Why can banknotes be used as money?

19 country histories of money

From notes exchangeable for metal to notes that do not promise exchange. We will compare the systems that support banknotes.

1818　The Exchange 　Rothschild family (Frankfurt, London, Paris, Vienna, Naples)
1818　Counterfoil of the certificate 　Rothschild family (Frankfurt, London, Paris, Vienna, Naples)
the 2nd century BC　A counting desk behind the scales 　China
the 8th–9th centuries　A table where certificates are matched 　China
the end of the 10th century–the beginning of the 11th century　Sichuan: a merchant house in Chengdu 　China
AD 1024　Song · Sichuan 　Overview: the world
the 11th century　An office table where paper is inspected 　China
from 1160　The Southern Song offices at Lin'an 　China
the later 13th century–the 14th century　Kawachi and Harima 　Japan
from the 13th century to the present　The trace of a lost note 　China
the 13th century　A market where only paper remains 　China
the later 13th century　The room where a traveller's account was written 　China
AD 1260　Yuan · Dadu 　Overview: the world
1260　Dadu: the hall of enthronement 　China
AD 1287　The Runaway Jiaochao 　Overview: the world
General History　From the Face of Gods to the Face of the State 　Overview: the world
1287　A workshop printing new notes 　China
c. 1329–1330　China and Persia 　India
c. 1329–1330　Military Treasury 　India
the 13th–14th centuries　A study in the West 　China
the mid-14th century　A market that refuses the paper 　China
1375　The printing works of the Ming baochao 　China
1401–1402　The Sasomso in Hanseong 　Korea
The Open Port Period　A storefront in an open port 　Korea
the 15th century　A shopfront where paper won't pass 　China
1485–1500　The Ouchi castle town and Kyoto 　Japan
1573–1574　Leiden 　Netherlands
1574　Leiden 　Netherlands
1609–1683　The vault beneath the Amsterdam town hall 　Netherlands
about 1622　An alley in the midst of the frenzy 　Germany
the 17th century　The London Goldsmiths 　Overview: the world
the 17th century　A tobacco field in Virginia 　United States
17th century　A money changer's shop 　Turkey
from 1661　the domains and Ise 　Japan
from 1690　The assembly of a colonial government 　United States
1694　The City of London 　Britain
From 1698　Town gate 　Russia
From 1698　The Town Gate 　Russia
1716–1719　Rue Vivienne, Paris 　France
1717–1720　The Mississippi and Paris 　France
1720–1789　France under Louis XV 　France
1729　A colonial printing house 　United States
1751 and 1764　London, the British Parliament 　United States
1760s　A Viennese Market 　Austria
1762　Vienna City Bank 　Austria
1762　Vienna and Petersburg 　Austria
1768–1792　Saint Petersburg 　Russia
1769　Saint Petersburg 　Russia
1775　The colonies on the eve of independence 　United States
June 1775　Philadelphia, the Continental Congress 　United States
1775–1779　The statehouses and printing shops of the states 　United States
1775–1779　New York, under British occupation 　United States
1779–1780　A market during the War of Independence 　United States
1781　In a turn of phrase on the street 　United States
from 1781　The states after the fighting has passed 　United States
1787　The Constitution of the United States, Article 1, Section 10 　United States
from 1787　In the silence of the text 　United States
1789　Kuramae in Asakusa, Edo 　Japan
1789–1790　A print shop, Paris 　France
1789　Paris 　Russia
1792　The Coinage Act, the penalty clause 　United States
1795–1803　The window of a money-changer, Paris 　France
1796–1797　Place Vendôme, Paris 　France
1797　London, the Bank of England 　Britain
1797–1821　London, the place of execution 　Britain
1798–1805　The discount window of a Paris bank 　France
1805–1806　The vault and teller's window of the Banque de France 　France
1810　Westminster, the Parliament 　Britain
1811　Vienna 　Austria
1811　The Exchange Counter 　Austria
1813–1815　Amsterdam 　Netherlands
1815–1825　The public-debt registry, Paris 　France
1816–1847　Morning along an Amsterdam canal 　Netherlands
1816　The bank building 　Austria
1817–1821　A street corner in London 　Britain
the 1820s　Philadelphia, the hall of the bank 　United States
