Commodity money

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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.^[1] This is in contrast to representative money, which has no intrinsic value but represents something of value such as gold or silver, in which it can be exchanged, and fiat money, which derives its value from having been established as money by government regulation.

Examples of commodities that have been used as media of exchange include gold, silver, copper, salt, peppercorns, tea, jewellery (watches, spectacles, etc.) decorated belts, shells, alcohol, cigarettes, silk, cereal, candy, nails, cocoa beans, cowries, barley, coupons; (Canadian Tire "money"), canned food, fast-food items; (burgers, sandwiches, fried chicken, etc.), pornographic material, detergents; (laundry, dishwasher, soap), clothes; (shirts, socks, hat, shoes), fuel (coal, gasoline, batteries, etc.). Several types of commodity money were sometimes used together, with fixed relative values, in various commodity valuation or price system economies.