Money Expert Decodes the World's Most Popular Currencies | Condé Nast Traveler

Gordon College finance professor Alexander Lowry looks at the history, designs, and security features of the most widely circulated currencies around the world. Lowry begins with the U.S. dollar then moves through the British pound, the euro, the Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, the Indian rupee, the Mexican peso, the Swiss franc, the Swedish krona, and more.
Still haven’t subscribed to Condé Nast Traveler on KZbin? ►► bit.ly/cntraveleryoutubesub
ABOUT CONDE NAST TRAVELER
Expert travel tips, destination guides, videos, and the best of food, fashion, and design from around the world.
Money Expert Decodes the World's Most Popular Currencies | Condé Nast Traveler

[@alycias7345]

WHY DID THE GUY CRUMPLE THE DOLLAR AND THEN USE TWEEZERS TO TURN IT OVER WHAT

[@MsMiniDachs]

Bc he’s awesome

[@TheAelaryn]

I think when he was showing and analyzing the dollar bill it was before crumbling it up. With the magic of editing the reversed it.

[@toxo2714]

It was a different dollar bill

[@NandiCollector]

Awesome banknotes & explanation. Check out my collections. ;)

[@mangotango1871]

😂

[@bellab2829]

This video is oddly relaxing

[@evan.5967]

Bella B, I agree simnida!

[@hamoudhabibi1996]

Search for ASMR on youtube

[@sweiland75]

Your comment is predictable and boring.

[@ldseoru3932]

*dem crunches*

[@cstrutherskgs]

Asmr it is....

[@benjichaperone9754]

Here You Go :p 0:13 | The US Dollar 2:54 | The British Pound 4:30 | The Euro 5:54 | The Japanese Yen 6:58 | The Canadian Dollar 7:49 | The Chinese Yuan 8:39 | The Mexican Peso 9:23 | The Australian Dollar 10:08 | The Swiss Franc 11:02 | The Swedish Krona ** 11:50 | The Indian Rupee 12:00 | The Jamaican Dollar 12:10 | The Tanzania Shilling 12:23 | The Oman Rial 12:30 | The New Zealand Dollar

[@SKAOG21]

Thank you

[@mr.joker2211]

13:26 | A Magyar forint, the best mustache XD

[@babyalert]

Taxi drivers in Russia definitely want rubles not dollar bills

[@babyalert]

Depends where you are, and in my experience there's an up charge when they accept dollars or euros. This is likely to compensate for the inconvenience and cost to them that converting the euros/dollars into rubles poses.

[@mandalorian_guy]

Believe it or not they prefer "hard currency" in the form of a US Dollar. I changed out my money at the airport and immediately regretted it when I was St. Petersburg.

[@babyalert]

I live in Saint Petersburg and have not felt these regrets as an American. Perhaps this is the case in only tourist locations.

[@glebsokolov8016]

Grace B Lucky, you live in a very nice and rich city by our standards. I did the opposite, I moved to the United States 😂

[@NandiCollector]

Awesome banknotes & explanation. Check out my collections. ;)

[@secularstagflation2913]

So a "money expert" doesn't know the difference between the Bank of England - the second oldest central bank in the world and the basis for almost all central banks - and Buckingham palace on a note he specifically chose to analyse? Something tells me the use of the word "expect" is quite loose here. Edit: It gets worse. He said that the newer notes had paper the felt more like polymer - seemingly not knowing that they actually are polymer and have been for a couple of years now....

[@joshjackson8708]

Secular Stagflation he did try to supress the fact that the dollar is not the most valuble as he didnt include the value of the rial and reversed the $-£ conversion

[@secularstagflation2913]

I don't know... when you're watching a video that is literally all about the different types of money that are issued around the world by central banks it might be of importance.

[@tonygoodgamer1-carlblack196]

We all make mistakes.

[@boy23q]

Yeah. But he has made lots of mistakes. I agree. Not an expert by any strech of the imagination.

[@kikearce4081]

Nobody cares u guys are a dead empire now

[@samualhogan8517]

Each euro note represents a architectural time period

[@PtrkHrnk]

Discarding 500 € banknote sent europe back to 19th century...

[@sirsytham1588]

Yes, he messed that up. Research !

[@garethaethwy]

He messed so much up, it's really rather painful...

[@sirsytham1588]

Most definitely.

[@correctionguy7632]

the euro could easily be mistaken for monopoly money anyway

[@OHYS]

The second you said "Japanese Yen" It gave me a Japan Airlines advert.

