money (as debt) they do not create sufficient to pay back the interest.

Bank debt money is thus always in chronic short supply. The only way that this money system can keep going is if there is a constant expansion of bank debt money, an expansion rate that is greater than the amount needed to pay back the principal plus the interest.

This is the force that drives our economies and why every economic agent and entity calls for more growth.

Getting hold of the money

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Conventional economics assumes that money is 'stuff', a 'thing', which like all things has to be created and then distributed. There is therefore a quantity of it that has to be restricted and controlled. Because it is 'stuff' it is subject to the same laws of supply and demand as other stuff.

And like any other stuff it must have a value in itself, a value that can go up and down in relation to other things. And because it is a thing it can be possessed, collected, accumulated and withdrawn from circulation. It can be stolen, lost, traded and lent.

If someone has some and another has none, the former can lend it to the latter and ask for more back when they return it. The person who borrows it has to work extra hard to return the original amount and the little bit extra. In this way the borrower works for the lender.

Getting this money stuff is not directly related to the delivery of real goods and services. There are a multitude of ways of getting hold of it, some of which do involve the delivery of real goods and services. For most of us the only way to get hold of it is to sell our labour to someone.

This is called a job and most of us work in these jobs, not because we love the work or even because the work is socially necessary, but because we need to get hold of the money stuff. Without it we're in serious trouble. Those who have lots of money have to find a way of keeping that money and, hopefully, increasing it.

They do that by 'investing' the money in something that will bring in a return. That could involve investing it in machinery that can be used to create real wealth, but there are other ways of investing money that will ensure a greater return.

Money as exchange medium

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Imagine if money-as-we-know-it had never been invented.

It seems like an impossible idea, but imagine if gold had been an extremely rare substance on earth and thus the idea of using it as an exchange medium had never caught on, and no other substance on earth had become the unquestioned medium that everyone would accept in exchange for the products of their labour.

Perhaps people would have bartered things in the beginning and certain commodities would have become 'money' in the sense that most people would accept them in exchange even if they had no direct use for them.

But as trade expanded and commerce became more complex, instead of there developing a universally acceptable exchange commodity such as gold, people just granted each other credit and kept a record of it.

In other words, instead of swapping commodities to get what they wanted, people just kept a record of what they delivered to others, and those who received the goods kept a record of what they owed.

Money System

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Why invent a new money when our official monies seem to do the job?Because our conventional money system is at the root of most of the misery, suffering and problems faced by humanity. It is also the prime factor behind the environmental crises we face.

The money systems we use are not neutral, non-partisan, services provided by our governments. They are a 'service' provided by private financial institutions (banks) specifically for their own benefit rather than those who use them.

Our conventional money systems only work for those who already have money and marginalise the rest. They are also the fuel that powers the growth imperative of our economies, forcing us all to compete and having disastrous consequences for the health of our planet.

The main problem with conventional money is that it 'exists', or at least we are encouraged by the commercial banks to believe that it exists so that they can 'lend' it to us at a price! As such it has to be created, distributed and the amount of it restricted and controlled.

As money comes into existence when commercial banks grant loans, every unit in existence is based on a unit of debt. This determines the quantity of money, which has nothing to do with the amount of money people require to live decent lives.

Such money is also based on speculation, because it is loaned into existence on the premise that it will be payed back in the future with interest. Despite its modern electronic trappings, our conventional money systems are a relic of history. They are the latter day equivalent of cattle or gold.

The Debt-base money system

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The debt-based money system was developed for the industrial revolution to provide a rapidly expanding money supply that could not be provided by a money system based on the quantity of precious metals.

This introduced intangible money that did not exist in the same way as earlier 'hard' monies, but people continued treating it as a tradable commodity. Money that 'exists' can thus be accumulated like any other commodity.

It can also be stolen, traded, collected, destroyed and lost. Its distribution is not based on the delivery of value to others but on the ability of people to 'make money'. Conventional money has no restraints and always flows away from where it is created and needed, towards the 'money centres'.

The CES breaks out of this paradigm by recognising that the electronics revolution has eliminated the need for an exchange medium. Never before in the history of humankind has it been possible to record accurately who delivers value to whom.

Money as an Information

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Now that this is possible there is no longer a need for an 'existential' money; money can at last truly measure the delivery of value and be based on nothing other than the expenditure of effort by people for others. Money is information - a unit of measure - not a thing.

If money does not need to exist as a thing it does not have to be created and distributed. People will earn money solely on the basis of their delivery of value to others, not through charging interest, trading it in money markets and a multitude of other ways without delivering anything of real value.

Money that does not exist can never be in short supply, but no one can have more of it than the value they can deliver. No one will be able to take more of the social product than they contribute to it, as they do under our current money system. Wealth will remain where it is created and needed, and not leak away to the 'money centres'.

