Rare banknotes from all over the world

Paper money is one of the most important means of payment today. At the same time, however, it is also important evidence of political, social and economic history. Paper money also has a cultural element: banknotes show a country's culture in their motifs, they are, so to speak, its calling card.

The history of paper money is still relatively young compared to the long use of coins. Following predecessors in China in the 14th century, there are occasional issues of paper money in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Banknotes became more widely spread and accepted in the course of industrialisation in the 19th century. Initially used as a promise of payment or substitute for money, they became legal tender and the main means of payment worldwide at the beginning of the 20th century.

The collection presents historical banknotes from all over the world. They document the beginnings and further development of paper money. Some of these pieces are very rare and only a few still exist.

• The objects of the collection "Rare banknotes from all over the world" available in bavarikon

The part collections of "Rare banknotes from all over the world" available in bavarikon

• Early 14th to 18th century paper money experiments
• German paper money 1800-1945
• Paper money from all over the world 1800-1945

>> The collection is part of the holdings of the Giesecke+Devrient Stiftung Geldscheinsammlung (Giesecke+Devrient foundation: collections of bank notes).