UnitConversion.org is quite the resource to easily convert between different units of measurement. It has over 2100 units in 78 categories, which range from those that are common, such as, length, weight, volume, currency, velocity, and pressure, to more specialized categories like magnetic flux density, electrostatic capacitance, and surface tension.
posted by netbros on Jun 11, 2009 - 27 comments

The exceptionally informative and well illustrated Galerie Ezakwantu has great pages on African tribal art, culture and history [due to partial nudity many links NSFW]: African Lip Plugs - Lip Plates; African Currency - African Slave Beads; Jewelry; African Scarification; Thrones and Stools; Shields; Combs; Musical Instruments; Fertility Dolls; Weapons; Zulu Basketry; Contemporary Art; Cups; Tribal Currency; Zulu Ricksha attire; Southern Africa Tribal Migrations; South African Kings and Chiefs. Also some interesting pages on anger about Robert Mugabe; the sale of the gallery owner's property; Cape Dutch Homesteads and blueberry recipes. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye on May 17, 2009 - 8 comments

China proposes replacing the dollar as the world's standard currency. [more inside]
posted by ornate insect on Mar 23, 2009 - 63 comments

As the national debt is monetized we may revive that phrase "you needed a wheelbarrow of cash to buy a loaf of bread." Notgeld, German for "Emergency Money" or "necessity money." 896 beautiful examples.
posted by wallstreet1929 on Feb 15, 2009 - 22 comments

Hard up for cash? Roll your own :P [more inside]
posted by kliuless on Feb 8, 2009 - 36 comments

The FT's Davos blog offers a range of informed comment as our leaders gather in Switzerland to consider the economic mess we're in. But will the ongoing spat between the US and China over the renminbi exchange rate overshadow all else at the World Economic Forum?
posted by Abiezer on Jan 28, 2009 - 17 comments

People with a keen strategic sense maintain a well-diversified hoard of coins and painstakingly build alliances with local shopkeepers or bank tellers, conspicuously proffering coins for one purchase or deposit in the hopes of being indulged when they're short of change at some point in the future. Argentina's coinage problem. [more inside]
posted by cortex on Dec 3, 2008 - 19 comments

Gold Standard, Way before then, Then, Now, and... [more inside]
posted by Rafaelloello on Nov 16, 2008 - 50 comments

Stemming from a lawsuit that has gone on for several years, a recent Court of Appeals ruled that the U.S. government must make bills with distinguishable tactile features to benefit the blind. While the U.S. government disagrees, the judges say: "The government might as well argue that, since handicapped people can crawl on all fours or ask for help from strangers, there's no need to make buildings wheelchair accessible." Not all blind people agree with the decision. [more inside]
posted by jabberjaw on May 20, 2008 - 74 comments

Inflation in Zimbabwe recently reached 160,000%. Get in on the ground floor now by purchasing a $50,000,000 bill (currently selling for 20,000x its value). Dare to become a millionaire!
posted by splatta on Apr 7, 2008 - 93 comments

The problem with pennies.
posted by veedubya on Apr 4, 2008 - 98 comments

The Royal Mint revealed their newly designed currency today. Looks pretty sharp. [more inside]
posted by zeoslap on Apr 2, 2008 - 95 comments

Secret Service and FBI raid Liberty Mint, arguments of counterfeiting versus constitutional right to commerce ensue! I caught this on NPR this morning. It seems the US Mint doesn't like alternative currencies circulating within the US. The organization in question wants to abolish the Federal Reserve and the US mint and claims that both are the cause for the excessive inflation. [more inside]
posted by Sam.Burdick on Nov 20, 2007 - 97 comments

On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.5%. Wall Street aggressively demanded the cut to stop the sub-prime mortgage contagion from triggering a credit crisis among large US and foreign investment banks and the collapse of their over-leveraged hedge funds, which ultimately threatened to drag the US economy into recession. The market rallied this week in response to the Fed's move. But there is no free lunch. [more inside]
posted by Pastabagel on Sep 20, 2007 - 99 comments

