Around the world, 568 currencies have been issued since 1850, but 405 of them have been discontinued. Iñaki Aldasoro, Jon Frost, Rudraksh Kansal and Catherine Schenk tell the story in “Gaining (and losing) currency: a global database of currencies, 1850-2026” (Bank for International Settlements Working Paper 1392, November 2026).
Here’s the total number of currencies existing at a given time since 1850. Much of the rise in total currencies over time is from nations of Africa and Asia. Around 1990, you can see a jump in number of currencies with the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In the early 2000s, you can see a fall in the number of currencies with the rise of the euro, along with some nations deciding to use the US dollar as their currency. The authors write: The median lifespan of a currency is 33 years, though there is substantial variation: from several currencies that lasted less than a year, to others that have circulated for several centuries. The most common reason for issuing a new currency is the independence of a jurisdiction (28% of cases); the most common reason for discontinuing one is a name or unit change (35%). Currencies are thus often born for political reasons, but they often die for economic ones.” The peak number of currencies was 192, back in 1994, but given that few new nations are being created, and additional countries seem likely to adopt the euro or the US dollar, the current trendline is down rather than up.
What are the oldest still-surviving currencies? Of the top 15 survivors, I probably would have guessed only about half of them.
Here’s a table with some notable examples of other currencies, includidng two that survived more than 1,000 years before being replaced, and countries that have had nine currencies since 1850.
