Currency

The currency in the World of Avatar is based on precious metals. All nations that use currency seem to use the same metals; however, they fashion them in different shapes and sizes.

Most nations appear to use gold, silver, and copper pieces, with gold seemingly having the largest value.

Water Tribe


Water Tribe currency is blue and circular, with a hole in the center. It's shape resembles a ring, and it is deeper than an common coin. As the Water Tribes have a primitive economy based on subsistence, their economic system is not as advanced or sophisticated as those of more developed nations. Water Tribe money is accepted in certain parts of the Earth Kingdom, though some local areas explicitly will not accept Water Tribe currency.

Earth Kingdom
Earth Kingdom coins are mostly round, and all have a square hole in their center which allows them to be strung together. The shape of Earth Kingdom currency is the same as the nation's insignia. There is no significant difference between copper, silver, and gold pieces besides the materials of which they are made. The only notable difference is that in gold pieces, the borders are marked by a richer shade of gold.



Copper piece
The copper piece is the coin with the least value in the Earth Kingdom; it is a small circular copper coin, with a square hole in the middle.

Silver piece
A silver piece is an Earth Kingdom coin worth more than a copper piece, but less than a gold piece. It is made of silver, and is the second most valuable monetary item next to gold.

Gold piece
The gold piece is the most valuable coin in the Earth Kingdom. It is worth more than several copper and silver pieces put together.

Fire Nation
Fire Nation coins are much more angular than their Earth Kingdom counterparts. They vary according to weight, size, and shape, though all have a nationalistic emblem on one side and writing on the opposite.



Copper piece
The copper piece is the least valuable coin in the Fire Nation, made of copper. It is a rectangle with two concave sides and a small image of a flame in its center.

Silver piece
The silver piece is the smallest coin in the Fire Nation. It is pentagonal in shape with the national emblem on its front. Although small in size, it is considered to be the second most valuable coin in the Fire Nation.

Gold piece
The gold piece is the longest coin in the Fire Nation and is mostly rectangular in shape with a long slit running from its base to slightly below its top. Consisting entirely of gold, these pieces are the most valuable coins in the Fire Nation.

United Republic


The United Republic of Nations' currency is called a yuan. Denominations of the yuan are available as both metal coins and paper bills. The paper bill features Avatar Aang on the front and an image of City Hall on the back, whereas the coins are golden in coloration, octagonal in shape, and have two characters printed in them, one above the other. There is also round coins worth one yuan each, which features a square in its printing. However, differently from the Earth kingdom currency, these squares are not holes, they are printings instead.

Trivia

 * In the World of Avatar, it is the metal and not the currency itself, that is valuable, much as it was in many parts of the world before the adoption of the banknote. This is known as intrinsic value in numismatic circles.
 * Earth Kingdom copper pieces are similar to Chinese coins before the Qin dynasty.
 * Fire Nation currency resembles some Chinese coins during it Warring states period.
 * The Chinese word that is used to refer to the Fire Nation currency is, which literally means a metal slab.
 * The yuan is also the informal name basic unit of currency in China.
 * The United Republic yuan is the only known currency to use both coins and paper bills.