What makes paper money valuable

Hire a professional appraiser to grade your coins and tell you how much it is worth. The American Society of Appraisers and International Society of Appraisers have searchable directories of professional appraisers.

A dealer might also be able to help. The American Numismatic Association's offers a list of dealerships by state. If you want someone to appraise your paper money, the Society of Paper Money Collectors recommends that you visit a professional currency dealer.

There are a lot of scams out there! Also, check the reputation of the dealer you are buying from. Though there are no guarantees, a coin dealer's membership in the American Numismatic Association or the Professional Numismatists Guild is a good sign.

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We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. After World War II, the gold standard began to lose effectiveness because gold was traded freely, and in the gold standard was officially abandoned. Today paper money has value because everyone agrees on its usefulness. You can take a dollar bill to almost any store - even in many foreign countries - and know that you will be able to purchase the goods that you need.

In the same way, merchants that accept the paper money know that they will be able to spend it on what they need. Over time, the prices of goods and services increase because there are more dollars competing for fewer goods which drives the price of the goods upward.

The purchasing power of the paper money decreases because it cannot buy as much as it used to. Inflation is measured in terms of how much prices increase over a year.