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There’s more to money than just the dollar. Most people have no idea just how many different currencies there are in the world, where they’re used, and what they’re called. We often forget how much of an incredible convenience it is to have a stable, reliable currency that is accepted everywhere we usually want to shop. But what else is out there?

We found some of the least-known currencies, according to Americans, and where they are used.

#1 Which Countries Use The Lira?

Answer: Turkey, Northern Cyprus

The lira is also one of two currencies used by the interim government of northern Syria. It has its roots in the ancient Roman libra and was preceded by the kurus.

#2 Which Countries Use The Algerian Dinar?

Answer: Algeria, Sahrawi Republic

The Algerian dinar can be divided into centimes, but they are completely obsolete today because of the extremely low value of the dinar itself. The name comes from the Roman denarius.

#3 Which Countries Use The Ouguiya?

Answer: Mauritania, Sahrawi Republic

This is one of the newest currencies in the world, being introduced in 2018. The ouguiya can be divided into five khoums.

#4 Which Countries Use The Dirham?

Answer: Morocco, UAE, Armenia

The dirham, dirhem, and drahm are all different names for the same variations of currency and has historically been a silver coin. It is also a unit of measurement in the ancient world.

#5 Which Countries Use The New Shekel?

Answer: Israel, Palestine

The new shekel was introduced in 1986 when it replaced the old shekel that had become incredibly inflated.

#6 Which Countries Use The Jordanian Dinar?

Answer: Jordan, Palestine

The dinar, and variations of the name, is used in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Tunisia, but the Jordanian dinar is only used in Jordan and Palestine.

#7 Which Countries Use The Rupee?

Answer: India, Bhutan, Nepal

The rupee is a name for several different currencies, the most popular being the Indian rupee. The name means a “coin of silver”.

#8 Which Countries Use The Antillean Guilder?

Answer: Curaçao, Sint Maarten

The currency is named after the Netherlands Antilles before it was dissolved, but remains in use with proposals pending for its replacement.

#9 Which Countries Use The Rouble?

Answer: Russia, Abkhazia, Belarus, South Ossetia

The name rouble refers to a cut piece of a silver coin and has been used since imperial times in Russia.  

#10 Which Countries Use The Rand?

Answer: South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia

The rand is widely used as the substitute for the national currencies of the countries near (or in the case of Lesotho, within) South Africa.

#11 Which Countries Use The Florin?

Answer: Aruba

This currency is also known as the Aruban guilder and replaced the Antillean guilder in 1986. The original florin currency was the money used in Florence.

#12 Which Countries Use The Renminbi?

Answer: China

The renminbi is the proper name for the Chinese yuan, the official money of China. It is the fifth-most popular currency in the world.

#13 Which Countries Use The Taka?

Answer: Bangladesh

The word taka means silver coin in Sanskrit. It was introduced in 1972 to replace the Pakistani rupee.

#14 Which Countries Use The Krone?

Answer: Denmark, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Norway

Krone means crown in English, so the krone is often referred to as the Danish crown or Norwegian crown. The use of krones in Denmark dates back to 1513.

#15 Which Countries Use The Tugrik?

Answer: Mongolia

Properly named the tögrög, the tugrik name means “circle” and was introduced in 1925 to replace the Mongolian dollar. It is only used in Mongolia.

#16 Which Countries Use The Pula?

Answer: Botswana

The name pula means “rain” in Setswawna because rain is so rare and valuable, and the subdivision of the currency, thebe, means “shield”. All the names for the currency were decided by the people of Botswana.

#17 Which Countries Use The Apsar?

Answer: Abkhazia

This is a legal currency in Abkhazia, but they are mostly made as collectibles and seldom used in everyday trade. People prefer to use the Russian ruble.

#18 Which Countries Use The Lek?

Answer: Albania

The lek was introduced in 1926, with no preceding currency. Before the lek, Albanians used the gold standard to determine the value of trades in commerce with different currencies.

#19 Which Countries Use The Kwanza?

Answer: Angola

There have been four difference currencies with the name Kwanza since its introduction in 1977. It is named after the Kwanza River.

#20 Which Countries Use The Dram?

Answer: Armenia

The name dram means “money” and comes from the Greek drachma and the Arabic money, dirham. The first series of the dram was introduced in 1994 after the fall of the Soviet Union.

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