Officially adopted on the 17th of July, 1821, the flag of Norway is considered to be one of the many flags all over the world that has a rich history. It was designed by Fredrik Meltzer, a parliament member. Originally, the national flag of Norway was described as one that has a golden lion with a crown and an axe on red background. However, this flag gradually phased out on the 17th and 18th centuries. The original flag is the one presently used as the Royal Standard.

Within the 16th century up until 1841, the flag of Denmark has been used by Norway as its national flag. Such use represents the union of both countries. However, in 1814, Norway tried to obtain independence by adopting the Danish flag and incorporating the Norwegian lion at the upper square of the flag. This flag was used only until 1821 (via annette at dresshead inc). It is because during the year 1821, Fredrik Meltzer, a Storting parliament member, was finally able to design a distinctive flag for Norway. Up until the present, this flag has been used by the country.

The official flag of Norway which was designed by Fredrik Meltzer is composed of three colors. These colors include bright red, dark blue and white. The colors were influenced by French Tricolore which is known as a sign of liberty. The flags of the United States and the United Kingdom are also among the major influences of the design of the Norwegian flag. The dark blue color of the Norwegian flag is designed as a cross and bordered in white. The dark blue cross, which is known to be the cross of Sweden, and its white borders are then designed with a bright red background. Although the flag was already in use since 1821, it was officially hoisted in 1899. Until today, this Norwegian flag has been used as the national flag in different functions within the country and it continues to inspire the people within Norway.

The origin of the flag of Poland can be associated to the Piast dynasty. It can also be linked to the White Eagle within a red field. The concept behind the design of the Polish flag can also be linked on the historical events that occur within Poland during the 18th and the 19th centuries. Poland’s national flag is composed of two colors namely red and white. Both colors come in two horizontal forms with equal length and width, the upper portion being white and the lower portion red.

The reason behind the colors present in the national flag of Poland is the fact that these colors are usually found in military flags and royal standards from earlier times. Because all soldiers of Poland tend to wear caps with white cockades, white has been used as one of the colors of the national flag. The white in the Polish flag is known to represent the bravery of the Polish soldiers. In the year 1830 to 1831, tricolor cockades which are composed of white, red and blue are worn by soldiers. The red and white combination is also worn by most soldiers. Because of the lack of uniformity on the cockades of Polish soldiers, the white and red combination was finally adopted as their official cockade. This adaptation happened on the 7th day of February, 1831.

Because of the great respect of the Polish people to the bravery of their Polish soldiers, the national flag of Poland was designed based on the colors of their soldiers. The colors continued their reign as the national colors of Poland even after the cockades of the soldier were outlawed. The national flag with the national colors of Poland is even used excessively whenever Polish people fight for freedom and independence. It is the main reason why the Polish flag continues to gain respect from different countries all over the world.

The official currency of Iceland is called the krona or kronur in plural form. Its ISO 4217 code is ISK and its symbol is kr. It means “crown” and people sometimes refer to it as “Icelandic Crown.” Its subunit is called eyrir or aurar in plural form and 1 krona is subdivided into 100 aurar, but the subunit is no longer in use. In 1874, The Danish krone was introduced to the country. The separation of the Icelandic krona from the Danish krona followed after the Scandinavian Monetary Union’s dissolution.

Iceland’s first coins were the 10 and 25 eyrir pieces and were introduced in 1922. Denominations of 1 and 2 krona pieces followed in 1925 and 1, 2, 5 eyrir pieces the following year. In 1944, Iceland obtained independence from Denmark, followed by the alteration of the coins’ designs in 1946. 10 krona pieces were introduced in 1967, 50 aurar and 5 kronur in 1969, and 50 kronur in 1967.

5, 10, 50 krona notes were issued in 1885. In 1904, 100 kronur were introduced and 10, 25, 100, 500, 1000, 5000 krona notes were circulated by the central bank of Iceland in 1961.

When the currency was revalued in 1981, 1 new krona was then worth 100 old krona. Coins less than one krona were withdrawn from circulation when the Prime Minister signed the regulation in September 2002.

5, 10, 50 aurar, 1, 5 kronur were introduced in 1981. In 1984, 10 kronur were introduced, 50 krona pieces in 1987, and 100 krona pieces in 1995. In October 2003, 5, 10, 50 eyrir pieces were no longer accepted. The banknotes that are currently in circulation are the 500, 1000, and 5000 krona notes. 2000 kronur is also in circulation though very rare.

In the first half of 2006, the rate of the Icelandic krona was ranging between 50 and 80 ISK to 1 USD. By October 2008, the value of Icelandic krona fell against the US dollar to 110 – 115 ISK to 1 USD. It continued to decrease in value by November 2008 to 135 ISK to 1 USD. In September 2010, the rate is 180 ISK to 1 USD and the value remains so up to now.

Italian 50000 Lire
Photo by: Wikipedia, Creative Commons

Between 1861 and 2002, the currency of Italy was called lira or lire in plural. Its ISO 4217 code is ITL and its symbol is L. It was subdivided to 100 centesimi or centesimo in singular but was abolished after the Second World War. The term “lira” came from the Latin word libra. It originated from the pound weight value of silver.

The Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy used lira as their currency from 1807 to 1814. It was subdivided to 100 centesimi or 20 soldi. In 1861, lira was unified. In 1865, the lira was equal to the Swiss and French francs when Italy joined the Latin Monetary Union. Lira remained to be the official currency of Italy until it was replaced by the Euro (EUR) on January 1, 1999.

Coins were issued from 1807 to 1813 in the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in denominations of 1, 3, and 10 centisimi, 1, 10 and 15 soldi, and 1, 2, 5, 20, and 50 lire. Coins were minted in 1861 in denominations of 1, 2, 5, and 10 in copper, 50 centesimi and 1, 2, 5 lire in silver, and 10 and 20 lire in gold. In 1919, the value of lira was reduced and in 1943, the production of all coins ended. The production resumed in 1946. The circulating coins were replaced with new smaller-sized ones in 1951. 50 and 100 lire were introduced in stainless steel in 1954 to 1955 and 20 lira coins in aluminum-bonze in 1957 and 500 lire in silver the following year. In 1977, 200 lire in aluminum were introduced, followed by the bi-metallic 500 lire in 1982 which was the first bi-metallic coin to be circulated.

In 1882, the issuance of paper money, which was called “Biglietto di Stato,” began. Notes that were called “Buono di Cassa” were issued in 1893 but production was ceased in 1925 and was resumed 10 years later. Before the euro was introduced, 50,000 lire (introduced in 1997), 100,000 and 50,000 (1967), 10,000 and 5,000 lire (1945), and 1,000 lire (1943) were in circulation.

The lira was pegged to USD in 1927 at the rate of 19 lire = 1 dollar. In 1939, the rate was 19.8 lire. A rate of 120 lire to 1 USD was set after the Allied Invasion of Italy. In September 1949, the rate was 625 lire to 1 USD until the early 1970s.

The Singaporean Dollar is the official currency of the country of Singapore. It has the currency code “SGD”, and is further divided into a hundred cents. It is distinguished by the dollar sign; to further differentiate it from other dollar currencies, though, the dollar sign is often preceded by the letter S.

The Singapore dollar was not always the currency used by the country. From 1845-1939, Singaporean money came in the form of Straits dollars. After that, Singapore shifted to Malayan dollars, until 1953 when a common currency between Singapore, Malaya, Brunei, Sarawak, and the British North Borneo called the “Malaya and British Borneo Dollar” entered the picture.

After a series of historical events which led to the expulsion of Singapore from Malaysia – which it joined in 1963 – the country came up with its own currency through the creation of the Board of Commissioners of Currency (which was later on dissolved and replaced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore or MAS). In April 1967, the first series of Singapore Dollars – in the form of bank notes and coins – was introduced.

Cupro-nickel coins were launched in 1967 in the following denominations: 1 dollar, and 5, 10, 20, 50 cents. A 1-cent coin was likewise introduced; however, this was made of bronze. The second coin series was minted in 1985; this time, the coins were reduced in size. The 5-cent coin in this particular series was made from a mixture of aluminum and nickel. I

n 1987, the dollar coin followed suit. As with other currencies, the coins of Singapore likewise featured various images representative of the country, the most prominent of which is the Singaporean lion symbol. Currently, all the coins bear an image of the country’s Coat of Arms on its face and flower images on the reverse side.

As mentioned, bank notes were likewise introduced in Singapore. The first series of bills was called the “Orchid series”, which had the following denominations: 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500, 1000, and 10,000. The next series, the “Bird series”, introduced a 20-dollar bill in lieu of the 25-dollar note. Between the years 1985 and 1989, the “Ship series” was launched. The old denominations were retained except for the 20-dollar bill. In 1990, a new denomination – the 2-dollar note, was issued.

Russian ruble is the currency used by the Russian Federation and Belarus. This has been the unit of currency for almost 500 years. The name ruble originally meant a piece of chopped gold or silver.

In the 17th century, the amount of ruble depended on what it is composed of. A ruble plated with gold or platinum has a higher value than a usual ruble coin which is made of 28 grams of silver. As years went by, the amount of silver and the amount of gold that was be put in coins was standardized by the Government so that it will have an exact value for denomination purposes.

Russian ruble is equivalent to 100 kopek or 100 Russian coins. Russian coins since 1724 are minted in Moscow and at the Saint Petersburg Mint while paper money is printed in Goznak in Moscow since 1919 up to the present. There are several paper bills or denominations of this monetary unit starting from 10 Russian Ruble up to 5000 paper bill. So just imagine how many Russian coins you have to count when you have a 5000 RB paper bill.

There is no specific symbol for this currency; however there are two candidates that are being proposed by the Central Bank. The first one is the P sign with a stroke below the top which looks like the symbol used for Philippine Peso. The second one is the proposed symbol from a competition by Russian News and Information Agency called the Swanling Symbol.

As of February 2011, a US dollar which is the usual currency used for international transactions, is equivalent to 29.18 RUB. Meaning, US is more likely to be a more progressive country than Russia.