[@jamesail2939]

Sublime Failure same hahahha

[@lewisblackwiththenicehair]

Ya big weeb

[@rawaserwan5463]

I got a weird spec savers ad

[@user-zf7nx7uj4s]

I got a japanese kid name metro stations

[@correctionguy7632]

ads are getting smarter..

[@Ub3rSk1llz]

no mention of how australia invented polymer bills. 'i'msure its very secure' - so called expert.

[@porklord5424]

No mention how Britain invented banknotes 😂

[@el-bg4hr]

Pork Lord Memes In fact the first banknotes were invented in Yuan dynasty.

[@TheDavidLiou]

@@porklord5424 chinese invented the banknotes if I'm not mistaken

[@liamlobo3233]

@@porklord5424 China did

[@WCSFI]

he focused too much on the us dollar because he is american

[@SunWarrior155]

The first time I saw euro notes, I was shocked when I noticed that the different denominations were of different sizes. It was foreign to me. Now I'm learning that it's actually a common feature...

[@joachimmacdonald2702]

He's making it up as he goes along! This is hilarious!!

[@MsMiniDachs]

Wrong

[@jannisopel]

I had the same feeling. I could give that talk with a few hours for preparation. The in depth facts were missing. I could talk about the Euro much more in depth. How and when it changed what the security is and where and how it is made. Also it has many more features for disabled people than just the colors. The designs and signs on it have interesting stories as well.

[@kurosagi24]

yep, to the collector community, it is obvious that he is not an expert.

[@osscarfransson]

Sweden will not change to the Euro in any time soon. We had a vote and we chose to stay with the krona

[@correctionguy7632]

you managed to delay the change over to euro however you are *expected* to adopt it eventually. norwegian master race?

[@osscarfransson]

eventually? maybe there will be a new vote but the last one was 15 years ago so it might take a looong time. Swedes are the master race

[@jasevt1476]

viewers, this is how the nordic countries are. Always fighting (like sibling love tho)

[@Fleurig-xr5mm]

Be glad! When the Netherlands changed currency we were stuck in a crisis, goodbye gulden

[@mls5160]

@@Fleurig-xr5mm stop blaming the euro for the 2007 world wide crisis that started in the us

[@jamesedwards752]

This guy messed the British pound bit up - he’s definitely NO EXPERT

[@lucymariposa]

James Edwards they don’t feel different, we’re redoing them. it annoyed me honestly

[@joshjackson8708]

James Edwards notice how he covered up the fact that the pound is worth more than the dollar?

[@laurenswanya9780]

no he did not, get over yourself.

[@calum5975]

Josh Jackson the pound being worth more than the dollar means nothing. Our government sets the value of the pound (yes, external forces can impact value, but countries can then devalue their own currency to counter this). The US dollar is worth less becauss there are more of them in proportion to the overall wealth that the US has. The UK chose a higher value currency just because. 1000 Yen = 1 Dollar pretty much. Makes it seem like Yens are worthless. But then, realise that Japan doesnt print 1 yen banknotes, and no one uses 1 yen coins. For all intents, 10 yen is the lowest amount used. And because there are so many Yen (as each yen is worth so little), the overall wealth of the Yen works out. Think of it like shares... The US has 1000 overall shares, reperesenting €100. The UK has 100 shares equalling €100. Yes, I'd have to buy 10X more american shares to equal out, but that's because the US chose to have a lower individual share value. People can just have more shares.

[@rawaserwan5463]

Exactly it’s not Buckingham palace it’s the Bank of England and it doesn’t feel like polymer it is polymer, it also has raised dots for the blind.

[@chrisgurney2467]

The Australian, Canadian and New English banknotes are all polymer, not some mix of outdated paper and polymer, but all superior polymer

[@KyleAPemberton]

He didn't even seem to know that the new Canadian polymer notes are based off of the Australian bank note technology.

[@davidlzda]

lol thats not Buckingham Palace thats the Bank Of England

[@garybenn9482]

I was thinking the same! LOL

[@deathdocter698]

They got “Big Ben” wrong as well. It’s the Elizabeth tower

[@matthewatkins2248]

He hardly talked about any of the security features! like the micro print and the anti printing symbols. The Australian currency (currently going through a change right now, that is the old tenner) is the most secure in the world! our currency is so secure that other countries are using our patent to update their own currencies! That's why the UK and Canada and a few other countries are updating their currency at the same time as the Australia.

[@ianmontgomery7534]

the new AUD100 is due for release this month i think.

[@EvanC0912]

"expert"

[@garethaethwy]

You know what they say about experts don't you? An ex is a has-been, and a spurt is a drip under pressure.

[@keatonalexandergugerlair5737]

It says he's a professor of economics, not of something like professor of engraving and printing, or a security document expert.

[@garoarabian3017]

Australia invented the polymer banknote. Also there's the $20, $50 and $100 banknotes.

[@TheHolyMane]

sorry but I have a feeling this person is not a banknote expert even if he is a finance professor.

[@abhishekpawar5126]

That Indian currency is outdated , we have better ones now

[@AlopeciaPatientx]

Abhishek Pawar old video

[@zacharywilson9596]

Buckingham Palace is featured on none of the Pound Notes. That’s the Bank of England.

[@saulalejandrogv]

I need more of these... More countries, comparations with outdated currencies and more!

[@alecpost]

Interesting how he says "These papers feel very different still", when talking about the Canadian currency. Well, they feel different because they're all polymer. Not paper...

[@WCSFI]

i know and they are amazing

[@thelorax9622]

As I'm sure this person knows, the polymer note was invented in Australia and was introduced in a trial in the first half of the 1980's. So we've had a long time to get used to them.

[@garethaethwy]

Actually it was for a note first issued in 1988 to commemorate the bicentenary of discovery by Europeans. I will grant you that research and development of the note started in the late 1970s to counter counterfeiting of AUD notes, particularly the AUD10 note. Which brings a delicious irony to the fact that the first polymer note was the AUD10.

[@markl1536]

I absolutely love the Swiss franc design. I wish there were more shown

[@mautida9998]

Mark Ahsac yeah they finished the new serie

[@terrymadill]

I’m surprised he didn’t mention the coolest security measure of Canadian currency. If you shine a laser though the maple leaf it will display the value of the bill on a surface such as a wall.

[@OHHnoYOUdidntMAN]

This video made me go back and watch National Treasure: Book Of Secrets

[@chipchuck537]

The UK’s note also has the Braille like raised circles to help identify the different notes. This is only on the £5 and then £10 however as they are the only ones made in polymer currently

[@thaghost909]

The format he showed the conversion rates was odd.. He compared the Canadian by using the CADUSD format showing it as 0.77 but when showing the Australian he uses USDAUD, which came up as 1.31.. He made it look like the Australian dollar is much stronger than the Canadian one when in reality it's only about a 5 cent difference, Which may confuse some people..

[@linusfondin464]

So bonus content about the Swedish krona: krona means crown. And the person you saw was one of swedens most famous story writers ever - that's why there were a book on one side - and here name is written on it, also there's a map of Sweden and in one area which is purple, she was born there.

[@richardthomas6662]

It was Astrid Lindgren ?

[@timesgoeson8106]

Why is his voice and this whole video so relaxing...?

[@LPyourplay]

5:24 Those stripes on the side of the banknote are also an aid for the blind/visually impaired, the stripes are tactile and there are multiple patterns so you can identify the banknote by feeling the edge of the note.

[@MsMiniDachs]

So fascinating!

[@davocreative]

*Mexican currency is really magical*

[@georgelangan33]

This guy is literally describing what he can see and feel. And he's even done that wrong

[@PhilJapTV]

I love the video~ (except for the money crumpling part tho hahaha)

[@djfrankbrazil8131]

2:12 Aahhh that good ol' security Strip reminds me of Beverly Hill Cop 3 - UNCLE DAVEEE! :D

[@xboxpuppis6074]

Love your videos

[@justahungarianguy]

The end made me laugh XD,but yeah, Rákóczi had a typical Hungarian moustache :)

[@sertankacar8594]

That is really good, I hope other currencies also will be introduced, decoded

[@krislatoya7556]

I thoroughly enjoyed this video but seeing the Barbadian $20 dollar just on show, made me feel so proud

[@Nakura-dj8mg]

This is the type of video you watch at 3 am

[@venessiabassier3174]

I'm glad they've included my currency in this video . Proud Jamaican 🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲

[@escritorionamaste6729]

Awesome!

[@cameronbeattie3087]

Those notes are just English ones, Scotland (and I think Northern Ireland) have different notes

[@VimalRaj1986]

Good information.... Thank you...

[@brianrainsfordmarshall2692]

Russian taxi drivers don't want rubles? That is a hilariously outdated idea.

