Fiat classification matrix

Monetary system Commodity content Redeemable? Legal tender? Issuer Fiat classification Explanation
Weighed silver in an ancient account system High; metal valued by weight Not a claim; metal itself is payment Depends on polity and obligation Merchants, temples, palaces, households Commodity money / accounting system; not fiat Unit of account and payment medium may differ, but metallic value materially anchors settlement.
Lydian electrum coin, c. 575 BCE High precious-metal content Not ordinarily a redeemable claim State acceptance likely important; exact rules vary Lydian or regional authority Commodity money with institutional premium Mint mark and standard reduce verification cost; value still substantially metallic.
Early Roman silver denarius High silver content Coin is the commodity object Legal monetary status under Roman authority Roman state/mints Commodity-hybrid; not fiat Face, tax, and state authority add value, but silver content remains material.
Heavily debased late Roman coin Reduced precious metal; token element grows Usually not a fixed redemption claim State-denominated money Roman state/mints Fiduciary/token coin; disputed fiat-like status Debasement separates denomination from metal but does not automatically create a nonconvertible modern fiat unit.
Private Sichuan jiaozi, c. 1010 Paper has negligible material value Yes, into iron coin Not initially sovereign legal tender Merchant houses Private credit/representative; not fiat Value rests on issuer solvency and coin redemption.
Song government jiaozi, early controlled issues Paper Formally exchangeable with reserve and replacement rules Government-issued; legal status varied by region/issue Song government Representative/hybrid Public monopoly and tax use matter, but meaningful redemption prevents a simple fiat label.
Later Southern Song huizi Paper In principle; increasingly weak in practice Public currency Southern Song government Probable fiat-like/hybrid De jure features and de facto inability to redeem diverged as issue expanded.
Yuan Zhongtong notes, 1260–1275 Paper Meaningful silver-related convertibility Sole legal tender from 1271 Yuan government Representative public money Government monopoly does not make a convertible note fiat.
Yuan paper, 1276–1309 Paper Nominal or restricted, often unavailable Sole legal tender Yuan government Fiat-like hybrid Practical nonconvertibility grows while formal relationships persist.
Yuan paper, 1310–1368 Paper No ordinary commodity redemption Sole legal tender; used in taxes and payments Yuan government Clear early fiat Legally nonconvertible public paper intended as principal money.
Ming Da Ming Baochao, from 1375 Paper No ordinary reverse conversion into metal Compulsory/public standard, though enforcement and practice weakened Ming government Clear or probable fiat National nonconvertible issue; depreciation reflects weak retirement, tax demand, and supply discipline.
Bank of Amsterdam ledger money, early phase Book entry linked to deposited coin Withdrawal under bank rules Required/privileged for specified large settlements Municipal public bank Deposit/representative bank money Ledger form is not fiat by itself.
Bank of Amsterdam ledger money, later phase Book entry Redemption practices altered Public settlement money Municipal public bank Disputed fiat or fiat-like ledger money Scholarship differs over when the liability ceased behaving as redeemable deposit money.
Stockholms Banco credit note, 1661 Paper Promised coin on demand Widely accepted, not sovereign fiat by origin Private chartered bank Fiduciary/representative; not fiat at issue Bank failed when it could not honor redemption.
Bank of England convertible note, eighteenth century Paper Yes, in specie under normal rules Legal status strengthened over time Chartered Bank of England Representative banknote Public-finance connection and fractional reserves do not erase the coin promise.
Bank of England note during Restriction, 1797–1821 Paper No current gold payment Legal and public acceptance strengthened Bank of England under parliamentary restriction Temporary fiat or fiat-like hybrid Operationally nonconvertible, but resumption remained an explicit policy objective.
Massachusetts bill of credit, 1690 Paper Retired or received through future taxes rather than fixed metal redemption Colonial public-payment status Colonial government Tax-backed public credit / hybrid Fiscal redemption differs from commodity convertibility; credibility depends on future levies.
Continental dollar, 1775–1780s Paper No reliable current metal redemption; future fiscal redemption contemplated Legal-tender treatment varied by state and time Continental Congress Fiat-like revolutionary public credit Weak federal tax authority, war, counterfeiting, and political uncertainty undermined value.
Assignat, 1789 initial form Paper Linked to purchase of national lands; interest-bearing Became legal tender later Revolutionary French state Asset-linked public debt; not pure fiat initially Land association was not a simple fixed cash redemption but was economically meaningful.
Assignat after October 1790 Paper No ordinary fixed commodity redemption Yes Revolutionary French state Fiat money with an asset narrative Circulating legal-tender paper expanded beyond credible land retirement and fiscal capacity.
U.S. greenback, 1862–1878 Paper Not currently redeemable in coin Yes, with statutory exceptions U.S. Treasury/Congress Clear nineteenth-century fiat Nonconvertible legal-tender United States Notes circulated during specie suspension.
U.S. greenback after 1 January 1879 Paper Redeemable in coin Yes U.S. Treasury Representative/fiduciary within specie regime Same named note changes classification when convertibility resumes.
Classical gold-standard banknote Paper Yes, at fixed gold parity under national rules Usually, subject to law Central or authorized note-issuing bank Representative money; not fiat Fractional reserve does not negate a legally enforceable conversion promise.
Sterling during World War I suspension Paper/deposits Gold conversion suspended or constrained Yes Bank of England and banking system Temporary fiat-like hybrid Current operation is nonconvertible, but authorities intend restoration.
Bretton Woods U.S. dollar, 1958–1971 Paper/reserve balances Not for ordinary citizens; officially convertible for eligible foreign authorities at $35/oz Yes domestically Federal Reserve/Treasury system Domestic fiat, international representative hybrid Classification differs by holder and level of the monetary system.
Post-1973 U.S. dollar Paper and electronic central-bank liabilities No commodity conversion Yes Federal Reserve/Treasury under U.S. law Clear modern fiat Floating exchange rate and no gold redemption; supported by fiscal, legal, settlement, and market institutions.
Euro Paper and electronic central-bank liabilities No commodity conversion Yes within euro-area law Eurosystem Clear multinational fiat One central bank system serves multiple sovereign fiscal authorities.
Commercial-bank deposit Electronic ledger claim Convertible at par into cash/central-bank money, not commodity Usually not “legal tender” itself Commercial bank Credit money denominated in a fiat unit Private bank liability; monetary because of par convertibility, settlement, regulation, and network use.
Retail CBDC Digital central-bank liability Convertible at par into other forms of central-bank money; no commodity claim Depends on legislation Central bank Digital fiat base money Technology changes access and form, not the nonconvertible monetary standard.
Fiat-backed stablecoin Digital token/private claim Promised fiat redemption, subject to issuer terms Usually not legal tender Private issuer Representative or credit-like token, not sovereign fiat Stability derives from fiat assets and redemption; reserve and insolvency law determine claim quality.