From dollars and dinars to yen and yuan, the world’s money tells stories about history, politics, and everyday life.
This big, friendly quiz ranges from quick symbol IDs to tricky pegs, regional quirks, and record-setting banknotes.
Start easy, then work your way up to the stumpers, perfect for quiz nights or solo study.
Why World Currencies Make Great Trivia
Money is universal, everyone uses it, yet each currency carries local flavor.
Symbols, nicknames, and designs are instantly recognizable, while exchange-rate regimes and central-bank choices reflect deeper economic strategies.
That mix of familiar and surprising makes currency trivia both approachable and rich.
You’ll meet the euro and its neighbors, island pegs in the Caribbean, the CFA franc zones in Africa, Asia’s mix of floats and links, and policy ideas that shape all of it. Ready? Let’s count it out.
Currency Basics & Symbols
Q: What does the “$” sign generally denote around the world?
A: A dollar (and, in some places, a peso).
Q: Which currency uses the “€” symbol?
A: The euro.
Q: Which currency uses “£”?
A: The pound sterling.
Q: The “¥” symbol appears in two major economies. Which ones?
A: Japan (yen) and China (yuan).
Q: Which currency uses the “₹” symbol?
A: The Indian rupee.
Q: Which Asian currency uses “₩”?
A: The South Korean won.
Q: Which Middle Eastern currency uses “₺”?
A: The Turkish lira.
Q: Which West African currency shows “₦”?
A: The Nigerian naira.
Q: Which Southeast Asian currency uses “₱”?
A: The Philippine peso.
Q: The “₫” symbol denotes which high-denomination currency?
A: The Vietnamese dong.
Q: The “₪” symbol belongs to which currency?
A: The Israeli new shekel.
Q: The “₽” symbol represents which currency?
A: The Russian ruble.
Q: What is a currency “subunit”?
A: A fractional unit (like cents) that divides the main unit.
Q: How many cents make one U.S. dollar?
A: 100 cents.
Q: Name a currency divided into thousandths rather than hundredths.
A: Kuwaiti dinar (1,000 fils).
Q: What’s the difference between “renminbi” and “yuan”?
A: Renminbi is the currency; yuan is a unit of it.
Q: What’s the difference among krone, krona, and koruna?
A: Same meaning (“crown”) in Norwegian/Danish, Swedish, and Czech.
Q: Which country’s official currency name is “pound sterling”?
A: The United Kingdom.
Q: What do terms like “centavos,” “sen,” and “pence” have in common?
A: They’re subunit names in different currencies.
Q: What is “legal tender”?
A: Money that law recognizes for settling debts.
Q: What is “fiat money”?
A: Currency backed by government decree, not a commodity.
ISO 4217 Codes & Abbreviations
Q: What is ISO 4217?
A: The international standard for currency codes.
Q: How are most ISO codes formed?
A: Two letters from the country + one from the currency name.
Q: What does USD stand for?
A: United States dollar.
Q: What does EUR stand for?
A: Euro.
Q: What does GBP stand for?
A: Pound sterling.
Q: What does JPY stand for?
A: Japanese yen.
Q: What does CNY stand for?
A: Chinese yuan (renminbi).
Q: What does CHF stand for?
A: Swiss franc.
Q: What does CAD stand for?
A: Canadian dollar.
Q: What does AUD stand for?
A: Australian dollar.
Q: What does NZD stand for?
A: New Zealand dollar.
Q: What does BRL stand for?
A: Brazilian real.
Q: What does ZAR stand for?
A: South African rand.
Q: What does INR stand for?
A: Indian rupee.
Q: What does MXN stand for?
A: Mexican peso.
Q: What does TRY stand for?
A: Turkish lira.
Q: What does SAR stand for?
A: Saudi riyal.
Q: What does AED stand for?
A: United Arab Emirates dirham.
Q: What does XDR denote?
A: IMF Special Drawing Right.
Q: What does XAU denote in ISO 4217?
A: Gold (one troy ounce).
Q: Which code is widely used for Bitcoin though not an official ISO currency?
A: XBT (BTC is used informally).
Europe & the Euro
Q: As of 2025, how many EU member states use the euro?
A: Twenty.
Q: Which country most recently adopted the euro?
A: Croatia (in 2023).
Q: Which EU country has a formal opt-out from adopting the euro?
A: Denmark.
Q: Which EU country still uses the krona without a formal opt-out?
A: Sweden (krona, SEK).
Q: What mechanism keeps Denmark’s krone close to the euro?
A: ERM II (exchange-rate mechanism).
Q: Which microstates use the euro via formal agreements?
A: Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City.
Q: Which two Balkan economies use the euro unilaterally?
A: Montenegro and Kosovo.
Q: Which country shares the Swiss franc with Switzerland?
A: Liechtenstein.
Q: Which currency in the Western Balkans is pegged to the euro via currency board?
A: Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark (BAM).
Q: Which EU member pegs its lev to the euro under a currency board?
A: Bulgaria (BGN).
Q: Which Central European country uses the zloty?
A: Poland (PLN).
Q: Which country uses the koruna (CZK)?
