The measure to express the value of goods, services, labor is the monetary unit. On the other hand, each monetary unit in different countries has its own measure. Historically, each state establishes its own unit of measurement for money. Usually a monetary unit is a certain mass of a valuable metal, for example, gold or silver, which determines the real price of a coin.
Money in different states have different price contents and names, being the country's national currency
Metamorphoses of money
In the pre-capitalist era, the role of money belonged to precious metals: silver, copper bronze.
Few countries boasted the use of gold as the monetary unit of the state. For example, it was Egypt and Assyria, where already in the second millennium BC, gold was used in trade.
With the increase and development of crafts and the cost of goods in many countries, it required the use of a more expensive equivalent - such as gold.
With a small weight and volume, it had a great price and, accordingly, exchange value. The first paper money to replace metal was issued in the 1st century, in China. And the earliest official banknotes were issued in Stockholm in 1661.
In our country, bank notes or paper money were first issued during the reign of Catherine the Great, in 1769. Money in Russia often changed its name and appearance.
Indeed, until the 18th century, silver mines in Russia were not opened, and imported raw materials were not always supplied. The first silver was mined in Transbaikalia in 1704.
What were the monetary units in Russia
There is an opinion that the Russian word "money" originated from the Turkic "tenge". In turn, the word "ruble" came from the verb "chop, cut."
In ancient Russia, money was called a coin, the value of which was half a penny or two hundredth of the ruble. Half means half money, three-copecks are three kopeks, five-copecks - fifteen kopecks. There were such names as half a half or half ruble, pennies - two pennies. The ruble was also called tin in a different way, from the word ting or minted with a special hammer - minted. From ancient times to the present day in Russia, a monetary unit is an object of improvement and change, working in the interests of the state; movable and rationally variable quantity.
In the period from 1924 to 1947, ten rubles were called chervonets, they were equal to 7.74 grams of pure gold. Along with the chervonets, the ruble was issued, which was equal to one tenth of the chervonets. Currently, the ruble, equal to 100 kopecks, has become the monetary unit of the Russian Federation.
Not gold alone
In many countries of the world since the beginning of the seventies of the 20th century there has been a monetization of gold reserves, that is, the actual loss of gold monetary functions. All countries of the world have switched to using fiat money as the price equivalent. Fiat - this means banknotes guaranteed to the extent of the cost indicator by the state issuing them, whether or not they are confirmed by reserves of precious metals.
Since then, national banks of countries determine the face value of a monetary unit, which sometimes can be fixed by constitutional law. For example, in Russia, the use of the ruble is enshrined in Article 75 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation:
The monetary unit in the Russian Federation is the ruble. Money emission is carried out exclusively by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The introduction and issue of other money in the Russian Federation is not allowed.
Influence spectrum
The influence of money on the development of the national economy, the standard of living of the population is difficult to underestimate. The main areas of applied value of money are expressed in the following areas:
- first of all, the monetary unit of the state is the nominal value of the state monetary system, implemented through the designation of the advantages of banknotes and coins in multiple or fractional terms;
- a banknote is a measure and element of an account in the financial system of the state, where money itself is a commodity participating in the circulation system;
- the monetary unit used in the settlement system is provided with a mass of precious metals established by law;
- serves as a unit of account, regulating the scale and correlation of prices, expressing the value of goods and other elements of the gross product and economic indicators of the national economy in comparable quantities.
At a time when paper equivalents of money were just in their infancy, the notion of “monetary unit” was used. At the same time, the country's monetary unit is the basic concept of the economic term "country currency" or national currency.
Settlements in the international sphere
Starting from the thirties of the last century, the concept of uniformity of banknotes began to be applied in international settlements. Special international monetary units were created, with the help of which settlements were made in international markets. For example, a gold franc containing 0.29 grams of pure gold was used.
At the end of the fifties of the 20th century, in the field of European payment unions, a monetary unit called the European Payment Unit began to be used, equivalent to one US dollar. In the seventies, ECU (or currency unit) was used in international calculations. By the beginning of the millennium, the euro came to replace payment currencies, or rather, this happened in 1999.
The basic rule in the circulation of international currencies is the acquisition of special drawing rights issued by the International Monetary Fund.
Many countries prefer to abandon their own national money by acquiring borrowing rights and using conventional monetary units in international payments. This means that in the market for international payments, popular borrowing currencies are used, most often - US dollars or euros.
Metal ringing
As already noted in the previous sections of the article, in the seventies of the last century there was widespread demonetization of gold.
In practice, gold has lost its monetary functions and has ceased to be used as a measure of commodity exchange. Therefore, instead of such monetary units, which corresponded to a certain mass of precious metal, fiat money began to be used in international settlements, for which the gold content is not established. And gold itself turned into a commodity, measured in money.
Nevertheless, there are a number of countries that continue to use private and local currency units with a value equivalent in gold in settlement systems.
This applies to currencies such as digital gold, gold dinar and silver dirham. These currencies claim to receive the status of international monetary units of the Middle East.
In 2011, a project was submitted to the Swiss National Council to introduce an additional monetary unit for international settlements, which would contain a fixed amount of gold equal to the gold franc. However, so far this project has remained on paper, not having received support in international financial circles.
Reality is far from ideal
Based on the fact that money is a monetary unit, one cannot but mention the following concepts: countable, ideal, and real coin.
Complementing each other, these concepts are at the same time different in semantic content and actual application.
Counting coin or cash-counting as types of monetary units, means a certain conditional value, which is not really embodied in a coin or gold. Counting coin is used in accounting and for the implementation of cashless payments. The concept of a countable and ideal coin is contrasted with the concept of a real one.
An ideal coin or ideal unit is characterized by fixing the net weight of the precious metal contained, rather than substituting the equivalent of small coins. Thus, with any change in the amount of silver in small coins, the content of the ideal coin will not change, but it will be equal to a larger number of similar small coins.
At the same time, when the denominations of small items change, the counting coin will include their previous number with a simultaneous drop in the equivalent, expressed in pure silver.
Everywhere money, money, money ...
Money affects the formation of the monetary system of the state. In turn, this system must meet the following rules:
- at the legislative level in the state, the name of the national currency is adopted, the abbreviations adopted in its spelling are adopted, the replacement by signs and symbols, the number of fractions and their ratio are determined;
- types of banknotes are established - paper and metal, their nominal value;
- the state regulates the structure of money circulation, the amount of cash in circulation, the rules of cash and non-cash payments;
- regulates the issue or reissue of banknotes in exchange for worn out, lost solvency, establishes the rules for the withdrawal of monetary units from circulation;
- legislatively establishes the procedure for exchanging national currency for other national currencies of countries, sets exchange rates;
- determines the procedure and rights of the emission center;
- regulates the rules for the emergence of commercial banks.
All these rules govern the monetary policy of the state, affecting the vital activity of the country's economy and national economy.
Game by the rules
To ensure the smooth functioning of the monetary system in the state, laws are adopted that regulate this activity.
In Russia, the parameters and boundaries of the monetary system are specified in the following laws:
- Constitution of the Russian Federation;
- laws and regulations, additions and clarifications on banks and banking activities:
- Law on the Central Bank of the Russian Federation;
Also, the quality of the monetary system is determined in the adopted laws on currency regulation and control, the fight against corruption and counteraction against anti-state and terrorist activities.