A drastic drop in ruble happened in 2008 during the oil price increase. Much of their export and business is associated with the oil industry that is why the country and the money market felt the recession. Against other currencies, the fall of Russian Ruble was greatly seen in the World Market which was why Banks in Russia were advised to raise interest rates in all forms.

The flag of Jamaica, as one of the country’s national symbols, represents the history that its people cherish and take pride in. It depicts the richness of their culture and the strength of its people.

The flag of Jamaica comprises of 4 triangles that are divided a gold saltire. These four triangles are black in hoist and fly, then green triangles below and above. The colors of the flag describe the ideals and things that the Jamaicans place great value on. These colors are also Pan African colors that portray the Jamaican’s pride in their African origin.

The flag can be literally interpreted as “the sun shineth, the land is green and the people are strong and creative”. The gold is seen as the sun that gives light and the gold that depicts natural wealth. The green color signifies the lush environment and natural resources that surrounds Jamaica and the hope that keeps the country going despite its hardships and trials. The black on the other hand has been interpreted before as the hardship that the people have faced and has been facing ever since. These hardships then mold the Jamaicans into a race of strength and optimism. Currently though, the government of Jamaica have revised its meaning as the strength and creativity of Jamaicans.

The national flag of Jamaica has some standard etiquette to follow – the National Flag Code. This code is a set of rules created by Ms. Ouida Ridgard was designed to ensure that the flag is always the primary flag being flown and it is always in a good condition. Some of the codes are written below:

• If the flag is worn and is needed to be replaced, burn it
• The flag should never be smaller than any other flags being flown at the same time
• It should never be allowed to touch the ground
• It shouldn’t be draped over any vehicles except on military or police vehicles

Ever wonder what it is like to be born in medieval period, and looking forward to turn back the hands of time? Like you wanted to wear crowns, dance with the orchestrated music as you are clothed with big tulle dresses, ride on a horse, meet your knight in shining armor, and escaped your fixed marriage that was planned by your mother queen. Then here’s a country that will take you back to its historical events when you visit Croatia. This country is known to have a picturesque coastline. According to the National Geographic Channel Adventure Magazine, the perfect country for your destination is Croatia. And if you want to propose for your fiancé, this country will help you to get her “I do”. This country makes an excellent destination list addition.

In 1990 Croatia achieved their independence from Yugoslavia and the flag is composed of three parallel lines with the colors white, red, and blue. The crest that lies at the center has red and white checker pattern. The five shields crown the top of the crest, and tell the historical events of Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia. The colors of the flag represent red and white for Croatia, white and blue for Slavonia, while red and blue for Dalmatia. Hence, Croatia implies that bravery is greater for the nation to achieve peace. For Slavonia, everyone should prioritize calmness to have peace, while the Dalmatia – they just simply tell that greater calmness makes everyone joyful. If you sum-up these colors, the flag of Croatia is a symbol of a united country that was made of three. However, in 1995, Miroslav Krleza takes to mean that the colors convey the history of Croatia from blood of the country’s martyrs, peaceful lamb resembling nature, as well as the people’s devotedness to God.

This country has a flag that characterizes the political views of the nation. Unlike the others, the Honduran flag was made to represent the country’s geography and the five stars symbolize the Central American countries that used to be the members of the union. The country that it said to indicate their political status is Panama. The flag of Panama has four quarters that acknowledges the present political situation of the country. If the blue for other flags means sea, sky, and royalty, the color blue at the left bottom of Panama’s flag symbolizes the conservative party, whilst the color red at the top right represents the liberal party. The color white brings in peace and purity, and the two stars – the first one is the blue star that lies at the center of the top white left part, illustrates the new life as it was expected for the country, and the color involves the value of honesty and purity. The red star stands for the core of law and authority. At the same time, this star stays at the center of the white, where the color white is place at the bottom right. The joined stars indicate a new form of republic.

It is indeed exciting to discover that there is a woman named Maria Ossa de Amador who finished the 3 flags before the independence day of Panama from Columbia. The tale behind this flag as it was made secretly on November 1, 1903 was safely kept from the Columbian government. The good thing about this – that the flags were finished before the declaration of their freedom on November 3, 1903. The Panama flag was officially adopted by the ley 48 de 1925 and remembered after independence on November 4.

The peso is the official currency of the Philippines and is usually denoted by the symbol “₱”. It has the code of PHP. Other means of writing the peso are “PhP”, “P”, or “P”. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (formerly called as Central Bank of the Philippines) controls the issuance of coins and banknotes in the country. The peso is subdivided in 100 centavos or sentimo in Filipino language.

Before the colonization of Spain, early Filipinos traded goods with neighboring islands through barter exchange. Later they made use of gold which some numismatists claimed to be the earliest coin of the Filipinos.

When the Spaniards came afoot in the Philippines in 1521, the unit of trade was the “teston” (four-reales silver) until the founding of Manila in 1574. In the native tongue, the coin was referred to “salapi”,which means “money” in English. The Spaniards introduced the Real de la Ocho silver, known to the Spanish Empire as peso.

The monetary situation of the Philippines became a problem because different types of coins with different values were introduced. These include Peseta Columnaria, Real Fuertes, Peseta Sencilla, Pesos deMinas and many more. They were difficult to comprehend and hindered trading. In order to solve the confusion, a decimal system was introduced in the 1850’s.