A: Czechia (Czech Republic).
Q: Which country uses the forint?
A: Hungary (HUF).
Q: Name an EU member that uses the leu.
A: Romania (RON).
Q: Which Nordic countries outside the EU keep their own currencies?
A: Norway (NOK) and Iceland (ISK).
Q: What high-denomination euro banknote remains legal tender though no longer issued?
A: The €500 note.
Q: Who sets euro-area monetary policy?
A: The European Central Bank (ECB).
Q: What’s the ECB plus national euro-area central banks collectively called?
A: The Eurosystem.
Q: Name a territory that issues its own pound at par with GBP.
A: Gibraltar (also Falkland Islands, St Helena).
Q: Which Caucasus country’s currency is the lari?
A: Georgia (GEL).
Q: Which Balkan country uses the denar?
A: North Macedonia (MKD).
Africa & the Middle East
Q: What currency does South Africa use?
A: The rand (ZAR).
Q: Name an East African country whose unit is the shilling.
A: Kenya (also Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia).
Q: What do XOF and XAF denote?
A: West and Central African CFA francs.
Q: Are XOF and XAF interchangeable between zones?
A: No, they’re separate, non-interchangeable.
Q: To what are XOF and XAF pegged?
A: The euro.
Q: What is Nigeria’s currency and symbol?
A: The naira, ₦.
Q: What is Ghana’s currency?
A: The cedi (GHS).
Q: What is Ethiopia’s currency?
A: The birr (ETB).
Q: What is Egypt’s currency?
A: The Egyptian pound (EGP).
Q: What is Morocco’s currency?
A: The dirham (MAD).
Q: What is Tunisia’s currency?
A: The dinar (TND).
Q: Which currency is often the highest valued versus the U.S. dollar?
A: The Kuwaiti dinar (KWD).
Q: What is Saudi Arabia’s currency and long-standing peg?
A: The riyal, about 3.75 per USD.
Q: What is the ISO code for the UAE dirham?
A: AED.
Q: What currency does Israel use?
A: The new shekel (ILS).
Q: Oman’s rial is divided into what subunits?
A: 1,000 baisa.
Q: Jordan’s dinar is pegged to which currency?
A: The U.S. dollar.
Q: What is Algeria’s currency?
A: The Algerian dinar (DZD).
Q: Which Southern African states peg 1:1 to the rand?
A: Lesotho, Eswatini, and Namibia.
Q: What new step did Zimbabwe take in 2024 to stabilize prices?
A: Introduced a gold-linked unit alongside other monies.
Q: Which Indian Ocean nation uses the rupee code SCR?
A: Seychelles.
Asia & Oceania
Q: What is Japan’s currency?
A: The yen (JPY).
Q: Does the yen have fractional units in daily use?
A: No; prices are rounded to whole yen.
Q: What is the name of China’s currency?
A: The renminbi (yuan).
Q: What ticker denotes offshore yuan trading?
A: CNH.
Q: What is Hong Kong’s currency and regime?
A: The HKD, pegged to the USD within a band.
Q: What is Taiwan’s currency?
A: The New Taiwan dollar (TWD).
Q: What is South Korea’s currency?
A: The won (KRW).
Q: What is Singapore’s currency?
A: The Singapore dollar (SGD).
Q: Which currency is interchangeable 1:1 with the Singapore dollar?
A: The Brunei dollar (BND).
Q: What is Malaysia’s currency?
A: The ringgit (MYR).
Q: What is Indonesia’s currency?
A: The rupiah (IDR).
Q: What is the Philippines’ currency?
A: The Philippine peso (PHP).
Q: What is Thailand’s currency?
A: The baht (THB).
Q: How is Cambodia’s currency situation often described?
A: The riel circulates alongside heavy U.S. dollar use.
Q: What is Laos’s currency?
A: The kip (LAK).
Q: What is Vietnam’s currency?
A: The dong (VND).
Q: What are India’s currency symbol and code?
A: ₹ and INR.
Q: Bhutan’s ngultrum has what notable feature?
A: It’s pegged 1:1 to the Indian rupee.
Q: Nepal’s rupee has what policy toward the INR?
A: It’s pegged (commonly 1 INR = 1.6 NPR).
Q: Which country pioneered modern polymer banknotes?
A: Australia.
Q: Which French-linked currency serves New Caledonia and French Polynesia?
A: The CFP franc (XPF).
The Americas & the Caribbean
Q: What is the world’s most used reserve currency?
A: The U.S. dollar.
Q: What’s Canada’s $1 coin nickname?
A: The loonie.
Q: And the $2 coin?
A: The toonie.
Q: Mexico also uses the “$” sign. What’s its code?
A: MXN.
Q: What is Brazil’s currency and symbol?
A: The real, R$.
Q: Which Latin American countries officially use the U.S. dollar?
A: Ecuador and El Salvador (Panama uses USD alongside the balboa).
Q: What is Panama’s currency arrangement?
A: Balboa coins plus widespread U.S. dollar use.
Q: Which states share the Eastern Caribbean dollar (XCD)?
