(a) What is (i) commodity money? (ii) token money? (iii) fiduciary issue? (iv) quasi money?
(b) State any four functions of money.
Explanation
(a)(i) Commodity money is an item or commodity that is generally acceptable as medium of exchange. Such items must have both money value and intrinsic value. Commodities such as gold, silver and beads served as commodity money.
(ii) token money is a monetary medium that has higher face value than the value of the materials from which it is minted.
(iii) Fiduciary issue: This is described as that part of note issue that is not backed by gold.
(iv) Quasi money. This is also known as near money and can be described as money assets that serves temporarily as money and are convertible into money in a short time without loss of value, e.g. drafts, bonds, treasury bills, cheques and promissory notes.
(b) Functions of money are:
(i) Money serves as a medium of exchange. It serves as a means of payment for goods and services.
(ii) It serves as a unit in terms of which the value of all of goods and services is measured and expressed
(iii) Money serves as a store of value.
(iv) Money serves as a standard for deferred payment.