Money and Finance: Crash Course Economics #11

So, we’ve been putting off a kind of basic question here. What is money? What is currency? How are the two different. Well, not to give away too much, but money has a few basic functions. It acts as a store of value, a medium of exchange, and as a unit of account. Money isn’t just bills and coins. It can be anything that meets these three criteria. In US prisons, apparently, pouches of Mackerel are currency. Yes, mackerel the fish. Paper and coins work as money because they’re backed by the government, which is an advantage over mackerel. So, once you’ve got money, you need finance. We’ll talk about borrowing, lending, interest, and stocks and bonds. Also, this episode features a giant zucchini, which Adriene grew in her garden. So that’s cool. Special thanks to Dave Hunt for permission to use his PiPhone video. this guy really did make an artisanal smartphone! Crash Course is on Patreon! You can support us directly by signing up at Thanks to the following Patrons for their generous monthly contributions that help keep Crash Course free for everyone forever: Fatima Iqbal, Penelope Flagg, Eugenia Karlson, Alex S, Jirat, Tim Curwick, Christy Huddleston, Eric Kitchen, Moritz Schmidt, Today I Found Out, Avi Yashchin, Chris Peters, Eric Knight, Jacob Ash, Simun Niclasen, Jan Schmid, Elliot Beter, Sandra Aft, SR Foxley, Ian Dundore, Daniel Baulig, Jason A Saslow, Robert Kunz, Jessica Wode, Steve Marshall, Anna-Ester Volozh, Christian, Caleb Weeks, Jeffrey Thompson, James Craver, and Markus Persson -- Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet? Facebook - Twitter - Tumblr - Support Crash Course on Patreon: CC Kids: