Archive for May 2014

Established as a sovereign nation in 1946, Jordan is a relatively new country, and the same royal family has been in power for the entire stretch of its brief history. The death of long-time monarch, King Hussein in 1999 brought about a new era for Jordan. Hussein’s son, King Abdullah is now the reigning leader,…

The Syrian pound is a relatively new currency in the foreign market.  As the country of Syria was ruled by other countries for much of its history, its currency has reflected its rulers.  During the time of the Ottoman Empire, Syria used the Ottoman lira. With the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the rule…

Iraq is a country that has struggled under hard-fisted dictators and blood thirsty monarchs for hundreds of years. Attempts at establishing democracy in the past have been quickly derailed by corrupt politics. The presence of the U.S. in Iraq has brought some changes in government, and the country’s first real attempt at establishing a democracy.…

The country of Japan has seen many different kinds of currency over its long and rich history.  From the earliest Wu Zhu coin brought over from China during the Han Dynasty (around 221 BC) to the privately minted Toraisen and Shichusen coins of the 14th-16th centuries, to the first introduction of paper currency (around 1600),…

In the world of currency, the Turkish lira is a fairly new addition.  While the use of currency has a long stronghold in that area of the world (the first golden coin was minted there in 1467), the lira itself was not introduced until 1844.  This gold coin was known as the Ottoman Lira as…