From squirrel pelt to Euro

This book offers a fascinating journey into the origins and histories of currency names around the world. Author Sándor Maticsák explores 400 different currencies, from the Georgian abazi to the Hebrew zuz. Readers will discover how the florin is connected to Florence, where the name “dollar” comes from, and which currencies once served as units of weight. The book also reveals which nations preserve the memory of Christopher Columbus in their money, which currency is named after a Native American chief, and where exotic birds appear on banknotes. Engaging and informative, this volume beautifully intertwines history, linguistics, and culture through the evolution of currency names.

ANGOL NYELVŰ KIADVÁNY! / ONLY ENGLISH VERSION!

Money plays an important role in most people’s lives. Some are happy that they have it, and there are some who suffer from the lack of it. Some are penny-pinchers and some who throw their money around.
We use them every day, but do we think about the origin of currency names? Do we know the connection between the florin and the city of Florence? Does it come into our mind where the name dollar comes from or if it is related to the thaler? Does the currency name pound have the same roots as the unit of weight? Do we know whether the German mark, the Greek talanton, and drachma or the Spanish peso has ever been a name of a unit of weight as well? What about the shared meaning of the Polish złoty, the Dutch gulden, and the Swedish öre?
In which country is the memory of Christopher Columbus preserved? Which currency is named after an Indian chief? And where is an exotic bird named on banknotes?
This book deals with the origin and history of 400 currency names from the Georgian abazi to the Hebrew zuz. Apart from the well-known European ones, other continents’ currencies are also present in the work. Today’s official currencies (and subunits) and the significant currencies of the past eras can also be found in this volume.
The author, Sándor Maticsák is a professor at the Department of Finno-Ugric Languages of the University of Debrecen (Hungary). This English-language book is based on his Hungarian-language version published in 2018 (A mókusbőrtől az euróig. Pénznevek etimológiai szótára). A weboldalon található termékleírások - a hivatalos kiadói ajánlások kivételével - a Magyar Menedék Könyvesház kizárólagos szellemi tulajdonát képezik (1999. évi LXXVI. törvény), így ezeknek a részleges vagy teljes utánközlése bármely más digitális vagy nyomtatott formában a Magyar Menedék MMK Kft. előzetes írásbeli hozzájárulása nélkül tilos.