Highest-valued currency unit
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[clarification needed] 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 280 times[1] that of the yen.
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[edit] List of highest-valued currency units
As of January 15, 2012, the 13 highest-valued currencies are:[2][3]
| No. | State/Organization | Currency | Code | United States dollars USD−1 |
Euro EUR−1 |
Kuwaiti dinars KWD−1 |
Highest valued coin |
Highest valued banknote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Kuwait |
dinar | KWD | 3.58038 0.279300 |
2.82298 0.354236 |
1 | .1 (36c) | 20 ($71.60) |
| 2. |  Bahrain |
dinar | BHD | 2.65234 0.377025 |
2.09126 0.478181 |
0.740800 1.34989 |
.5 ($1.33) | 20 ($53) |
| 3. |  Oman |
rial | OMR | 2.59723 0.385025 [nb 1] |
0.385025 0.488327 |
0.725407 1.37854 |
.05 (13c) | 50 ($129.90) |
| 4. |  Latvia |
lats [nb 2] | LVL | 1.88929 0.529300 |
1.42798 0.700292 [nb 1] |
0.505841 1.97691 |
2 ($3.78) | 500 ($945) |
| 5. |  United Kingdom |
pound [nb 3] | GBP | 1.53220 0.652656 |
1.20807 0.827764 |
2.33676 2.32335 |
5 (commem.) ($7.66) 2 (common) ($3.06) |
100 (Sco & NI) ($153) 50 (Eng & Wal) ($76) |
 Falkland Islands |
pound [nb 1] | FKP | 2 | 50 | ||||
 Gibraltar |
pound [nb 1] | GIP | 2 | 50 | ||||
 Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha |
pound [nb 1] | SHP | 2 | 20 | ||||
| IMF | Special Drawing Rights |
XDR | 1.52850 0.654238 |
1.20515 0.829770 |
0.426909 2.34242 |
|||
| 6. |  Jordan |
dinar | JOD | 1.40944 0.709500 [nb 1] |
1.11129 0.899859 |
0.393658 2.54028 |
1 ($1.40) | 50 ($70.50) |
| 7. |  Azerbaijan |
manat | AZN | 1.27243 0.785900 |
1.00325 0.996757 |
0.355389 2.81382 |
.50 (64c) | 100 ($127) |
| 8. |  European Union (Eurozone) |
euro | EUR | 1.26830 0.788457 |
1 | 0.354236 2.82298 |
2 ($2.5) | 500 ($634) |
| 9. |  Cayman Islands |
dollar | KYD | 1.20368 0.830789 [nb 1] |
0.949047 1.05369 |
0.336187 2.97454 |
.25 (28c) | 100 ($120) |
| 10. |  Switzerland |
franc | CHF | 1.05031 0.952100 |
0.828124 1.20755 |
0.298500 3.40888 |
250 ($260) (commem.) 5 ($5.25) |
1000 ($1050) |
| 11. |  Australia |
dollar | AUD | 1.03050 0.970403 |
0.812505 1.23076 |
0.287819 3.47441 |
200 (commem.)($206) 2($2.06) |
100 ($103) |
| 12. |  United States |
dollar | USD | 1 | 0.788457 1.26830 |
0.279300 3.58038 |
1 (common) .25 (more common) |
100 |
 Bahamas |
dollar | BSD | 1 [nb 1] | 1 (rare) .25 (common) |
100 | |||
 Bermuda |
dollar | BMD | 1 | 100 | ||||
 Panama |
balboa | PAB | .50 | - | ||||
 Cuba |
convertible peso | CUC[nb 4] | 1 [nb 5] | 5 (rare) 1 (common) |
100 | |||
| 13. |  Canada |
dollar | CAD | 0.977899 1.02260 |
0.771032 1.29696 |
0.272594 3.66846 |
2 ($1.95) | 100 ($97.70) 1000 (Discontinued in 2000) ($977) |
[edit] See also
- Currency Converter
- Least valued currency unit
- Denomination (currency)
- List of countries by foreign exchange reserves
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Currency peg.
- ^ Scheduled to join the euro.
- ^ The highest-valued currency unit of any OECD member-state.
- ^ Not an ISO 4217 currency code.
- ^ A 10% tax applies on all conversions to and from the US dollar.
[edit] References
- ^ As of September 2011. Value taken from www.xe.com.
- ^ Floating exchange rate data taken from www.xe.com on January 15, 2012, between 02:47 and 03:28 UTC.
- ^ http://xe.com/