Australian art student Nicholas Manion has hit upon a clever idea: delicately cut paper currency forming the skyline of major cities. Via.
posted by jonson on Aug 3, 2007 - 10 comments

Online coin generator. Sure, it's in German, but you can figure it out.
posted by mr_crash_davis on Aug 1, 2007 - 29 comments

Banknote art by Justine Smith. Alternating currency: by Marshall Weber, portraits in money by Mark Wagner, a Ganesh out of Rupee notes by CK Wilde (a spectacular previously). Beautiful banknotes at the World Paper Money Image Gallery. Unusual coins. Unique banknotes, like the 100 Million Dinara note from Croatia. U.S. currency and the pictures behind the portraits. Mildenberg's Dream Collection of Greek Coins at the Money Museum.
posted by nickyskye on Jul 11, 2007 - 19 comments

"I'm all outta dollars, you got any Berkshares?" Several Great Barrington, Massachusetts businesses have developed a local currency to promote local business.
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Jun 21, 2007 - 34 comments

Proof that artistic inspiration can come from any walk of life, Anthony White has turned his former life as a stockbroker into inspiration for a series of Stock Code paintings. Also available - paintings depicting different values of British, American, Australian, and Euro currency.[via ArtNews Blog]
posted by grapefruitmoon on May 19, 2007 - 29 comments

Updatefilter: Apparently a poppy was the cause of espionage accusations. As reported here on the blue, some US contractors were apparently freaked out by a novel Canadian coin which featured a red poppy. The coin was issued by the Royal Canadian Mint, an organization that makes Canadian cash as well as currencies for other countries. The Mint, which is definitely worth a tour if you're in Ottawa, won an award for the coin. The coin was issued to honour Canadian war dead; the poppy is the symbol of the Royal Canadian Legion.
posted by Zinger on May 7, 2007 - 46 comments

Moneygami is origami made from U.S. currency; the subtle genius lies in the way the artist incorporates the prints on the dollar bills into the facial characteristics of the finished figures. More moneygami here. Via.
posted by jonson on May 6, 2007 - 14 comments

The Problem of the Rupee. Starting off as a silver-based unit of currency by the 15th century ruler, Sher Shah Suri, the Rupee (wiki) has had a long and chequered history encompassing most of Asian and East-African colonial history. Issued by the British, the French, the Dutch, the Japanese, the Portuguese, the Germans and even the Danish, the rupee as a brand-name existed far beyond India, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka Seychelles or the Mauritius. _{(more inside)}
posted by the cydonian on Mar 27, 2007 - 15 comments

iPod index. Not to be outdone by the Big Mac index, Australian investment bank Commonwealth Securities Ltd. has come up with a new benchmark for assessing the value of global currencies.
posted by Blue Buddha on Jan 24, 2007 - 20 comments

"There are several factors which determine the value of stone money. The first is the number of human lives that were lost on the journey to bring the stone home..." The giant stone coins of Yap were used for hundreds of years before the island experienced inflation of the most literal kind due to the entrepreneurship of a shipwrecked American fugitive. Today, the Yap islanders are trying to save their currency, as well as their caste system; while an economist at the Federal Reserve considers what Yap says about our money. [last link pdf, some html excerpts here]
posted by blahblahblah on Dec 9, 2006 - 22 comments

An online gallery of Colonial American Currency. You can browse by colony. They also have images of early lottery tickets. Plus brief and informative essays on subjects such as The Value of Money in Colonial America. You can also relive the Copper Panic of 1789-1799.
posted by marxchivist on Nov 7, 2006 - 7 comments

Art Money is an alternative, worldwide currency in the form of original works of art. The Bank of International Art Money is an independent organization directed by artists and free from any form of government financing.
posted by fandango_matt on Oct 15, 2006 - 7 comments