[@garethaethwy]

And a hilariously American-centric/American-exceptionist idea too!

[@litehousekid1]

russian taxi drivers want vodka i think.

[@garoarabian3017]

Americans think they own the world and think they can flash their currency everywhere. Once crypto gains prominence, USD will be the first to collapse

[@WCSFI]

so american

[@WCSFI]

@@garoarabian3017 i know they think they rule the world

[@hyysonin]

I don’t see Justin Y. here Now this feels *incomplete*

[@OHYS]

Yo Tengoof HAHA IKR

[@ChabrierAlexandre]

Oh boy finnaly one

[@user-zt9gv6pu1c]

"money expert" are you sure?

[@cscarlton24]

I wish you had more Swiss francs to show the world. They are beautiful.

[@Whyinem]

Awesome analysis

[@shnxii17]

Did he say Chinese won? Ohh yea he did. He said it twice. That's Korean homie.

[@michaelheliotis5279]

The NZ$5 note also has a distinguishing feature in that it's one of the few currency items to have featured a person other than a head of state while they were still living. Much to his horror (he was a very humble man), Sir Ed overwhelmingly won a national survey on who should be featured on the note, which I believe entered circulation in 1992 and was around for over decade before he died. Just imagine waking up one morning and seeing your face on money! 😂😂😂

[@WCSFI]

i know i heard about that also same in south Africa nelson Mandela was put on all the banknotes 1 year before his death

[@AndrewInCanada99]

Like the guy says in the video above, I really love the look of the Swiss currency, it’s very visually appealing

[@DaltonConden]

It literally hurts when he crumples the money up.....

[@Fleurig-xr5mm]

I find it satisfying

[@robertoh.20]

you can do that to the Australian bills and even put them in water and nothing will happen to them.

[@Heres_To_Music]

I know right. What's the point of the tweezers if you're going to scrunch up the delicate paper? The polymer is one thing, it can bound back a bit but doing that to paper banknotes that he seems to suggest he collects is a big no. Also he skipped most of what he was supposed to decode, Europa was shown in a close-up of the banknote and he said nothing. Half-Asleep Chris does a better job in his videos decoding banknotes (and actually showing the entire series not just a few samples) than this guy.

[@macedonian_catholic_]

I wish we still had the Drachma so badly

[@ferris5150]

excellent video

[@thomas316]

NZD is quite interesting as they are now on their second generation of polymer bank notes. Good to compare and contrast generations to see what they've learned about polymer bank notes and security features within those notes.

[@ThiccPhoenix]

Great video

[@itsjaydev]

Dissapointed that the Indian rupee was not properly featured, over a billion people use it.......thats like 1/7th the population of the world!

[@ricoloco2251]

the most beautifull money was the old dutch guilder, each note was a piece of art, and now we have the euro, ook leuk

[@Jma952]

The Guatemalan Quetzales are absolutely beautiful and colorful. Those are my favorite (so far!)

[@christophernield470]

It’s not Buckingham Palace on the front of English Banknote’s next to the Queen’s portrait. It is the building of the Bank of England.

[@xboxpuppis6074]

❤️your🎥📷

[@EllaGP22]

When he crushed those bills. Oh. Yes.

[@DvDriftz]

This 'expert' clearly has no idea that the British pound is midway through a transition to polymer notes with only the £5 and £10 having been changed so far. The polymer £20 will come into circulation in 2020.

[@cedavelickovic9501]

13:05 YES! I saw the Serbian Dinar at the end(last bit, yellow, guy with mustache). He’s name is Vuk Karadžić and he is the one who made our language official and made us a writing system.

[@WCSFI]

sadly not in the videobut they are great even the 100 dinar with Tesla on

[@CoinsAUS]

Those bumps on the Canadian notes where first on Australian notes and are different amounts on the Australian notes

[@earicsohtun7202]

Didn't do the new Indian Rupee notes introduced after demonitisation

[@Doaaa]

Wait there’s a 2 dollar bill? I feel so dumb...

[@razor3106]

Don't feel bad, a cashier once called the police on a lady that tried to pay with a $2.

[@_sarahathompson]

omg same I thought I was the only one lmao

[@WCSFI]

still peices of art

[@RovshanGO]

AMAZING

[@rowwuk]

sad i expected a polish złoty to show up i guess it's just not popular enough

[@amarshala7991]

rowwuk I expected a Russian Ruble to show up☹️

[@analivialopes4196]

I expected the Brazilian Real to show up... :(

[@possiblyadickhead6653]

РОССИЯ ЯВЛЯЕТСЯ ЛУЧШИМ yeah it's kinda biased toward America I mean come on the part with the taxi wtf

[@plum_bit]

Because none of those currencies are important.