The Banco Español-Filipino de Isabel 2 circulated notes for 10, 25 and 50 pesos fuertes (strong peso) in 1852. It issued more notes in 1877 with denominations of 1, 4 and 25 pesos fuertes.

In the 1861, 1, 2, and 5 peso coins made of gold, were introduced. Three years later, silver 10, 20 and 50 centimos de peso were done. Sometime between 1903 and 1918, certificates made out of silver were dispatched with denominations of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 pesos. The coins made these years were of bronze a half, and 1 centavo, cupro nickel of 5 centavos and silver 10, 20 and 50 centavos and 1 peso.

The Banco Español-Filipino issued more notes in 1904; denominations of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 200 pesos were seen. The bank later changes its name to Bank of the Philippine Islands in 1912. It continued to issue the currency up to 1933. The one peso coin stopped circulating in 1912 and that of the 50 cents in 1921.

The Philippine National Bank (PNB) also had been issuing notes in 1916. Denominations of 2, 5 and 10 pesos, and emergency notes in 1917 for 10, 20 and 50 centavos, 1, 5, 10 and 20 pesos were made. Around 1918 – 1937, the PNB issued notes in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pesos.

During the Japanese occupation, no coins were minted and banknotes were frequently called “The Mickey Mouse Money”.

Coins were minted back in 1958 – bronze 1 centavo, brass 5 centavos and nickel brass 10, 25 and 50 centavos were made. The whole coinage system was altered through the years. Currently, coins in circulation are: 5, 10, 25 centavos and 1, 5, 10 coins.

The 1967, the Central Bank of the Philippines changed its name to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Two years later, it introduced the following notes – 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 peso. The 500 peso notes were circulated in 1987, 1,000 peso notes in 1991 and 200 peso notes in 2002. The 5 and 10 peso notes have stopped circulating, though still considered as legal tender.

As of February 23, 2011, 1 USD = 43.65 PHP.

The flag of Bulgaria has three-equal horizontal colors, (starting from top) white-green-red, which reflects their nation. This country’s flag is unique because green means tranquility, and in a nutshell, green means hope to spread joy, and love to provide tranquility to everyone. Red shows that this country has a strong belief on power, toughness, guts, and fearlessness. White is the color that represents in nation to have peace and honesty. This flag reminds their constitution to have sovereignty and freedom.

If you are looking the finest of one of the finest things, this country is best for its wine. Bulgaria agitates the other countries because of their refine wines like Mavrud, Meriot, Sauvignon, and Syrah. For health conscious, this country is really known also for their kiselo mlyako, and this is a healthy Bulgarian yogurt because of the good bacteria. If a country is known for their good physical condition then color green is best to stand for health and wealth. In 2007 the country is recognized as the new El Dorado because of their gold.

White… this color implements two rules – honesty and peace. The nation has always highly valued peace; therefore, the people are quite honest with each other. Honduras is very strict when it comes to their flag, because these does not only reflects to the country’s governance but it echoes the responsibility of every civilians. According to the experts, the color white, which is associated with blue, mirrors the sea and the sky. This color reminds the people to be vigilant, to always speak the truth and to achieve justice, loyalty and aim to persevere.

The flag of Honduras became the country’s official flag in 1886 and has three equal horizontal lines; the white color embodies the land and is in between the two horizontal blue bands, and also, this color made it less difficult for the researchers to visualize the geography of this country. As it describes that the country is a land that is in between the ocean and the sea; hence, the first blue band means the Pacific Ocean and the other one is the Caribbean Sea. The five stars in an X pattern lies over the center of the white band, as it also represents the five former members of the union and these are Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador. The size of the flag is actually the same as the U.S. flag.

Who would have thought that when he reached the mainland, this country will going to have a name subsequent to his exclaimed! This fact is really interesting when Christopher Columbus reached the certain part of this country, and is named after to his yell. The word Honduras came from his cried-out that he thanked God for they have left these depths. They say it in Spanish as Gracias a Dios que hemos salido de estas Honduras! The historians believe that the place where Columbus’ group reached was named as Gracias a Dios, and the whole country was then called – Honduras, meaning depths.

This country is known to have three different years that they achieved their freedom, and also the same number of years that this country was taken by Russia twice, and Germany once. In 1918, the flag of Estonia was first raised to declare the people’s nationalism to the country. But, after 22 years, Russia took over this country, and the first time that the flag was banned was on June 1940. After 2 days the flag was replaced by the Estonian SSR flag. In 1941, the Germans invaded this country and within 4 years, the Estonian flag was accepted but not acknowledged as the national symbol. However, in 1944, Germany gave back the freedom of Estonia. After the 45 years of freedom, Russia, for the second time occupied Estonia in 1989 and once again, the flag was removed for the rest of the year. Surprisingly, Russia finally restored the full independence of Estonia on August 7, 1990 as well as the three parallel bands of blue-black-white colors of Estonian flag which was hoisted on the Pikk Hermann tower.