The Bitchun Society is now open for all of your Whuffie-market needs. Or cynical mocking, take your pick. Via (of course) BoingBoing. Can a brother get a ping? Confused?
posted by loquacious on Oct 6, 2006 - 58 comments

Pyramids with eyeballs on top notably absent. There was a time when one could ride into washington D.C. and turn paper into silver. NSFW if 19th century engravings of carelessly draped breasts might be hard to explain.
posted by longsleeves on Aug 6, 2006 - 31 comments

Ever wondered what old amounts of money would be worth today? Or what you could buy with your current salary if you went back 200, 400, or 600 years? Now you can find out with a tool that converts English currency from 1270 onwards into today's prices. Based on Treasury records, it tells you that Mr Darcy's £10,000 a year would now be worth nearly £350,000, or that your house would only have to be worth the equivalent of £500 now to qualify for the vote after 1832.
posted by greycap on Jun 28, 2006 - 22 comments

Currency Collages from CK Wilde of Artichoke Yink Press [via]
posted by peacay on Apr 20, 2006 - 27 comments

The Axis of Evil has some competition — in Ohio. The Bush Administration continues to apply pressure to North Korea about its alleged counterfeiting of $100 notes: This Korean story quotes Amb. Alexander Vershbow demanding physical proof that Pyongyang has destroyed its forging equipment. On the other hand, according to the BBC, South Korea's intelligence service doubts the North is counterfeiting, although it may have done so in the past. Meanwhile, on the homefront, a 16-year-old has been fingered as the mastermind of a bogus bill ring operating out of the boy's home in North College Hill, OH. Oddly, the Cincinnati Enquirer article announcing the bust is chock-full of juicy tips for would-be home engravers: rip off old bills rather than new, don't overlook those colored fibers, and set the wash cycle for delicates. Oh, and don't even think about using scissors: it's a sure giveaway!
posted by rob511 on Feb 19, 2006 - 17 comments

It's all about the Hamiltons. The new US $10 bill makes it's debut on March 2nd, 2006. How will it 'stack up' against other nations' works of art?
posted by afx114 on Feb 10, 2006 - 73 comments

Own 100,000,000 little pieces of Iraq. Or just one very special 500 dinar note from this guy.

*Hand on Heart* I have made many great friends (Mimi, Khalid, Naif, Colby... and about 900 others here at eBay alone) through doing this and hopefully we can realize some fruit from our collective efforts in the future :-)
posted by leapingsheep on Sep 25, 2005 - 14 comments

The history of the dollar. Ever since they started minting "tolars" in the Czech town of Jáchymov, the dollar has been one of the most important currencies in the world. It got it’s biggest boost after the Spanish started mining silver in the Andes and minting them into “Mexican Dollars”. This influx of silver dollars had effects all around the globe, including being a major factor in the fall of the Ming dynasty. Because of the economic dominance of the U.S. and because oil is traded in Petro-dollars, the dollar is still the world’s most important currency. But could an Iranian oil bourse put an end to the dollar’s dominance? Also money slang! Iran and the dollar talked about here
posted by afu on Sep 1, 2005 - 13 comments

China ends (sort of) Yuan dollar peg. The People's Bank of China announced that it has formally ended its peg of the Yuan against the US dollar. Instead, it will be fixed within a narrow band against a basket of currencies (PBC statement here). Interestingly, the PBC declined to provide details of this new scheme, including which currencies are in the new basket. A slow move away from being tied to the pathological US economy? What are the implications for the US's ability to maintain enormous trade and budget deficits? Already, this has relaxed the pressure on other Asian economies to keep their currencies low (by buying US dollars and securities). Congressmen may have been raging against "unfair Chinese trading practices", but we may yet get nostalgic for the days when the world financed the US's prolifigate ways.
posted by bumpkin on Jul 21, 2005 - 64 comments

