''Scheidemünzen'' (singular – ''Scheidemünze'') were

representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

coins or token coins issued alongside '' Kurantgeld'' or currency money in Austria and Germany up to start of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in August 1914 whose intrinsic metal value was less than the legal value stamped on them. Like ''

Notgeld ''Notgeld'' (German for "emergency money" or "necessity money") refers to money issued by an institution in a time of economic or political crisis. The issuing institution is usually one without official sanction from the central government. This ...

'' ("emergency money") they were a kind of

credit money Credit theories of money, also called debt theories of money, are monetary economic theories concerning the relationship between credit and money. Proponents of these theories, such as Alfred Mitchell-Innes, sometimes emphasize that money and cr ...

or fiat coin. The term ''Scheidemünze'' ("division money") referred to the "division into hellers and pfennigs during the purchase process" ("Scheiden auf ''Heller und Pfennig'' beim Kaufvorgang"). It thus applied to the low- to medium-value coins and is often translated as small change coin, small-coin change or just small coin. Since 1915, all coins minted in Germany, including the current euro coins have been ''Scheidemünzen'' or

fiat money Fiat money (from la, fiat, "let it be done") is a type of currency that is not backed by any commodity such as gold or silver. It is typically designated by the issuing government to be legal tender. Throughout history, fiat money was sometime ...

as opposed to

currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general def ...

commodity money Commodity money is money whose value comes from a commodity of which it is made. Commodity money consists of objects having value or use in themselves (intrinsic value) as well as their value in buying goods. This is in contrast to representati ...

whose nominal value is fully covered by its intrinsic value.

History

Antiquity

Early Modern era

19th century

Forced adoption

20th century

Bibliography

* Heinz Fengler: ''transpress Lexikon Numismatik'', Verlag für Verkehrswesen Berlin 1988, * Verein Gelehrter und praktischer Kaufleute: ''Handels-Lexikon oder Encyclopädie der gesamten Handelswissenschaften für Kaufleute und Fabrikanten'', Verlag Ernst Schäfer, 1847, Leipzig * Rudolf Hilferding: ''Das Finanzkapital'', Verlag JHW Dietz Nachfolger GmbH Berlin 1947 (unveränderter Nachdruck von 1910) * C. Schaeffer, Dr. H. Brode: ''Allgemeine Volkswirtschaftslehre'', Verlag C. L. Hirschfeld, Leipzig 1927 Coins of Germany Metallism Debased coins of Germany {{Coin-stub