On the other hand, if countries like Austria and Honduras describe the white color as peace and honesty, the Estonian flag characterize white to stand for the worth of determination headed for enlightenment and good value, liberty, and hope. This color also embodies the summer season as it was glistened by the midnight sun, and the snow and also the birch bark. Whilst, the blue color symbolizes loyalty, confidence in one’s self, and dedication, as this color is symbolic of the sky, lake and sea.

Mongolia’s official currency is the tögrög or tugrik, with the sign of ₮ and the international currency code of MNT. Before, it was subdivided into 100 möngö (similar to cents). Möngö coins have stopped circulating around the country because of inflation. They were abandoned and are now sold to coin collectors and tourists as novelty items to be collected or as souvenirs to be given to tourists. During 2010, the Mongolian tugrik was hailed as the best performing currency in the whole world.

The tugrik was introduced on December 1925 at a value roughly equivalent to one Soviet Ruble. Other currencies like the Mongolian Dollar were later replaced by the tugrik – which became the sole currency – on April 1928. At the time of socialism, the currency were circulated at 1 möngö, 2 möngö, 5 möngö, 10 möngö, 15 möngö, 20 möngö, 50 möngö, and 1 tugrik. During the time of the Mongolian People’s Republic, banknotes were fashioned like the Soviet Ruble. This even includes the design, line up and color. The denominations were 1 tugrik, 2 tugrik, 5 tugrik, 10 tugrik, 25 tugrik, 50 tugrik, and 100 tugrik. Below is the list of the banknotes with their specific color during that era:

1 tugrik –brown color
2 tugrik –green color
5 tugrik –blue color
10 tugrik –green color
20 tugrik –red color
25 tugrik –lilac color
50 tugrik – also of green color
100 tugrik – also of brown color

Old banknotes were printed in the Soviet Union, while the new ones done in Great Britain. When the Mongolian People’s Republic ended in 1990, higher tugrik values were issued. Currently, the highest denomination is 20,000 tugrik note.

Exchange rates differ on a daily basis. The Mongolian Tugrik changes as well. Currently, for February 23, 2011, 1 tugrik or = 0.00080 US Dollar.

With a hundred tugrik or tögrög, one can ride in a trolleybus in Ulaanbaatar. A ride across town in a regular bus in Ulaanbaatar can cost a person about 200 tugrik. 400 tugrik might buy the average bottled water.

Grief is a word that describes black. This color unfolds the stories of misfortune, death, and conflict. In contrast with the Roman Catholic, black represents the priest’s capitulation to God. Black might also mean refinement, and people who wear all black can increase their attractiveness. But when it comes to business and employment, this color is a trademark of determination. A flag with a black color presents a strong-minded nation for Belgians. However, in Egypt this color means a fresh start for the second time.

A country said to have determination might mean it is a habitat of successful individuals. The color black actually lies vertically to the left were the flag is lift. The flag of Belgium is composed of three colors (starting from the left) black, yellow, and red. The color yellow is at the center, which means to have a heart with generosity. The color yellow not only means bright, vibrant, cheerful or sunny, but also courage. Whilst the red is a color that always catches attention and demonstrates awareness, for Belgians red means strength, hardiness, bravery, and valor. The Belgians’ symbolisms for red are nearly the same as the Austrians’.

Actually, this flag has a strange ratio of 13:15 and the facts about the proportions are still unsolved. When the Belgians are asked about their flag, they always say that a flag is really rectangle and not square. The maker/s of this flag was actually inspired by the German flag, nonetheless the flag is horizontal and the vertical style was inspired by France’s flag. The yellow pantone is yellow 116 c and the red pantone color that was used is 186. The pantone colors are based from swatches.

Red is a powerful color and everyone knows that this color has a lot of meanings. It could mean love, supremacy, war, open-mindedness or even disease. Since this color is used for supremacy, the color red was used in Austria to characterize strength. This trait stirs to have bravery. When a state is known to have courage or bravery it has a hardiness to have a strong notion on aggregating heroism. For a land to always have valor has precedence in heroic acts.

The flag of Austria has three parallel lines with two red colors and in between is color white. Same with the other countries – white still represents honesty and truth. It does not matter if you are known but an act of honesty towards others causes chain reactions, widening the message of peace in each mind, calmness in heart, strength of soul, and harmony to the environment.

Nonetheless, the ratio of 2:3 is still not classified as the flag’s size, because the law officials did not discuss about authenticating it. They only talked about the design of the emblems, as they symbolize wealth and devotion. The red color pantone used is 255-0-0 color or medium red. There’s actually a legend behind this flag and one of the head of state in Austria was garb in white battle clothing and at the end of the war he was entirely stained with blood. At the time that he removed his belt, he is surprised to see that it was not soiled with blood as it exposed the red-white-red, and it was taken to use for his trademark. The flag in itself speaks of the history of Austria.

The Rufiyaa is the currency of the country Maldives. The term rufiyaa was taken from the Hindu word “rupiyaa”, and first and foremost to a Sanskrit term “rupya” which means “wrought silver”. The country’s currency symbols are MRF and Rf; the Maldivian Rufiyaa’s code is MVR. The one responsible for issuing the currency is the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA). The rufiyaa was divided in 100 laari. Think of it as cents.

