Editing ISO 4217 (section)

== Types of codes ==
[[Image:South East Asia Exchange Rates (6031878489).jpg|thumb|A list of exchange rates for various base currencies given by a [[money changer]] in Thailand, with the Thailand Baht as the counter (or quote) currency. Note that the code for the [[South Korean won]] is displayed incorrectly; it should be {{Mono|KRW}}.]]

=== National currencies ===
In the case of national currencies, the first two letters of the alpha code are the two letters of the [[ISO&nbsp;3166-1 alpha-2]] [[country code]] and the third is usually the initial of the currency's main unit.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iso.org/iso-4217-currency-codes.html |url-access= |title=ISO 4217 – Currency Codes |year=2015 |agency=International Organisation for Standardisation |access-date=27 June 2022 |url-status= |archive-url= |archive-date= |quote=The alphabetic code is based on another ISO standard, ISO&nbsp;3166, which lists the codes for country names. The first two letters of the ISO&nbsp;4217 three-letter code are the same as the code for the country name, and, where possible, the third letter corresponds to the first letter of the currency name.}}</ref> So [[Japan]]'s currency code is {{mono|1=[[Japanese yen|JPY]]}}: "JP" for Japan and "Y" for [[Japanese yen|yen]]. This eliminates the problem caused by the names ''[[dollar]]'', ''[[franc]]'', ''[[peso]]'', and ''[[Pound (currency)|pound]]'' being used in many countries, each having significantly differing values. While in most cases the ISO&nbsp;code resembles an abbreviation of the currency's full English name, this is not always the case, as currencies such as the [[Algerian dinar]], [[Aruban florin]], [[Cayman Islands dollar|Cayman dollar]], [[renminbi]], [[Pound sterling|sterling]], and the [[Swiss franc]] have been assigned codes which do not closely resemble abbreviations of the official currency names.

In some cases, the third letter of the alpha code is not the initial letter of a currency unit name. There may be a number of reasons for this:
* It is considered important that the code of a completely new currency be highly mnemonic if possible. An example is the assignment of the code {{mono|1=EUR}} to the euro. ISO&nbsp;4217 amendment 94,<ref>{{Cite web |title=ISO 4217 Amendment Number 94 |url=https://www.currency-iso.org/dam/downloads/dl_currency_iso_amendment_94.pdf |website=ISO 4217 Maintenance Agency}}</ref> which created this code, states "The code element 'EU' has been reserved by the ISO&nbsp;3166 Maintenance Agency for use within ISO&nbsp;4217 where 'R' has been appended to make an acceptable mnemonic code." Here the R comes from the third letter in the word "euro".
* The currency in question is replacing another currency of the same name, due to revaluation. So that the two currencies have different codes, a different third letter must be chosen for the code of the new currency. In some cases, the third letter is the initial for "new" in that country's language, to distinguish it from an older currency that was revalued; the code sometimes outlasts the usage of the term "new" itself (for example, the code for the [[Mexican peso]] is {{mono|1=MXN}}, reflecting its 1993 revaluation). Another solution to a revalued currency having the same name as its predecessor is to choose a third letter which results in a 3-letter code with mnemonic significance. For example, the [[Russian ruble]] changed from {{mono|1=RUR}} to {{mono|1=RUB}} following a revaluation, where the B comes from the third letter in the word "ruble".{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}
{{Numismatics}}

=== <span class="anchor" id="XXX"></span><span class="anchor" id="X currencies"></span>X currencies (funds, precious metals, supranationals, other) ===
In addition to codes for most active national currencies ISO&nbsp;4217 provides codes for "supranational" currencies, procedural purposes, and several things which are "similar to" currencies:
* Codes for the [[precious metal]]s [[Gold as an investment|gold]] (XAU), [[Silver as an investment|silver]] (XAG), [[Palladium as an investment|palladium]] (XPD), and [[Platinum as an investment|platinum]] (XPT) are formed by prefixing the element's chemical symbol with the letter&nbsp;"X". These "currency units" are defined as one [[troy ounce]] of the specified metal.
* The code XTS is reserved for use in testing.
* The code XXX is used to denote a "transaction" involving no currency.
* There are also codes specifying certain monetary instruments used in international finance, e.g. XDR is the symbol for [[special drawing right]] issued by the [[International Monetary Fund]].
* The codes for most [[Supranational currency|supranational]] currencies, such as the [[East Caribbean dollar]], the [[CFP franc]], the [[CFAF|CFA franc]] BEAC, and the CFA franc BCEAO. The predecessor to the euro, the [[European Currency Unit]] (ECU), had the code XEU.

The use of the initial letter "X" for these purposes is facilitated by the [[ISO 3166#Codes beginning with "X"|ISO&nbsp;3166 rule]] that no official country code beginning with X will ever be assigned.

The inclusion of the EU (denoting the [[European Union]]) in the [[ISO&nbsp;3166-1]] reserved codes list allows the [[euro]] to be coded as EUR rather than assigned a code beginning with X, even though it is a supranational currency.

=== Numeric codes ===
ISO&nbsp;4217 also assigns a three-digit numeric code to each currency. This numeric code is usually the same as the numeric code assigned to the corresponding country by [[ISO&nbsp;3166-1]]. For example, USD ([[United States dollar]]) has numeric code&nbsp;{{mono|1=840}} which is also the ISO&nbsp;3166-1 code for "US" (United States).