[@possiblyadickhead6653]

Plum Bit what there not even Chinese yen in this video

[@-Faris-]

10:36 I see you with that Italian hand ;)

[@janaloomans4391]

This video is oddly satisfying... it sounds a bit like ASMR

[@sweiland75]

Have you been diagnosed ADD, yet?

[@Buydaa.M]

Yup better than a lot of real ASMRs

[@George-li1yv]

Them £5 and £10 notes are new and they are polymer. That's why they feel like that. The £20 and £50 will change to polymer eventually as well. Another side not is that the new £5 and £10 also have the Braille sort of thing same as the Canadian doller.

[@zuhairahmed7782]

New Zealand,Canada,uk,and Switzerland win

[@Gumardee_coins_and_banknotes]

Maldives does.

[@Kaziklu]

Some money Expert. The coolest feature of the Canadian Bills is what happens when you shine a laser pointer through the maple leave ( or look through it at a pin point of light)

[@aaronrussell7369]

Rob Elliott, also the maple syrup smell!

[@dillonnav]

The Aussie notes are definitely the best

[@omarabazid5625]

Aren’t they wrinkle, water and fire proof?

[@olafpayne]

My favourite feature of a bank note is the red staining raised text on a £50. Rub it on white paper and it leaves a red mark.

[@5amisntlate]

The dots for visually impaired people on the Canadian dollars are also on the newer British notes :)

[@cameronmcphee6827]

The UK now uses polymer banknotes for the £5 and £10 we also have £100 note but in Scotland and nl

[@Tito-wg8lg]

99% of comments saying he is not an expert 1% something else

[@SunWarrior155]

3:12 Eastern Caribbean $5 bill! 😘

[@bbigguy500]

Gotta love the Peso

[@Griff10poldi]

Squeezing money is so annoying..

[@jgat3418]

Exactly

[@ivanmand123]

Philippines, Maldives, Malaysia and Venezuela, very nice paper money also!

[@Blaqjaqshellaq]

Notice that Sweden's 20-kroner note showed children's writer Astrid Lindgren, and her most famous creation Pippi Longstocking! (Here in Canada we should put L.M. Montgomery and Anne of Green Gables on our currency...)

[@hyunjinki1995]

You don't have also the 200 euro and the most suspicious 500 euro (bin Laden)

[@turnip5359]

Perfect for money laundering

[@sadface]

Well with the British one there are many different kinds of notes issued on behalf of different banks and also depending on country.

[@bxckdoor9113]

Aghhh what about Brazil 🤔 ? I love their colourful designs with the animals representing the country.

[@gabrielroque8075]

Costa Rican bills too

[@erickalove_pandas1393]

Philippine peso bills too

[@Gumardee_coins_and_banknotes]

Chile and Colombian pesos are better.

[@davidmagann1805]

"Worlds Most Popular Currencies" not the ones that look good.

[@gubernamdamesse5643]

@AAAnt M, that's not a statue, it's the personification of the Republic. It's traditional for us that design.

[@hoonchoi95]

what was the budget for the video? how much did you have to convert?

[@sunshineimperials1600]

I’m not sure what the Condé Nast publishers were smoking when they hired this guy to do this video. He is a finance expert, not a banknote expert, not necessarily the guys fault he got some details wrong, in fact it’s rather impressive he got most of it correct.

[@lukevulanovic9865]

Thank you, exactly what I was thinking

[@wastingprawn11]

Missed so much in the Canadian!!!

[@lupinearsenalALT]

7:45 the "juan" bruh

[@theafourie2747]

You had the South African rand but you didn't talk about it!😞 It was R100

[@jaerimkim9627]

security threads...what I learned at grade 9

[@michaelkarpinski1537]

This taught me how to counterfeit

[@ThatGuyDownInThe]

right when he crushed that dollar bill the kool aid man burst through my room screaming obscenities

[@mehulverma3708]

This video can also be watched as an ASMR video!!

[@latoniaeilum1982]

This gentleman is great! I Can't Wait To See His Team Building Up "Downtown Durham, NC". Currency Expansion for NC CAPITALS!

[@Smokey94462]

I like this guy.