A cool idea, and a fun allegory: Bird and butterfly collages made with old bank notes (two pages, horizontal scrolling). Click the images to view larger versions and see the notes that were used (scroll down). More here without the note source info.
posted by taz on May 10, 2005 - 4 comments

Buried Treasure Found In Backyard. (Google cache) "The men were digging holes to plant trees in a friend's back yard when Crebase hit a wooden crate buried less than a foot below the surface. Inside were seven rusted cylindrical cookie tins, including one where 'National Biscuit Company,' and the word 'Ginger,' were legible through the thick rust. They flipped one of the tops, which was fastened with two hooks, and found it 'jammed' with the money."
posted by Joey Michaels on Apr 27, 2005 - 34 comments

Paper currency gallery. From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
posted by gwint on Feb 14, 2005 - 9 comments

Euro's rise raises 'catastrophic' fears The euro rose on Thursday, topping $1.35 for the first time ever, amid speculation that the United States would not act to counter the dollar's decline. . "If we remain in a situation without any coordination, we can imagine a catastrophic situation" for the global economy, Finance Minister Hérve Gaymard of France told manufacturers during a factory visit Thursday in Strasbourg
posted by Postroad on Dec 24, 2004 - 60 comments

Will Currency Wars Effect You? Oldman gives a quick run-through of the geopolitics of America's budget deficit, with some likely scenarios for the next 2-5 years.
posted by alms on Nov 18, 2004 - 26 comments

New Nickels On The Way! My metafilter loving friend Jeff says, "Why bother." I'm excited about it though. I've got lots of change from everywhere. Am I barely qualified to do laundry around the world, or is it pretty neat that foreign money looks fake? Is Jeff right? Is small change a waste of time? Can you judge a state by its quarter?
posted by ewkpates on Mar 4, 2004 - 46 comments

Currency Den.
posted by hama7 on Feb 23, 2004 - 3 comments

Put MLK on the $20 Bill. Conservatives have clamored to put Ronald Reagan on the dime or the $10 bill. One outfit wants to name something after Reagan in each of the US's counties. Why not put one of "the greatest moral leaders of the 20th century" on one of our most commonly used pieces of currency instead? (Better to have King on the $20 than Andrew Jackson, whose unconstitutional Indian Removal policy created the "Trail of Tears.")
posted by Vidiot on Jan 19, 2004 - 59 comments

Behold the answer to the Canadian Change conspiracy.
posted by boost ventilator on Nov 22, 2003 - 23 comments

Behold the fuzzback! The new $20 bill comes out today, with its peachy background stripe. For a little perspective in how far we've come, Check out U.S. Currency from the past. The largest denomination paper U.S. currency (for bank transfers in the day before electronic money) to the a small denomination in paper (payable in gold dust). The smallest I could find is a 2-cent bill issued by a druggist.
posted by meep on Oct 9, 2003 - 22 comments

Wisconsin has picked its quarter design! Gov. Jim Doyle Tuesday overruled an advisory panel and told the U.S. Mint to put a cow, wheel of cheese and ear of corn on Wisconsin's commemorative quarter, despite fears that it won't reflect the state's cities or its rich ethnic heritage
posted by Durwood on Oct 1, 2003 - 34 comments

Check out the new $200 bill.
posted by sierray on Sep 15, 2003 - 19 comments

Have you ever seen a $100,000 bill?
From the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Historical Currency Gallery.
posted by crunchland on Sep 13, 2003 - 30 comments

Some Action for Jackson A peek at the new $20 bill that will be dropped into circulation Oct. 9.
posted by FearTormento on Sep 9, 2003 - 18 comments

Interview with Bernard Lietaer. In this engrossing interview with economist, author, professor and businessman, Bernard Lietaer, he argues that complementary currencies (time dollars, local exchanges, bartering, Ithica dollars, “fureai kippu” (caring relationship tickets)), and other non-dominant currency systems can help to enable social change in small ways. Have any of you had any experience with complementary currencies? More inside...
posted by gen on Aug 1, 2003 - 8 comments