1821　The counter of the Bank of England 　Britain
1828　A bank in a port town of Java 　Netherlands
from 1837　A town of the western frontier 　United States
1837 and 1857　A port town in the panic 　United States
1840　A merchant's counting house 　Turkey
1841　The head office in Athens 　Greece
1844　Westminster 　Britain
1848　The Banque de France, Paris 　France
1848–1886　From California to South Africa 　Britain
1848–49　The republic of the lagoon 　Italy
the earlier 19th century　London, the arena of debate 　Britain
the middle of the 19th century　Places of trade across America 　United States
the middle of the 19th century　A merchant's counting-table 　United States
the end of the 19th century　A tavern on the corner 　Spain
the earlier 19th century　The streets of Porto 　Portugal
Late 19th Century　Inside a Wallet 　Austria
1853　Saint Petersburg 　Russia
the 1860s　A merchant's counting-table, once more 　United States
1861　Viceroy's Assent 　India
1862　Washington, the federal Congress 　United States
1862　The banknote printing works 　United States
1862　A street in the bazaar 　Turkey
1863–1864　Washington, the Treasury 　United States
1863　The grand hall of the bank 　Turkey
1863–　Printing Room 　Turkey
1864–1868　Edo, Kyoto, Osaka 　Japan
1865　The defeated South 　United States
1865　The counter of a state bank 　United States
1865–1875　A farm on the Great Plains 　United States
1865–1879　Upon the Atlantic 　United States
1866　A chancellery in Florence 　Italy
1868　Kyoto, the Dajokan 　Japan
1868　Kyoto 　Japan
1868–1910　Bank exchange counter 　Greece
1870s　Vienna 　Austria
1872　Frankfurt 　Japan
1873–1914　The Banque de France, the convertibility window 　France
19 March 1874　Madrid, the Bank of Spain 　Spain
from 1874　The cities of the peninsula 　Italy
1876–1879　castle towns across the country 　Japan
1877　Tokyo, the Paper Money Bureau 　Japan
1877　Higo, Tabaruzaka 　Japan
1878–1881　town and village 　Japan
January 1879　Washington, the Treasury counter 　United States
1881　the Paper Money Bureau, the engraving room 　Japan
1881–1885　Tokyo, the Finance Ministry 　Japan
1881–1885　Tokyo and the farming villages 　Japan
1882　Tokyo, Nihonbashi Hakozaki 　Japan
1882–1899　Tokyo, the Bank of Japan 　Japan
1883　Madrid, a bank counter 　Spain
1883　The treasury ministry in Rome 　Italy
1885　the darkness of the storehouse 　Japan
1890s　The Exchange 　Austria
1890s–1904　Markets in Gyeonggi 　Korea
1892–　Vienna 　Austria
1893　Rome 　Italy
1894–1945　the outer territories 　Japan
1898　The Commission's offices in Athens 　Greece
1899–1911　Taipei, Busan 　Japan
the 1910s　A bank counter in Lisbon 　Portugal
1910〜1914　All of Mexico 　Mexico
1910–1914　Chihuahua 　Mexico
1910–1914　Chihuahua 　Mexico
1911–　Issuing Department 　Korea
1911–1945　Bank counter 　Korea
From 1911　Face 　South Korea
Colonial period　Inside a wallet 　South Korea
from 1913　America, where the banknote is born 　United States
1913–1916　Various factions 　Mexico
AD 1914–1923　The Banknotes of Weimar 　Overview: the world
1914–1920　The Banque de France, the convertibility window 　France
1914–1918　London, the Treasury 　Britain
1914　The counter of the Reichsbank 　Germany
1914–1918　The war-bond subscription counter 　Germany
1914–1918　Germany under controls 　Germany
1914　A bank counter in Amsterdam 　Netherlands
August 1914　Saint Petersburg 　Russia
1914　The city 　Russia
1914　Vienna 　Austria
1914–18　At the bank counter 　Austria
1914　The boardroom of the Imperial Ottoman Bank 　Turkey
1914–15　Telegraph Room of the Grand Vizier's Office 　Turkey
1915–1918　The Banque de France, the teller's window 　France
1915–18　Behind the front lines 　Italy
From 1915　In circulation 　Russia
July 1915–　Treasury issuing office 　Turkey
1915–18　Vaults in Berlin and Vienna 　Turkey
1916　Carranza Government 　Mexico
1916　Constitutional Congress of Querétaro 　Mexico
1916–1920　Throughout Mexico 　Mexico
1916–1920　Monetary Commission 　Mexico
1917　Petrograd 　Russia
October 1917　Petrograd 　Russia
1918　Berlin, a city of defeat 　Germany
1918–1951　Hyderabad 　India
1918–　Petrograd 　Russia
1918　Successor states 　Austria