During the 13th century, Maldives was widely using cowry shells (Cypraea moneta) as a form of currency, and they were highly in demand. It is said that more than 40 ships, loaded with cowry shells, were exported every year. Sometime between the 17th and 18th century, straps of silver wires were folded in half and dyed with Arabic inscriptions. These silvers were called lärin and were traded as a currency in countries like Ceylon, India, the Far East, and the Persian Gulf.

Ghaazee Mohamed Thakurufaanu Al Auzam was the first sultan to have his own seal imprinted on the currency. The prints could not be understood quite well because the seal was much bigger than the wires. Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar introduced coins which were a lot neater and legible compared to previous kinds of money. They were also made out of pure silver. In 1787, when Hassan Noorudding was sultan, gold coins replaced the silver ones.

It was in the great 19th to 20th century that bronze coins were circulated and came to be known as the laari. Around 1900-1904, historians thought that maybe during the reign of Sultan Mohamed Imaadhudheen IV, machines were the ones printing the coins because of the quality of the engravements – fine and superb. His successor issued 1 and 4 laari denominations and had them printed in the United Kingdom in 1913. These were the last of the bronze coins to be created. The denominations of 1, 2, 5 and 10 rufiyaa were printed and circulated in 1945. Two years after that, the Sultanate came to use the Ceylonese Rupee. Coins made out of steel clad copper nickel were introduced in 1983. A lot of new coins were then distributed. Coins now in circulation are 1 laari, 2 laari, 5 laari, 10 laari, 25 laari, 50 laari, 1 rufiyaa, and 2 rufiyaa. Bank notes were issued in 1983 as well, and are used up to this day – with the denominations of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 rufiyaa. In 1990, 500 rufiyaa was put into circulation, with the 2 rufiyaa replaced by a coin in 1995.

The exchange rate of one US Dollar to Rufiyaa as of February 23, 2011 is, buying: 12.75 :: selling: 12.85.

The US Virgin Islands is an unincorporated territory of the United States of America which is why it features some of the symbols in the American Great Seal. The flag of the US Virgin Islands is composed of a golden simplified version of the American Bald Eagle with an American shield facing left in a white background. In its left claw, the eagle is holding a sprig of laurel leaves and in its right are three blue arrows. The letters V and I are located in the left and right portion of the flag.

The flag of US Virgin Islands’ sprig of laurel symbolizes victory while the three arrows represent the three major islands of the territory namely St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John. The white draft of the flag is purity and the clouds while the golden color signifies wealth and other flora of the island. The color blue represents the sky above and the waters of the territory while the green is the hills that are abundant in the islands. Lastly the letters V and I stand for the initials of the Virgin Islands.

The flag of the US Virgin Islands has been adopted on May 17, 1921. It was during the leadership of Rear Admiral Summer Ely Whitmore Kitelle when he was governor that the flag was conceptualized. With the help of Mr. White and Percival Wilson Sparks, the flag was drawn, sewn and hoisted for the first time. The wife of Mr. Sparks, Grace, and his sister, Blanche Joseph embroidered the design.

History says that the islands were once the property of Denmark. It was named then as the Danish West Indies. The United States showed interest and later bought it with 25 million dollars. During the Denmark ownership, the territory used flags that incorporate the Danish flag.

Georgian lari
Photo by: Wikipedia, Creative Commons

Claiming a wine to be the best in the world depends on personal preference. But when history becomes significant, the country of Georgia would be pioneer in wine making.

Located in Eurasia, where the European common grapevine grows, Georgia is the oldest wine producers. But compared to its aged wine, the country’s official currency, Georgian lari, is quite young.

Georgia has its own monarchy but due to wars of conquering nations, was forced to rely on Russian protection in the 18th century. They have become a democratic republic in 1918, but then were invaded by and had succumbed to the Soviet Union. The Russian ruble had been the dominating currency, but since 1993, the country’s Kupon lari replaced the ruble. With only banknotes on hand, they had suffered high inflation rates. It was then replaced in 1995 by lari, subdivided into 100 tetri, and issued in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 denominations. The adopted tetri was the monetary system that existed sometime in the 13th century. Coins were also issued in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 tetri, as well as coins for 1 and 2 lari.

The Georgian lari is a closed currency, which can only be exchanged in particular offices within the boundaries of Georgia. It could not be exported nor imported. So when leaving the country, remaining lari should immediately be exchanged.
To make improvements to their reformed economy, a flat tax rate was imposed. The government redeemed control over its finances quickly. Agriculture and tourism had also been good sources of income. Currently, the exchange rate is around 1.75 GEL to 1 USD.

There are lots of exchange businesses that offer better exchange rates than the official exchange offices. A convenience when traveling to rural areas, where business preferred lower denominations.

When it comes to the banknote designs, most of the featured people on the lari bills were prominent historical people. Most of them were artists, academics, and musicians. There were also public figures and sovereigns who were important contributors to Georgia’s progress. Like wine, a currency will be better with age.

