9–10 CLIL | Economics
1 Work in pairs. Look at the
infographic. Which of these
currencies are you familiar with?
2 Read the text quickly. What
different types of currency are
mentioned?
MONEY MATTERS:
UNUSUAL CURRENCIES
You might think that most countries
have a steady supply of cash which
can never run out. However, in 2008,
Argentina actually ran out of coins and
people began to use round, flat sweets
as payment for smaller items and to
give change.
At the other extreme, hyperinflation
has either caused currencies to
become defunct or has meant that
exchange rates have gone a little
crazy. In 1946, Hungary created the
largest denomination in a note with the
100 million billion pengo (also known
as 100 quintillion pengo). Similarly,
hyperinflation had catastrophic effects
on the Zimbabwean dollar in 2008.
The highest banknote at that time was
for ten trillion Zimbabwean dollars.
It sounds like a lot, but in reality this
amount was barely enough to take the
public bus for a week.
Today, we would expect to see
banknotes and coins in use in most
countries. This hasn’t always been the
case and some very different forms of
Optimise B2
US dollar
Euro
GBP
payment have been used. For example,
an island in Micronesia, called Yap, is
known for its use of stone (limestone)
money. Although the US dollar is more
commonly used by its inhabitants on
the island today, the giant stone discs
are still used as currency for particularly
big purchases, like buying a piece of
land or to pay for a wedding. Measuring
up to 12 feet in diameter and weighing
far too much to just pick up and move,
they don’t tend to be moved around
very often.
The currency used over the longest
period of time and across the most
nations is probably the cowry shell. It
was used as currency as far back as
1200 BC. Yet as recently as the 1950s,
small purchases could still be made
using these shells. The shells originate
from the Indian and Pacific Oceans and
most were collected in and shipped
from the Maldives. Used widely across
Africa, Asia and areas of Europe, the
beauty of this currency was the inability
to counterfeit it. Cowry shells were first
used in China and their wide usage,
as currency and as ornamentation on
things like jewellery to display wealth,
began to cause decline in their supply.
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B2
Yuan
Swiss Franc
Canadian dollar
A global currency that doesn’t
use physical coins or notes is the
Bitcoin. Having started in 2009, it
has seen more and more businesses
and individuals invest in it and use it
as currency for transactions. Many
would assume, due to advances in
technology around the word, that
this is the direction all countries
would be moving in. Bitcoin is entirely
digital money, a cryptocurrency, and
it is now just one of hundreds of
other cryptocurrencies, also known
as altcoins. Even though it was
hoped this would be an international
sensation, there are still a lot of
people who have never heard of it
and are unsure of what Bitcoin has
to offer. There was a lot of media
attention at its launch, but globally
the majority of people appear to feel
more comfortable using a traditional,
physical and local currency, which is
controlled by authorities and banks.
Perhaps this is a sign we’re not
moving with the times after all.
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 9–10 CLIL | Economics B2

3 Read the text again and answer the PROJECT

questions.
6 You are going to work on a short
1 Which place ran out of change?
presentation about the currency from
 another country. Work in small groups
2 Which place uses more than one currency today? and choose your currency/country. Do
 research and make notes. Think about
3 Who do the giant stone discs on Yap belong to? the points below when you do your
 research online:
4 What makes cowry shells unique as a currency?
• history

• changes in type of currencies
5 How was wealth shown using cowry shells?
• influence of other countries

• reasons for changes
6 What type of money is the Bitcoin?
• other accepted currency

• materials and designs
4 Read the text again and then choose • quantities and production
T (True) or F (False) for the statements • any other useful information
below. Correct the false sentences.
1 Pengo was the currency in Hungary. T/F 7 Present your findings to the class. Choose
 the most interesting points you found out
2 The currency on Yap is not owned about your chosen country and currency,
by locals. T/F and include illustrations if possible.

3 Stone money is no bigger than 3 ft. T/F VOCABULARY FOCUS
 catastrophic [adj]:  used for describing something
4 Cowry shells are no longer used that is very bad
as currency. T/F counterfeit [v]:  to make an illegal copy of a
banknote, product, ticket, etc.

defunct [adj]:  not existing or working anymore
5 Bitcoin didn’t take off at all. T/F
denomination [n]:  the value of a particular coin or
 banknote
6 It is difficult for some people to hyperinflation [n]:  very high inflation (= a general
understand how Bitcoin works. T/F increase in prices)
 originate [v]:  to begin to exist or appear for the first
time
5 Work in pairs and discuss the questions. ornamentation [n]:  decoration added to something
1 Have you used another currency before? to make it more beautiful
2 Is more than one currency used in your country? quintillion [n]:  one million million million; the
number 1 followed by 18 zeros; also referred to as
3 How do you think currencies will develop in
10 to the power of 18 (1018)
the future?
trillion [n]:  the number 1,000,000,000,000
DID YOU KNOW?

❍ Disney began issuing its own currency in 1987

which could be spent at its theme parks in
California and Florida. They can now be spent at its
US resorts, on cruise bookings, at US Disney stores
and in parts of Disney’s private island Castaway Cay.
Change is given in US currency.

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This sheet may be photocopied and used within the class.
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