1918–19　Austro-Hungarian Bank 　Austria
January 1919　Belgrade 　Austria
February 1919　Czechoslovakia 　Austria
March 1919　Vienna 　Austria
1920–21　Vienna 　Austria
1922　Markets across Germany 　Germany
1922　A bakery storefront 　Austria
February 1922　A room after a cabinet meeting 　Greece
March 1922　The Parliament Chamber 　Greece
1922　The exchange window 　Greece
1923　Berlin, the banknote printing works 　Germany
November 1923　Berlin, the exchange counter 　Germany
the autumn of 1923　A street corner, the way to the shops 　Germany
the autumn of 1923　Inside a house, a child's play corner 　Germany
1923　The print works, the digits multiplying 　Germany
October 29, 1923　The parliamentary chamber in Ankara 　Turkey
1925　Whitehall, the Treasury 　Britain
1925　A printing works in London 　Portugal
1925　An inspection table in Lisbon 　Portugal
1925–1932　The Market 　Mexico
1926　Athens under dictatorship 　Greece
December 5, 1927　At the bank counter 　Turkey
1927　De La Rue's printing works 　Turkey
1927　Obverse of the note 　Turkey
September 1927　Geneva 　Greece
1 November 1928　Blackboards Across the Nation 　Turkey
the 1930s　Fort Knox 　United States
1932　The pages of the Official Gazette 　Greece
AD 1933　The United States 　Overview: the world
1933–1945　A town under controls, the frozen price tags 　Germany
November 1935　A counter collecting silver 　China
1936–1939　The Banque de France 　France
1936　The peninsula torn in two 　Spain
1937　A town on the republican side 　Spain
1937–44　At the bank counter 　Turkey
1937　Printing works receiving area 　Turkey
1939　The peninsula after the war 　Spain
1940s　A market stall 　Turkey
May 1941　The Bank of Greece printing works 　Greece
July 1943　The beach at Gela 　Italy
1943–45　A market in the occupied zone 　Italy
1943–1944　Black market for currency exchange 　Greece
October 1944　Price tag at the market 　Greece
November 1944　Printing Bureau 　Greece
November 1944　Athens after the Liberation 　Greece
1945　A city reduced to rubble 　Germany
1945–1948　A shopping street after the defeat 　Germany
September 1945　A liberated town, the ration counter 　Netherlands
1945　A bank counter, the autumn of declarations 　Netherlands
1945　Post-war Vienna 　Austria
1945　Counters in Occupied Territory 　Austria
1946　the bank window 　Japan
December 1947　Various locations 　Russia
1948–1949　A road for carrying bundles of notes 　China
1948–1955　The first notes off the press 　China
the earlier 20th century　A bank in Luanda 　Portugal
July 22, 1950　Provisional Capital 　South Korea
From August 28, 1950　Exchange Office 　South Korea
1950–1953　The Path of Refuge 　South Korea
1950s–1970s　The Mint 　South Korea
1953–1962　City of Reconstruction 　South Korea
1954–1976　Mexico 　Mexico
1955　A printing press in Ankara 　Turkey
the 1957s–the 1980s　A street corner in West Germany 　Germany
1958　a Showa living room 　Japan
1960s–1980s　Moscow 　Russia
January 1961　Moscow 　Russia
1961–1991　Various locations 　Russia
1965–1971　The port of Le Havre 　France
1970s–　Banknote face arrangement 　South Korea
1975–78　A bank counter 　Italy
1980s–90s　Price tags in the market 　Turkey
1982　the office district at night 　Japan
1983–2021　Inside a British purse 　Britain
January 23–25, 1991　Various locations 　Russia
1993　Moscow 　Russia
2000　inside the vending machine 　Japan
2000–01　Design room for the new banknotes 　Turkey
2001　At the bank counter 　Turkey
2001　A bakery's cash register 　Turkey
January 2002　A Dutch town, a morning in January 　Netherlands
2002　The mint of Lisbon 　Portugal
2002　A shop's cash register 　Greece
2004 & 2012　At the Bank of Greece counter 　Greece
2005　A shop's cash register 　Turkey
2005–15　Branch of the central bank 　Turkey
2005　A town bakery 　Turkey
2006–2007　The Mint 　South Korea
June 23, 2009　In circulation 　South Korea
2009–present　Inside the same wallet 　South Korea
2022　Moscow 　Russia
2024　a Japanese living room 　Japan
the present day　Fiat Money 　Overview: the world
the present　A place with nothing to show 　China
Present　Central Bank Digital Currency 　India
Present　National Bank 　Austria

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