The British Virgin Islands, or the Virgin Islands, is a British overseas territory that is located at the Caribbean Sea and to its south is Puerto Rico. The flag of the British Virgin Islands is a British blue ensign with the Union Jack on its upper left corner and the British Virgin Island’s coat of arms in the lower right. The blue ensign is consistent with the other British overseas territories.

The present flag of the British Virgin Islands has been adopted in 1956 and the badge or coat was the one used way back in history.

The Union Jack on the upper left corner of the flag of the British Virgin Islands signifies unity, as consistent with any other territory that bears the flag. The coat of arms on the other hand bears the scroll with the inscription “Vigilate” or “be watchful”. It also carries the picture of St. Ursula and eleven lamps that signifies the eleven thousand virgins that accompanied or followed her right throughout the crusades. These virgins, together with St. Ursula, were said to be martyred during that crusade. The depiction was so placed because the archipelago is named after said virgin. When Christopher Columbus sighted the chain of islands, the story of the virgin St. Ursula came to his attention. He then named the place Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Virgenes, or Saint Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgins. The name was shortened to its present nomer –the Virgin Islands.

The coat of arms, however, is being used with the discretion of the governor to authorize it. There are circumstances in which the governor can sanction its use:

1. It is used for decorative purposes
2. If the Union Flag is unsuitable or most likely to cause confusion in or outside the British territories

Increasing zeros in money should denote higher value, but for that country’s citizens only. However, when the foreign exchange rates dive to an unbelievable low, the higher amount of zeros on the bill, the poorer the country gets.

The Japanese invasion made it possible for Indonesia to establish an initial monetary system. Still, the Dutch invasion and its conflict with Japan suppressed the plan to advance this scheme. Only when the government firmly decided to pursue the printing of the new money, despite predicted setbacks, was the country able to launch the first Indonesian rupiah in 1946.

Being famous for having the Spice Island as an archipelago, the Dutch refused to remove their hold on the country. After the struggle for independence, Indonesia finally achieved a fixed exchange rate of 415 IDR per 1 USD. A rupiah is equal to 100 sen, its sub-unit, but the currency’s continued devaluation eventually made obsolete the sen coins and banknotes.

The circulating rupiah denominations are 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, 20000, 50000, and 100000 in banknotes. One rupiah is still an official bill but is practically worthless. Subsequently, all notes below 1000 IDR lost their purchasing ability because of further inflation.

The Indonesian rupiah converted freely, but is considered risky to keep. Even being at float, the current exchange rate falls to around 9000 IDR per USD. So in 2010, the government proposed to cut back the zeros for simple daily transactions. The resulting attempt was the use of ribu or Rb as replacement for the last three zeros of a thousand rupiah, and juta or Jt replacing zeros in a million. The US dollar eases the economy, so far, as the second currency, while the official sets out to reform its condition.

The rupiah bills should then be kept in good condition. The exchange offices are very particular with the quality. It’s important to take note that older and crumpled bills have lower exchange rate compared to new and maintained ones. The banks are even stricter when it comes to US dollar exchange stating 1996 issues as non-convertible. This is generally the effect of widespread counterfeiting.

The Malaysian Ringgit is the national currency of Malaysia. Formerly known as the Malaysian Dollar, it is officially abbreviated to RM (Ringgit Malaysia) and has the currency code of MYR to avoid confusion with other currencies like from Brunei and Singapore, which in Malay language, the currencies for those countries are also referred to as ringgit. Bank Negra Malyasia is responsible for issuing ringgit.

A ringgit is divided into 100 sens (cents). Ringgit means “jagged” in Malay because it used to refer to the serrated edges of silver Spanish dollar which were issued in the 16th and 17th century, during the Portuguese Colonial Era.

In 1963, the Federation of Malaysia was established – 18 years after the surrender of Japan to the country. During 1967, the new central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia issued the Malaysian dollar (M$) which replaced the Malaya and British Borneo dollar at par. The Malaysian dollar denominations are similar to the Malaya and British Borneo dollar.

Finally in August 1975, the Malay words ringgit and sens were adopted officially as the names to be used in the currency. However, in other parts of the country, some people still continue to refer the currency as dollars and cents. Coin denominations for the Malaysian Ringgit are 1 sen, 5 sen, 10 sen, 20 sen, 50 sen, and 1 ringgit. For banknotes, they are of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 denominations.

Introduced in 1986 were currency controls that stabilized the economy and minimized speculation. It was only during the 1990’s that the Malaysian dollar sign “M$” was replaced by Ringgit Malaysia “RM”.

From 1997 to 1998, the ringgit lost almost half of its value to the US dollars due to currency fluctuation. Moreover, from 2001 to 2005, it suffered from depreciation against other currencies. Malaysia rescinded with pegging the ringgit to the US Dollars for 7 years. This is to minimize or totally prevent speculations by currency traders.

The exchange rate of Malaysian Ringgit to U.S. Dollars as of February 23, 2011 is: 1.00 Malaysian Ringgit = 0.3279 U.S. Dollar

Hungary or more popularly known as the Republic of Hungary is located in Central Europe. It is surrounded by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the East, and Serbia and Croatia to the south. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is among the thirty most popular tourist destinations of the world.