A: Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, plus Anguilla and Montserrat.
Q: What’s the XCD peg to the dollar?
A: 2.70 XCD = 1 USD.
Q: Which island pegs 2:1 to the dollar with the BBD?
A: Barbados.
Q: Which dollar is worth 1.20 U.S. dollars by peg?
A: The Cayman Islands dollar (KYD).
Q: Which two dollars are kept at 1:1 with USD?
A: Bermudian (BMD) and Bahamian (BSD).
Q: What is Belize’s peg?
A: BZD at 2:1 to USD.
Q: What is Haiti’s currency?
A: The gourde (HTG).
Q: What is the Dominican Republic’s currency?
A: The Dominican peso (DOP).
Q: What is Cuba’s currency today?
A: The Cuban peso (CUP).
Q: What is Argentina’s currency?
A: The Argentine peso (ARS).
Q: What is Colombia’s currency?
A: The Colombian peso (COP).
Q: What is Chile’s currency?
A: The Chilean peso (CLP).
Q: What is Peru’s currency?
A: The sol (PEN).
Q: Which South American country uses the guaraní?
A: Paraguay (PYG).
Central Banks & Monetary Policy
Q: What’s a central bank’s core mission?
A: Manage money and promote price/financial stability.
Q: What is the U.S. central bank called?
A: The Federal Reserve (the Fed).
Q: What is the euro-area central bank called?
A: The European Central Bank (ECB).
Q: What is Japan’s central bank called?
A: The Bank of Japan (BOJ).
Q: What is the UK’s central bank called?
A: The Bank of England (BoE).
Q: What is China’s central bank called?
A: The People’s Bank of China (PBOC).
Q: What inflation target do many banks use?
A: Around 2% per year.
Q: What’s a policy (base) rate?
A: The main interest rate guiding borrowing costs.
Q: What are open-market operations?
A: Buying/selling securities to adjust liquidity.
Q: What is quantitative easing (QE)?
A: Large-scale asset purchases to lower yields.
Q: What is a currency peg?
A: A fixed exchange rate to another currency.
Q: What is a currency board?
A: A rigid peg backed by reserves and legal rules.
Q: What is “dollarization”?
A: Using the U.S. dollar as legal tender.
Q: What is the IMF’s SDR (XDR)?
A: A reserve asset based on a currency basket.
Q: Name two currencies in the SDR basket.
A: U.S. dollar and euro (also CNY, JPY, GBP).
Q: What is a CBDC?
A: A central bank digital currency for public use.
Q: Name a live CBDC in circulation.
A: The Bahamas “Sand Dollar.”
Q: What is negative interest rate policy?
A: Setting policy rates below zero.
Q: What are capital controls?
A: Limits on cross-border money flows.
Q: What is hyperinflation?
A: Extremely rapid price rise (often >50% monthly).
Q: What event in 1971 ended dollar-gold convertibility?
A: The “Nixon shock.”
Money History, Oddities & Records
Q: What currency is often said to be the world’s oldest still in use?
A: The British pound.
Q: What was the “piece of eight”?
A: A Spanish 8-real silver coin used globally.
Q: A common theory says the “$” sign came from what letters?
A: A stylized “PS” for peso.
Q: Where did the slang “buck” for the dollar originate?
A: From buckskins used in trade.
Q: What are Yap “rai stones”?
A: Giant carved stones used as money.
Q: What were tally sticks?
A: Notched wooden debt records in medieval England.
Q: What 1834 disaster is linked to burning tally sticks?
A: The fire that destroyed the old Houses of Parliament.
Q: What is wampum?
A: Shell beads used as money by some Native peoples.
Q: What were U.S. “greenbacks”?
A: Civil War-era paper currency.
Q: What is seigniorage?
A: Issuer profit from creating money.
Q: Which country issued a 100-trillion-dollar note in 2008?
A: Zimbabwe.
Q: What’s notable about Australia’s 1988 $10 banknote?
A: It was the first modern polymer note.
Q: Name two countries that now use polymer notes widely.
A: Australia and Canada (among many others).
Q: Which major economy issues a 1,000-unit banknote?
A: Switzerland (1,000-franc note).
Q: Which country demonetized ₹500/₹1,000 notes in 2016?
A: India.
Q: Which 2009 innovation launched mainstream cryptocurrency?
A: Bitcoin.
Q: What’s the smallest euro coin still legal tender?
A: 1-cent (some countries round cash totals).
Q: On U.S. banknotes, what are “star notes”?
A: Replacement notes marked with a star.
Q: What is a “hard currency”?
A: A widely trusted, stable currency.
Q: State Gresham’s law in a phrase.
A: “Bad money drives out good.”
Q: Where is the Bank for International Settlements headquartered?
A: Basel, Switzerland.
Ellie Ewert is the founder and author of RandomTrivia.co, blending her passion for research with years of experience in content creation to deliver accurate, engaging, and well-sourced trivia. Dedicated to providing readers with trustworthy and entertaining facts, she applies meticulous fact-checking and SEO expertise to ensure every article meets the highest standards. Read more about our high standards in our Editorial Guidelines.