::The trouble with this article is that it is being edited by a lot of people who don't know what money is because they haven't taken basic economics in university, when an advanced degree in economics is required to understand it. They are nonetheless very opinionated despite their lack of knowledge and put forward all kinds of weird theories of their own, which violate the Wikipedia:No original research rule. I don't purport to be an expert on economic theory, but I do have enough courses in the subject to have declared it to be my minor on my first degree. But I deemed math to be my minor instead. I find the Canadian examples to be quite illustrative of the differences. The original Canadian money was the beaver pelt - obviously a commodity money since it could be traded to Europe to be turned into hats. It was supplanted by French gold and silver, which was easier to carry but was always in short supply. One year the payroll ships didn't arrive with the gold and silver to pay the soldiers, and since paying the soldiers was not a good idea, the authorities in New France invented playing card money. They cut up playing cards, wrote an amount on the pieces, signed them, and gave them to the troops in lieu of gold or silver. This was one of the original fiat currencies, and the French authorities had a great deal of difficulty making it go away. It kept circulating for years even after the payroll ships arrived from France carrying gold and silver. It fulfilled a purpose, as a medium of exchange, which is what all modern fiat currencies do. Beaver pelts = commodity money, playing cards = fiat money, gold and silver = a combination of both. Gold and silver coins have both a face value and a commodity value, which are usually drastically different.