The flag of Hungary is a tricolor flag with horizontal lines of red, white and green. It had been officially used since October 1, 1957. This flag is a result of a movement which started way back before 1848 and reached its climax in the Hungarian Revolution.

The idea for the flag, which is to be tricolor, is taken from the French flag and the French Revolution. But the idea of the colors was taken from their coat of arms. According to some reports, this tricolor is already being used as early as 1608 during the coronation of Mathias II of Hungary.

Although the colors red, white and green represent strength, faithfulness and hope, it can also mean red for the blood, white for freedom and green for the land. As mentioned the flag is a result of the revolution against Habsburgs. After the revolution the Austrian emperor denies the use of this flag. But it was in 1867 when a settlement was made that the flag of Hungary became their official flag.

Even if it was not stated in their constitution about the exact width and length of the flag there is a law that can be adapted. In this law it says that all vessels shall fly the tricolors in a 2:3 ratio.

Thus the flag of Hungry had its roots from the French flag. Just like the French, it is a result born out of a revolution. Since they wanted to take hold of their freedom the flag serves as a reminder for them of the blood, sweat and tears that they have gone through. The men and women who died for their country – and this flag is a constant reminder of that event.

Rupee is also the currency of the country Pakistan. In order to distinguish it from other rupee countries, like Nepal and India, it has the code of PKR; its sign is Rs. In Pakistan, the rupee is also called as “rupaya” or “rupaye”. The central bank of the country, the State Bank of Pakistan, is the one in control of issuing the currency.

The word rupee came from a Sanskrit word rūp or rūpā, which means silver. That was introduced between the year 1540 and 1545 CE. The Pakistani rupee was circulated in 1947, after they were independent from the British Rule. After a few months from their independence, Pakistan used Indian coins and notes – stamping it with the words “Government of Pakistan” in dual languages, English and Urdu. Denominations of these notes were 1, 2, 5, 10 and 100 rupee.

Of coins, during 1948, denominations made were of 1 pice, ½, 1 and 2 annas, ¼, ½ and 1 rupee. One pie coins were added in the fifties. In January 1961, the rupee was subdivided into 100 pice (the word later changes to paisa and in English, paise). During the 1960s, 1, 5 and 10 pice were issued after which it was renamed to paisa. The 2, 10 and 25 paise were introduced in 1963. One paisa coins were last produced in 1976. The 5, 10, 25 and 50 paise were discontinued in 1994. Introductions of the 2 rupee and 5 rupee coins were made in 1998 and 2002. There are two versions of the 2 rupee coins, some have clouds printed above the Badshahi Masjid and a lot don’t have it.

For the banknotes, the government regularly issues 1, 5, 10, 100 rupee in 1948. The 1 rupee note was discontinued in the eighties. Another issuance of notes was made by the State Bank in 1953, with 2, 5, 10 and 100 rupees notes were issued. Added in 1957 were the 50 rupee notes followed by the 500 rupee in 1986 and 1,000 rupee the next year. The 2 and 5 rupees notes were replaced in the form of coins in 1998 and four years later. The following additions were also made: 20 rupee notes in 2005 and 5,000 rupees in 2006. All the banknotes (except for the 1 and 2 rupee) have the image of Muhammad Ali Jinnah on the obverse. The reverse side has the translation of Prophet Hadith – “Seeking honest livelihood is worship of God.”

Haji notes were also printed due to numerous Haji pilgrims to Saudi Arabia in the 1950s. They stopped circulating in 1978.

As of February 23, 2011 the exchange rate was 1.00 Pakistani Rupee = 0.0117 U.S. Dollar.

Greece – the home of gods and goddesses. Greek mythology is a very popular ideology taught in many grade school history classes. But most consider it just a myth – just plain stories born out of the imagination.

But when we talk of Greece today we know it as the country. And just like any other countries they have their own flag. The flag of Greece is composed of nine horizontal lines of blue that alternates it with white. And on the upper right side in the corner is a white cross on blue background. The cross, it was said symbolizes Greek orthodoxy the authority religion of the Greek people. According to some beliefs, the nine stripes represent the nine muses or goddess.

Throughout history different shades of blue had been used, from light blue to dark blue until it reaches its present shade of blue. Although the colors white and blue have many meanings it was agreed upon that it really represents the sky and sea combines with the white clouds.

It was also believed that the stripes represents the syllables in the phrase Eleftheria i Thanatos, which means Liberty or Death. This was their motto during the Hellenistic Empire in the 19th century.

Although the origins of the flag had always been debated it was later on agreed that the current flag is very much like the flag of the Cretan Kallergis family. Even if there are some other sources that could be similar to the Greek flag sometimes it is very hard to verify what the true origin of their flag is.

According to history the flag was officially used on December 22, 1978. Compared to other flags, the Greek flag can use any shade of blue. Sometimes it may be brighter or sometimes it can be darker. It doesn’t matter what shade of blue is being used.

In conclusion, this flag is unique in its own way in such a way that compared to flag of other countries which have their own colors the flag of Greece even though it bears a standard color the colors can vary according to shade. It’s up to the person doing or designing the flag which shade of blue they wanted to apply.