Highest valued currency unit

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The highest valued currency unit is the currency in which a single unit buys the highest number of any given other currency or the largest amount of a given good. Most commonly the calculation is made against a major reserve currency such as the euro (EUR), the pound sterling (GBP) or the United States dollar (USD).

A high-valued currency is distinct from a hard currency, which is a currency with a good buying power and which is widely accepted as a reliable store of value. For example, a Kuwaiti dinar is not of very much use outside Kuwait, and is bound to the economy of that country. It is in fact pegged to a basket of hard currencies. In contrast, the Japanese yen is considered a hard currency even though the nominal rate of the dinar is more than 300 times[1] that of the yen.

[edit] List of highest valued currency units

As of September 12, 2009, the 15 highest valued currencies are:[2][3]

No. State Currency Code United States dollars
USD−1
Euro
EUR−1
Kuwaiti dinars
KWD−1
Highest
valued
coin
Highest
valued
banknote
1.  Kuwait Dinar KWD 3.49223
0.286350
2.39291
0.417901
1 .100 20
2.  Bahrain dinar BHD 2.65252
0.377000
1.81753
0.550196
0.759549
1.31657
.500 20
3.  Oman rial OMR 2.60078
0.384500
1.78208
0.561142
0.744733
1.34276
.500 50
4.  Latvia lats [4] LVL 2.07655
0.481569
1.42287
0.702804 [5]
0.594619
1.68175
2 500
5.  United Kingdom pound [6] GBP 1.66961
0.598943
1.14403
0.874100
0.478095
2.09163
5 (commem.)
2 (common)
50 (Eng & Wal)
100 (Sco & NI)
 Falkland Islands pound [5] FKP 2 50
 Gibraltar pound [5] GIP 2 50
 Saint Helena pound [5] SHP 2 20
IMF Special
Drawing
Rights
XDR 1.48271
0.67444
1.14041
0.87687
0.43334
2.30767
6.  European Union (Eurozone) euro EUR 1.45941
0.685210
1 0.417901
2.39291
2 500
7.  Jordan dinar JOD 1.41243
0.708000
0.967811
1.03326
0.404449
2.47250
1 50
8.  Azerbaijan manat AZN 1.24486
0.803300
0.852994
1.17234
0.356467
2.80531
.50 100
9.  Cayman Islands dollar KYD 1.23457
0.810000
0.845939
1.18212
0.353519
2.82871
.25 100
10.  Cuba convertible peso CUC[7] 1.08003
0.925900
0.740048
1.35126
0.309267
3.23346
5 (rare)
1 (common)
100
11.  United States dollar USD 1 0.685210
1.45941
0.286350
3.49223
1 (uncommon)
.25 (common)
100
 Bahamas dollar BSD 1 [5] 1 (rare)
.25 (common)
100
 Bermuda dollar BMD 1 100
 Panama balboa PAB .50 -
12.  Switzerland franc CHF 0.963577
1.03780
0.660253
1.51457
0.275920
3.62424
5 1000
13.  Canada dollar CAD 0.928936
1.07650
0.636517
1.57105
0.266001
3.75939
2 100
14.  Australia dollar AUD 0.864903
1.15620
0.592641
1.68736
0.247665
4.03771
200 (commem.)
2
100
15.  Libya dinar LYD 0.819724
1.21992
0.561683
1.78036
0.234728
4.26025
.500 50
  1. ^ 21 August 2008, from Yahoo Finance.
  2. ^ Floating exchange rate data taken from www.xe.com on September 12, 2009.
  3. ^ Cypriot pound and Maltese lira were on the list in December 2007. They were replaced by the euro on 1 January 2008.
  4. ^ Scheduled to join the euro.
  5. ^ a b c d e Currency peg.
  6. ^ The highest-valued currency unit of any OECD member-state.
  7. ^ Not an ISO 4217 currency code.

[edit] Mathematical details

  • Bold values are defined pegged rate by various authorities
  • Exchange rate data was obtained from xe.com

[edit] See also