Top 10 cele mai ciudate monede/forme de plată

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Unusual and rare objects always seem to be a favorite with collectors; the weirder, the better.The same applies to money. Some currencies don't even look like our regular perception ofwhat money should be, but served as legit cash at some point in history.

The following are the top 10 weirdest currencies the world has seen so far.

Top 10: Wooden bills

Wooden bills may be rough on your wallet, but they were one of the best ways for Germany torebuild its economy after World War I (1914-1918). When the crucial war caused the Germaneconomy to sink into a depression, local governments used almost everything they could findto print "notgeld" (emergency cash) -- including wood, aluminum foil, silk linens and evenplaying cards -- until the country's central Reichsbank had recovered. Meanwhile,governments realized collectors would buy up these odd currencies, so they were actually hardto circulate.

Top 9: The death penalty dollar

The US dollar has now grown into one of the steadiest currencies in the world, but this wasn'talways the case. When its colonies started to produce forged banknotes, these were found tobe easily produced: There were many printers; the anti-counterfeit technology of that time wasnot advanced; and there weren't many anti-counterfeit activities. Therefore the governmentdecided that all its 13 colonies printed "To counterfeit is death" on all of their money, a sloganwhich was eventually replaced by "In God We Trust".

Top 8: 'Green stamp' money

We usually think that money is interchangeable for all goods and services, but there areexceptions. In some countries, certain currencies can only buy certain things, such as clothesor land. Take Vietnamese bills for example, its edges are basically a bunch of "green stamps"that you should tear off to buy specific things, like a shirt or a pair of pants.

Top 7: Edible currencies

Salt is regarded as one of the oldest forms of payment. In fact, the word "salary" derives fromthe Latin word "salarium," which denoted the money paid to Roman soldiers to buy salt. In theMiddle Ages, salt was the main form of currency across the Sahara Desert, and also provedvery popular throughout East Africa. Typically, people would lick a salt block to make sure thatit was real and then cut it into small pieces for transaction.

Edible currencies also include "reng," a yarn-ball of turmeric spice wrapped in coconut fibers inthe Solomon Islands, cacao in Mexico and Central America, and the parmigiano reggiano -- orparmesan -- cheese in Italy.

Top 6: The world's largest note
 
In 1946, Hungary fell into the most serious inflation in history. The then government issued the100 Million Billion Pengo -- a world-record denomination. In fact, it was only worth about 20 UScents.

Top 5: The unlikeliest Kennedy coin

Mongolia issued the 500 Tugrik coin in 2007, with the image of former US President John F.Kennedy displayed on the back. What is even more impressive, is that when pressing a tinybutton on his chest, you could hear Kennedy himself recite his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner"Speech. Once the coin was issued, collectors snatched up the largest batch of its editionalmost immediately.

Top 4: Off with his head!

In the African country of Zaire, known today as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the newgovernment found itself in a cash shortage after the totalitarian regime of Joseph Mobutu wasoverthrown in 1997. To alleviate this problem, it used large stacks of old 20,000-zaire notes,simply punching out Mobutu's image, until the new currency was designed and printed.

Top 3: Squirrel pelts

Squirrel pelts were a common currency in medieval Russia. Apparently, animals' snouts, clawsand ears were also used as legit change. If this really were the case, Russia might want toconsider apologizing to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). 

Top 2: Holy water dollar

The island of Palau issued a silver dollar coin in 2007, carrying the image of the Virgin Maryand a tiny vial containing holy water from the Grotto in Lourdes, France. That following year,the country issued a second series of coins to commemorate the 150th anniversary of theApparitions of the Virgin Mary at the Grotto. 

Top 1: Rai stone

If you go to the Island of Yap – part of the Solomon Islands -- you may find the world's largestand weirdest form of currency: The Rai stone. The Rai stone is a limestone disk with a hole inthe middle. It measures 12 feet in diameter and weighs up to eight tons. It is probably the onlycurrency in the world that can not fit into your average pocket. As a currency, the Rai stonedoes not circulate on the market, instead, it stays where it is, although its owner changes fromtime to time. Everyone on the island knows who owns the stone.

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