The highest-valued currency unit is the currency

Currency

In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...

 in which a single unit buys the highest number of any given other currency or the largest amount of a given good. Most commonly the calculation is made against a major reserve currency

Reserve currency

A reserve currency, or anchor currency, is a currency that is held in significant quantities by many governments and institutions as part of their foreign exchange reserves...

 such as the euro

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

 (EUR), the pound sterling

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

 (GBP) or the United States dollar

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

 (USD).

A high-valued currency is distinct from a hard currency

Hard currency

Hard currency , in economics, refers to a globally traded currency that is expected to serve as a reliable and stable store of value...

, which is a currency with a good buying power and which is widely accepted as a reliable store of value

Store of value

A recognized form of exchange can be a form of money or currency, a commodity like gold, or financial capital. To act as a store of value, these forms must be able to be saved and retrieved at a later time, and be predictably useful when retrieved....

. For example, a Kuwaiti dinar is not of very much use outside Kuwait

Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

, and is bound to the economy of that country

Economy of Kuwait

Kuwait is a small, relatively open economy with proven crude oil reserves of about , i.e., about 9% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 90% of export revenues, and 95% of government income. Kuwait lacks water and has practically no arable land, thus preventing development...

. It is in fact pegged

Fixed exchange rate

A fixed exchange rate, sometimes called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currency's value is matched to the value of another single currency or to a basket of other currencies, or to another measure of value, such as gold.A fixed exchange rate is usually used to...

 to a basket of hard currencies. In contrast, the Japanese yen

Japanese yen

The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...

 is considered a hard currency even though the nominal rate of the dinar is more than 280 times that of the yen.

List of highest-valued currency units

As of October 9, 2011, the 13 highest-valued currencies are:

No.	State/Organization	Currency	Code	United States dollar United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... s USD−1	Euro Euro The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...   EUR−1	Kuwaiti dinar Kuwaiti dinar The dinar is the currency of Kuwait. It is sub-divided into 1000 fils. It is the highest-valued currency unit in the world.-History:... s KWD−1	Highest valued coin	Highest valued banknote
1.		dinar	KWD	3.61468 0.276650	2.70256 0.370019	1	.1 (36c)	20 ($72.30)
2.		dinar Bahraini dinar The dinar is the currency of Bahrain. It is divided into 1000 fils . The name dinar derives from the Roman denarius. The dinar was introduced in 1965, replacing the Gulf rupee at a rate of 10 rupees = 1 dinar. The Bahraini dinar is abbreviated .د.ب or BD...	BHD	2.65301 0.37693	1.98356 0.504144	0.733956 1.36248	.5 ($1.33)	20 ($53)
3.		rial Omani rial The rial is the currency of Oman. It is divided into 1000 baisa .-History:Before 1940, the Indian rupee and the Maria Theresa Thaler were the main currencies circulating in Muscat and Oman, as the state was then known, with rupees circulating on the coast and Thaler in the interior...	OMR	2.59781 0.384940 Currency peg.	1.94229 0.514857	0.718683 1.39143	.05 (13c)	50 ($129.90)
4.		lats Latvian lats The lats is the currency of Latvia. It is abbreviated as Ls. The lats is sub-divided into 100 santīmi ....  Scheduled to join the euro Euro The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,... .	LVL	1.88929 0.529300	1.41255 0.707939	0.522671 1.91325	2 ($3.78)	500 ($945)
	IMF	Special Drawing Rights Special Drawing Rights Special Drawing Rights are supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets defined and maintained by the International Monetary Fund . Not a currency, SDRs instead represent a claim to currency held by IMF member countries for which they may be exchanged...	XDR	1.55851 0.641639	1.16524 0.858192	0.431161 2.31932
5.		pound Pound sterling The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...  The highest-valued currency unit of any OECD member-state.	GBP	1.55580 0.642756	1.16321 0.859686	0.430412 2.32335	5 British Five Pound coin The British five pound coin is a redenominated commemorative coin, a continuation of the former crown, being identical with it in size and weight. The crown had continued to be minted occasionally after decimalisation, with a value of twenty-five pence, although, as was the case with most...  (commem. Commemorative coin Commemorative coins are coins that were issued to commemorate some particular event or issue. Most world commemorative coins were issued from the 1960s onward, although there are numerous examples of commemorative coins of earlier date. Such coins have a distinct design with reference to the... ) ($7.78) 2 British Two Pound coin The British two pound coin was first issued as a commemorative coin in 1986 to celebrate the Commonwealth Games in Scotland. Six further commemorative issues followed between 1989 and 1996...  (common) ($3.11)	100 (Sco & NI) ($156) 50 (Eng & Wal) ($78)
		pound Falkland Islands pound The pound is the currency of the Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. The symbol is the pound sign, £, or alternatively FK£, to distinguish it from other pound-denominated currencies...	FKP				2	50
		pound Gibraltar pound The Gibraltar pound is the currency of Gibraltar. It is exchangeable with the UK pound sterling at par value.-History:...	GIP				2	50
		pound Saint Helena pound The Saint Helena pound is the currency of the Atlantic islands of Saint Helena and Ascension, which are constituents of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha...	SHP				2	20
6.		dinar Jordanian dinar The dinar is the currency of Jordan. The dinar is divided into 10 dirham, 100 qirsh or 1000 fils....	JOD	1.41044 0.709000	1.05453 0.948287	0.390197 2.56280	1 ($1.40)	50 ($70)
7.	(Eurozone Eurozone The eurozone , officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union of seventeen European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender... )	euro Euro The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...	EUR	1.33750 0.747664	1	0.370019 2.70256	2 2 euro coins 2 euro coins are made of two alloys: the inner part of nickel brass, the outer part of copper-nickel. All coins have a common reverse side and country-specific national sides...  ($2.66)	500 ($670)
8.		manat Azerbaijani manat The Manat is the currency of Azerbaijan. It is subdivided into 100 qəpik. The word manat is borrowed from "moneta" which is pronounced as "maneta"...	AZN	1.27162 0.786400	0.950742 1.05181	0.351793 2.84258	.50 (64c)	100 ($127)
9.		dollar Cayman Islands dollar The Cayman Islands Dollar is the currency of the Cayman Islands. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively CI$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is subdivided into 100 cents...	KYD	1.13959 0.877509	0.852030 1.17367	0.315268 0.315268	.25 (28c)	100 ($114)
10.		franc Swiss franc The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...	CHF	1.07898 0.926800	0.806715 1.23959	0.298500 3.35008	5 ($5.39)	1000 ($1079)
11.		dollar United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....	USD	1	0.747664 1.33750	0.276650 3.61468	1 (common) .25 Quarter (United States coin) A quarter dollar, commonly shortened to quarter, is a coin worth ¼ of a United States dollar, or 25 cents. The quarter has been produced since 1796. The choice of 25¢ as a denomination, as opposed to 20¢ which is more common in other parts of the world, originated with the practice of dividing...  (more common)	100
		dollar Bahamian dollar The dollar has been the currency of The Bahamas since 1966. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively B$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents....	BSD	1			1 (rare) .25 (common)	100
		dollar	BMD				1	100
		balboa Panamanian balboa The balboa is, along with the United States dollar, one of the official currencies of Panama. It is named in honor of the Spanish explorer/conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa. The balboa is subdivided into 100 centésimos.-The History of the Panamanian Balboa:The balboa replaced the Colombian peso...	PAB				.50	-
		convertible peso Cuban convertible peso The convertible peso , is one of two official currencies in Cuba, the other being the peso. It has been in limited use since 1994, when it was treated as equivalent to the U.S. dollar: its value was officially US$1.00. On November 8, 2004, the U.S...	CUCNot an ISO 4217 ISO 4217 ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes , and references to minor units in three tables:* Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list...  currency code.	1 A 10% tax applies on all conversions to and from the US dollar.			5 (rare) 1 (common)	100
12.		dollar Australian dollar The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...	AUD	0.977400 1.02312	0.730766 1.36843	0.270398 3.69826	200 (commem. Commemorative coin Commemorative coins are coins that were issued to commemorate some particular event or issue. Most world commemorative coins were issued from the 1960s onward, although there are numerous examples of commemorative coins of earlier date. Such coins have a distinct design with reference to the... )($195) 2($1.95)	100 ($98)
13.		dollar Canadian dollar The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...	CAD	0.962094 1.03940	0.719322 1.39020	0.266163 3.75709	2 ($1.92)	100 ($96.20) 1000 (Discontinued in 2000) ($962)

Mathematical details

• Bold values are defined pegged rate by various authorities
• Exchange rate data was obtained from xe.com

See also

• Least valued currency unit
  Least valued currency unit
  The least valued currency unit is the currency in which a single unit buys the least number of any given other currency or the smallest amount of a given good. Most commonly, the calculation is made against a major reserve currency such as the United States dollar or the euro...
  
  
• Denomination (currency)
  Denomination (currency)
  Denomination is a proper description of a currency amount, usually for coins or banknotes. Denominations may also be used with other means of payment like gift cards. See also Redenomination.-Subunit and super unit:...
  
  
• List of countries by foreign exchange reserves