Fun Facts About Money
by Balkish Rosly
SaveMoney.my knows that facts and figures can be a snooze, so we’ve decided to inject some fun into our favourite topic: Money! Here are some fun money facts that will broaden your knowledge on the currencies of the world!
Fun Fact No.1: Number of official currencies in the world
Bragging about the amount of money you have stashed in the bank might not be the best way to engage in a conversation, unless you don’t mind being hated by everyone (ahem…the name Donald Trump comes to mind). So why not entice your friends and colleagues with this useless, yet, fun fact instead.
There are roughly around 182 official currencies in the world, and this includes our prized Ringgit, the US Dollar, and Thailand’s Baht. Oh, and not to forget the Polish Zloty, Bulgarian Lev, Danish Krone, South Korean Won, and Ukranian Hryvna to name a few. (Combine these currencies together and you will have the most unique music band name ever.)
Fun Fact No.2: The truth about Ringgit
Malaysians utter this word at least once a day, but do you know that the word “Ringgit” means jagged in Malay? Yup, ‘Ringgit’ refers to the ragged edges of silver Spanish dollars which was widely circulated during the 16th and 17th century Portuguese colonial era.
The Malay name Ringgit and Sen were officially adopted as the sole official names in August 1975. However, KL-ites beware! Those who have never travelled to the northern states of Peninsular Malaysia should learn the money slang before bargaining for a cheaper price. Places like Kelantan use the terms Riyal for ringgit and kupang for sen.
Speaking of Ringgit, the set of the first series of Malaysian Banknotes which was issued in 1967 with the serial number of A/1 000001, was sold at Spink Auction in London for £100,000 on the 8th of October 2007.
Fun Fact No.3: Temples as…Banks?
Ancient civilizations deposited and kept their wealth in temples, where safety is provided by, well, gods. Today, people trust the good folks at the bank to keep their money and other wealth safe and secured.
Have you ever wondered what would happen in the event of a financial crisis? In Malaysia, savings of up to RM250,000 is guaranteed by the Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia (PIDM) membership scheme. The trick is to find out if your bank is included in this scheme – look out for the logo!
Fun Fact No.4: Fear of Financial Institutions is called…
Bancophobia. If you find that walking into a bank gives you the heebie jeebies, then you might just suffer from bancophobia, which translates to the fear of financial institutions. The solution? Deposit your cash with us instead! We’ll keep them safe for you…just kidding. You’re probably better off turning to a trusted psychologist to curb your phobia.
That’s not all SaveMoney.my has for you – stay tuned next week to learn more fun trivia about money!
*Balkish Rosly is an Investigative Journalist of SaveMoney.my, an online consumer advice portal which aims to help Malaysians save money through smart (and most of the time painless) savings in their daily banking, technology, and lifestyle spending habits.