Public Domain Money

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Conventional money is created as debt by private financial institutions for their own profit-making purposes, not as a public service. This is the root cause of the economic, social and environmental problems that beset us. The amount of debt determines the quantity of money, which has nothing to do with the amount of money we need to live decent lives.

CES 'money' is created by its users so it can never be in short supply. So long as you can offer something of value you can have from the community goods and services of like value.

CES money is public domain money. It is not 'owned' or controlled by anyone and as such belongs to the commons.
It is 'created' by the traders who use it, not by a third party outside the circuit of buyers and sellers (banks) who do so for their own parasitic gain.

When money is proprietary it confers the money power on those who 'create' and control it; when it is in the public domain the money power resides with its users, who can ensure that it is used for the public good.

How Banks Create the World's Money?

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“Banking was conceived in iniquity and was born in sin. The bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create money, and with the flick of the pen they will create enough deposits to buy it back again. However, take it away from them, and all the great fortunes like mine will disappear and they ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in. But, if you wish to remain the slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create money."

By: Sir Josiah Stamp,
Director of the Bank of England (appointed 1928).
Reputed to be the 2nd wealthiest man in England at that time.

Money and Banking

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Money is a human contrivance, the primary purpose of which is to enable the easy exchange of goods, services, and capital assets. The way in which a monetary system is designed and operated determines how effectively and efficiently it achieves that purpose.

Since money is such a fundamental and necessary element in the process of economic interaction, it has often been the object of political manipulation and control, and, in fact, central bank and government monopolies have become virtually universal throughout the world.

When people have a choice of currencies and exchange mechanisms, the advantages of exchange can be more fully realized, economic equity can be advanced, and people will be empowered to more fully meet their material needs.

Circulating Currency

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A currency is a unit of exchange and hence a kind of money and medium of exchange. Currency includes paper banknotes and metal coins. Countries generally have a monopoly on the issuing of currency, although some countries share currencies with other countries.

Today, currencies are the dominant means of exchange. Different countries may use the same term to refer to their respective currencies, even though the currencies may have little else to do with each other.

A place that is technically part of another country sometimes uses a different currency from that of the parent country. Any form of money, including paper notes and coins, which is issued by a government and is used in public circulation.

A currency is used as the basis of trade for general goods and services within an economy. Usually, each country has its own currency, and exchange with the legal tender is only valid in the respective country.

However, there are groups of nations that band together and use a single currency between the members (e.g. the Euro-zone).

Currency value is most broadly based on supply and demand, although some developing countries peg the value to a more stable country's currency or to a basket of currencies/investment vehicles.

Results in open market activity

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The policy enacted by a central bank in order to control money supply in their domestic economy. Monetary policy can take many different forms, but the common denominator almost always results in open market activity that affects interest rates and currency valuations for a given economy.

Central banks will enact varying monetary policy in order to control price stability and economic growth. For some countries, central bank officials are required to enact policy that keeps domestic inflation within given ranges, while others operate more freely on a more de facto basis.
As an example, a central bank may choose to limit monetary supply if it feels that inflation is a threat to price and economic growth stability. In order to do so, it will attempt to raise interest rate levels by changing its own lending rates and/or affecting monetary supply in the broader market.

Though a full discussion of different monetary policy regimes is beyond the scope of this definition, it is important to know and appreciate the distinctions between global central banks and their distinct methods to control price and growth stability.

The Money flow index chart

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Typically, when talking about money flow we are talking about the money flow index chart which is scaled like RSI (0 to 100) with the same overbought and oversold levels.

The money flow index is essentially a volume weighted version of RSI

(price ups multiplied by volume and added and price downs multiplied by volume added for a given period).

If you're confused by this, got back to the relative strength index tutorial and take a look at the formula for calculating RSI and it should be clearer.

Money flow chart
The money you are putting into our service is not an expense - it is an investment. Every single cent is used to bring you profit. On the below chart you can analyze the way, your money travel through the system back to you.

Financial services company

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The management of a client's investments by a financial services company. Asset management companies pool funds and invest on behalf of their clients, giving them access to a wider range of traditional and exotic financial products that are typically not available to the average investor.

Costs associated with such services usually restrict access of Asset Management services to high net-worth individuals, corporations, governments, financial intermediaries and investment pools.

Asset Management Accounts refer to the offering of an extensive array of financial products via one group of accounts in one financial institution.

Banking services like cheque writing, credit & debit cards, money market access, brokerage services and lending all available through one financial company and in one statement.

Since investors typically place a larger amount of funds in asset management accounts, such accounts usually offer higher returns than can be found in traditional cheque and savings accounts.

Although investors may be able to find lower fees and higher returns through a number of different financial specialists, the convenience of only having to deal with one firm and getting all financial transactions in one statement may make asset management accounts more advantageous to some investors.