The term "currency" in economics is interpreted not entirely unambiguously. In the broadest sense of the word, these are banknotes of any country used to reflect the value of goods (from the Italian valuta - value). In a narrower sense, currency refers to the banknotes of another state used on the territory of this country or in the implementation of international settlements.
It is impossible to carry out any mutual settlements between states in different banknotes. To simplify all types of economic information within the framework of international agreements, universal designations of an alphabetic, numerical and symbolic nature are used, which are called the "sign" of the currencies of the world.
According to the data of various statistical bodies and reference and information services, today about 157 national currencies rotate in the world economy. At the same time, about 80% of international trade turnover is expressed in one of the 5 world currencies with high liquidity. These are the so-called main currencies: US dollar (USD), euro (EUR), Japanese yen (JPY), British pound (GBP), Swiss franc (CHF). The expediency of unification in the designation of currencies is obvious:
- This is a simple way to quickly and accurately determine, one symbol at a time, in the banknotes of which state this or that amount is represented;
- Allows you to distinguish currencies that are different in the territory of circulation, but the same in name. Examples: in addition to the American dollar, there is a Canadian, Australian, and others. The banknotes of countries such as Argentina, Cuba, Mexico are pesos. There should be no confusion here;
- If you express the name of a monetary unit using a few numbers and letters, this will simplify its identification in various information systems;
- The use of coding currencies makes it easier to work with an array of information on currency markets and trading exchanges, simplifies banking operations, and is used to display exchange rates. In accounting and statistics, in the execution of various transactions and the conclusion of contracts, and in everyday practice, the use of unified designations has become a business custom.
All over the world, standards have been developed and in each country are applied, in which information about the currencies used is systematized. There are global, interstate, national or industry classifiers. The worldwide standard for currencies is ISO 4217. This is an alphabetic classifier, in which each currency, in addition to its name, is assigned a special code and number. Any currency in it has the following characteristics: its name; territory of circulation; three-letter alphabetical code (alfa-3); three-digit digital code (number-3); the presence and number of decimal places in the exchange currency. The use of such an encoding is most typical for currency quotes. All reference and information systems, which are essentially derived from this basic standard, must contain the main characteristics of world currencies in the format “state / name / designation / symbol”. For example, the European currency is designated as follows: Countries EC / Euro / EUR / € World standards ISO 6166 (ISIN) and ISO 10962 (CFI) identify securities and are used in the field of exchange trading. The universal coding system according to the world standard ISO 10646 (Unicode, Unicode) operates with graphic characters. The classifier sets out the requirements for symbols and fonts that are used by the creators of their own currency sign in the form of an image. In international interaction on the territory of the CIS, there is a classifier of currencies MKV. To fill out customs declarations within the framework of the Customs Union, the interstate standard KV CU is intended. In Russia, at the moment, in all spheres of economic activity, a reference book is used that fully complies with ISO 4217. This is the All-Russian Classifier of Currencies OK (MK (ISO 4217) 003-97) 014-2000, approved by the Resolution of the Gosstandart of Russia No. 405-ST of 2000-25-12 with the last amendment No. 42 of 2018-01-07. In addition to the all-Russian one, industry-specific coding is used. In the banking sector, there is a classifier of clearing currencies KKV. And the Federal Tax Service, in accordance with the HF FTS, has its own internal three-letter alphabetic code of world currencies.
As a general rule, currency names can be briefly represented by a digital designation, an abbreviated name and special signs (symbols). A currency code is understood as a digital designation or letter abbreviation. A graphic symbol of money is a currency symbol in the form of an image. To designate a particular currency, certain principles of formation are applied:
- The currency of any country has a digital code. It is intended for those countries where the Latin alphabet is not used. In other states, the letter designations of the currency are usually used. A grapheme is used for the short name of money. In alphabet-based scripts, this is a letter or a combination of Cyrillic / Latin letters. In this case, you can take the whole word or apply an abbreviation. If the name contains two words, an abbreviation is most often used. In non-alphabetic writing systems, a syllable, a hieroglyph, or part of it is taken. Monograms, punctuation marks, etc. are recognized as usable.
- Several graphemes connected together form the so-called ligature, which makes the currency designation unique;
- Additionally, special graphic characters or symbols can be added to the designation. This is done in order for the monetary unit to finally acquire "its own face".
Examples of applied formats:
: 756 - Swiss franc; reduction: UAH. from the hryvnia; abbreviation: DM - German mark; hieroglyph: 円 - Japanese yen; monogram: ₠ - European currency ECU; symbol (sign): ₪ - Israeli shekel.
Many world currencies do not have their own abbreviated notation of the name, therefore, they use any combination of the above methods to denote them. For example, the Australian dollar is indicated by the dollar sign $ A or AU $; ₤ m or Lm are symbols of the Maltese lira. For cases where there is no currency sign, a universal symbol (¤) is provided.
A circle slightly raised above the line, from which four rays extend at an angle of 90 ° relative to each other, denotes any (or some) currency. It is possible to specify which national currency we are talking about only in the context of the document in which this designation is given.
The monetary unit of any state has a short name and a special number in the classifier of currency codes. But out of 195 independent states, only a few dozen of them have a sign of their own currency. The reason is in the rather strict requirements that this symbol must meet. They are mandatory for font developers and designers.
Correspondence of currency signs to the Unicode standard:
- the symbol should be one-part and simple enough. It is not allowed to decorate it with any additional elements - monograms, wavy lines, small strokes, etc.;
- convenience in reading and ease of writing are important - so that it can be easily identified even with strong distortion;
- the icon cannot be misunderstood. It must be performed in such a way that it becomes easily recognizable both by citizens of its country and by foreigners;
- resistance to any pin system is another criterion in the designation of world currencies. In other words, the symbol must remain recognizable in absolutely any font system and not have a similarity in any of them;
- the designation being developed must be unique.
Meeting such complex requirements is not an easy task. Indeed, in the designation of money there is a limitation even on the width of the symbol. That is why the signs of some currencies may seem uniform in execution and contain repeating elements. For example, almost all icons contain one / two vertical or horizontal lines. It is a symbol of stability. It is present in such signs as ₽ € $ ¥ £ ₴, etc. There is an explanation for this - the economy of any country in the world strives for stability.
The advantage of using a currency sign is undeniable. It is visualization, simplicity and convenience. The graphic sign does not require translation, it saves space when writing. And on top of this, the significance of such a currency increases significantly. The state that was able to develop, approve and include in the standard a unique currency designation, of course, raised its prestige at the world level!
