Fractured Currencies Trivia Quiz

Answer: yen

The yen appeared in 1871, when all of Japan's feudal fiefs decided to stop issuing their own separate currencies. The first yens were coins, so the word itself has the literal meaning, "round object." Despite some bumps in the road, the yen now ranks up there with the US dollar, Euro and Pound Sterling in global trust and trading.

Answer: new shekel

Things weren't going too well for the shekel in the 1980s. When the Bank of Israel figured out how to manage things better, it asked for a reset in 1986, substituting one new shekel for 1,000 old shekels. The new shekel has been keeping its value so far, with no more nasty hyperinflation.

Answer: afghani

The afghani has had problems keeping people's trust in a war-torn country, but it's doing surprisingly well, regulated by Da Afghanistan Bank.

Answer: manat

"Manat" comes from the Russian "moneta," which comes from the Latin word meaning money, because the Romans coined money in the temple of the goddess Juno Monita. Several new versions of the manat have been tried in the 20-21st centuries in Azerbaijan, whenever it needs to be restarted due to instability, which is not surprising considering what the former Soviet states have been through.

Answer: dollar

The Fijian dollar was introduced in 1969, with paper money starting at 50 cents. In 1975, the 50 cent note was replaced by a coin, and in 1995, the one dollar note became a coin also. Higher notes of $50 and $100 were added in 1996 and 2007. The notes, once literally paper money, are being gradually switched to longer lasting polymer.

Answer: boliviano

The Bolivian boliviano was the currency for a century, from 1864 to 1963. Due to its loss of value from inflation, the boliviano was replaced by the peso, along with monetary reform expected to keep inflation under control. Ironically, the Bolivian peso suffered from out-of-control inflation itself, one U.S. dollar worth two million Bolivian pesos at the worst. Something needed done again, so the boliviano was reintroduced in 1987 at a rate of one boliviano equaling one million pesos, which also equaled about a dollar after inflation had eased.

The country has had difficulties with finding diversified and stable exports, keeping out corruption, and improving life expectancy and health, as it fights inflation, but credit rating companies upgraded the country's rating in 2010, an unexpected bright spot.

Answer: dollar

The Australian dollar is about half a century old, but almost wasn't chosen at all. When decimal currency would replace pounds and shillings in 1966, the Australian pound was going to be named the "royal," but citizens disliked that name so much, it was replaced by the "dollar." The Aussie dollar, as it's called by traders, is popular on the international currency market, being the fifth most traded currency in 2016.

The actual dollars themselves are unusual, made of polymer and featuring poets, philanthopists, inventors, singers and other noted citizens.

Answer: ringgit

"Ringgit" used to mean "jagged" and referred to the edges of Spanish silver dollars, which used to circulate in the area. It became the name of Malaysia's official currency, but things didn't go so well during a crisis in the 1990s, and the ringgit continues not to be the strongest currency.

Answer: riyal

"Riyal" supposedly comes from the Spanish "real." It's even older than Saudi Arabia, which was just founded in 1932, and was the currrency of the Hejaz, a strip of land along the Red Sea containing Mecca and Medina. It was a currency used by many pilgrims who came to the area, but it has had many changes in value over the years, after becoming Saudi Arabia's official currency.

Answer: leone

The leone was introduced in 1964. An economic collapse and eleven years of civil war (1991-2002) created havoc with the currency. Originally circulating in banknotes denominated 1, 2 and 5 leones, the most common bills in the early 21st Century were denominated 5,000 and 10,000 leones.