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 April 22, 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 3.42160
0.29226
2.63170
0.37998
1 .100 20
2.  Bahrain dinar BHD 2.65245
0.37701
2.04011
0.49017
0.77521
1.28998
.500 20
3.  Oman rial OMR 2.59740
0.38500
1.99777
0.50056
0.75912
1.31732
.500 50
4.  Latvia lats [4] LVL 1.84995
0.54056
1.42287
0.702804 [5]
0.54067
1.84956
2 500
IMF Special
Drawing
Rights
XDR 1.48271
0.67444
1.14041
0.87687
0.43334
2.30767
5.  United Kingdom pound [6] GBP 1.44852
0.69036
1.11412
0.89757
0.42335
2.36214
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
6.  Jordan dinar JOD 1.41243
0.70800
1.08636
0.92051
0.41280
2.42249
1 50
7.  European Union (Eurozone) euro EUR 1.30015
0.76914
1 0.37998
2.63170
2 500
8.  Azerbaijan manat AZN 1.24456
0.80350
0.95724
1.04467
0.36374
2.74924
.50 100
9.  Cayman Islands dollar KYD 1.18500 [5]
0.84388
0.91143
1.09717
0.34633
2.88743
.25 100
10.  Cuba convertible peso CUC[7] 1.08003
0.92590
0.83070
1.20381
0.31565
3.16806
5 (rare)
1 (common)
100
11.  United States dollar USD 1 0.76914
1.30015
0.29226
3.42160
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 0.85925
1.16380
0.66089
1.51311
0.25113
3.98206
5 1000
13.  Canada dollar CAD 0.80626
1.24030
0.62013
1.61257
0.23564
4.24380
2 100
14.  Libya dinar LYD 0.76730
1.30327
0.59016
1.69445
0.22425
4.45927
.500 50
15.  Australia dollar AUD 0.70525
1.41793
0.54244
1.84353
0.20612
4.85160
200 (commem.)
2
100
  1. ^ 21 August 2008, from Yahoo Finance.
  2. ^ Floating exchange rate data taken from www.xe.com on April 22, 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 f 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

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