How many countries are there?

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We hear this question quite often, and the answer may surprise you. New countries emerge, others cease to exist, some change their names, while others stop printing (issuing) their own currency. For the purpose of collecting foreign money, you would like to know how many countries there are, right? We can give you answers, and there is not just one answer.

What most people wind up doing is collecting at least one bill from as many countries as possible. That is often the most practical way to collect, partly because the money from certain countries or regions can be relatively expensive. Some of the most costly bills have come from Abyssinia, Belgian Congo, French Equatorial Africa, Panama, Puerto Rico, Portuguese India, Sarawak, and Straits Settlements, just to name a few.

On the other hand, some countries that are no longer on the map have printed extensive amounts of bills, and they can still be acquired at affordable prices. Examples of such countries are Biafra, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Japanese Malaya, Japanese Burma, Krajina, Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Zaire.

Also, many countries that still exist no longer print their own money: Ecuador, El Salvador, and Serbian Republic (Banja Luka), for instance, are countries whose bills are still readily available.

What a lot of collectors are doing is trying to obtain at least one bill from as many different countries as their budget will allow. For this reason, every collector may have a different number of countries in her/his collection.

However, in 2008, there were approximately 230 countries, both existing and non-existing, offering currency bills at relatively low prices.

The complete list of countries and regions that are no longer printing their own currency is quite extensive, but here is a partial one:

Abyssinia
Andorra
Azores
Bavaria
Belgian Congo & Ruanda-Urundi
Bohemia & Moravia
British Army Bases
British Caribbean Territories
British East Africa
British Guiana
British Honduras
British North Borneo
British West Africa
Burma
Ceylon
Confederate States of America
Congo People's Republic
Curacao
Czechoslovakia
Dahomey
Danish West Indies
Danzig
East Germany
Ecuador
El Salvador
Equatorial African States
French Affars & Issas
French Antilles
French Equatorial Africa
French Guiana
French India
French Indochina
French Oceania
French Sudan
French West Africa
German East Africa
German New Guinea
German South West Africa
Gilbert & Ellice Islands
Greenland
Guadeloupe
Hawaii
Hejaz
Hidalgo
Ionian Islands
Irian Barat
Isles of France & Bourbon
Italian East Africa
Italian Somaliland
Jason Islands
Java
Kampuchea
Katanga
Keeling-Cocos Islands
Khmer Republic
Kiau Chau
Krajina
Laibach
Leeward Islands
Liechtenstein
Madeira
Malagasy Republic
Malaya
Malaya & British Borneo
Manchuria
Martinique
Memel
Monaco
Montenegro
Morelos
Muscat & Oman
Netherlands Indies
Netherlands New Guinea
New Caledonia
New Hebrides
Newfoundland
Oceania
Palestine
Panamá
Portuguese Guinea
Portuguese India
Puerto Rico
Qatar & Dubai
Réunion
Rhodesia
Rhodesia & Nyasaland
Riau
Riff
Rwanda-Burundi
Saar
Saint Pierre & Miquelon
Sarawak
Serbian Republic (Banja Luka)
Sonora
South Arabia
South Vietnam
South Yemen
Southern Rhodesia
South West Africa
Soviet Union
Straits Settlements
Siberia
Sudetenland & Lower Silesia
Tahiti
Tamaulipas
Tangier
Tannu-Tuva
Texas
Tibet
Timor
Turks & Caicos Islands
Upper Senegal & Niger
Venice
Western Samoa
Yemen Democratic Republic
Yugoslavia
Zaire
Zanzibar


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