a piece of money

Money \Mon"ey\, n.; pl. {Moneys}. [OE. moneie, OF. moneie, F.
   monnaie, fr. L. moneta. See {Mint} place where coin is made,
   {Mind}, and cf. {Moidore}, {Monetary}.]
   1. A piece of metal, as gold, silver, copper, etc., coined,
      or stamped, and issued by the sovereign authority as a
      medium of exchange in financial transactions between
      citizens and with government; also, any number of such
      pieces; coin.
      [1913 Webster]

            To prevent such abuses, . . . it has been found
            necessary . . . to affix a public stamp upon certain
            quantities of such particular metals, as were in
            those countries commonly made use of to purchase
            goods. Hence the origin of coined money, and of
            those public offices called mints.    --A. Smith.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Any written or stamped promise, certificate, or order, as
      a government note, a bank note, a certificate of deposit,
      etc., which is payable in standard coined money and is
      lawfully current in lieu of it; in a comprehensive sense,
      any currency usually and lawfully employed in buying and
      selling.
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   3. Any article used as a medium of payment in financial
      transactions, such as checks drawn on checking accounts.
      [PJC]

   4. (Economics) Any form of wealth which affects a person's
      propensity to spend, such as checking accounts or time
      deposits in banks, credit accounts, letters of credit,
      etc. Various aggregates of money in different forms are
      given different names, such as {M-1}, the total sum of all
      currency in circulation plus all money in demand deposit
      accounts (checking accounts).
      [PJC]

   Note: Whatever, among barbarous nations, is used as a medium
         of effecting exchanges of property, and in the terms of
         which values are reckoned, as sheep, wampum, copper
         rings, quills of salt or of gold dust, shovel blades,
         etc., is, in common language, called their money.
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   4. In general, wealth; property; as, he has much money in
      land, or in stocks; to make, or lose, money.
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            The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
                                                  --1 Tim vi. 10
                                                  (Rev. Ver. ).
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   {Money bill} (Legislation), a bill for raising revenue.

   {Money broker}, a broker who deals in different kinds of
      money; one who buys and sells bills of exchange; -- called
      also {money changer}.

   {Money cowrie} (Zool.), any one of several species of
      {Cypraea} (esp. {Cypraea moneta}) formerly much used as
      money by savage tribes. See {Cowrie}.

   {Money of account}, a denomination of value used in keeping
      accounts, for which there may, or may not, be an
      equivalent coin; e. g., the mill is a money of account in
      the United States, but not a coin.

   {Money order},
      (a) an order for the payment of money; specifically, a
          government order for the payment of money, issued at
          one post office as payable at another; -- called also
          {postal money order}.
      (b) a similar order issued by a bank or other financial
          institution.

   {Money scrivener}, a person who procures the loan of money to
      others. [Eng.]

   {Money spider}, {Money spinner} (Zool.), a small spider; --
      so called as being popularly supposed to indicate that the
      person upon whom it crawls will be fortunate in money
      matters.

   {Money's worth}, a fair or full equivalent for the money
      which is paid.

   {A piece of money}, a single coin.

   {Ready money}, money held ready for payment, or actually
      paid, at the time of a transaction; cash.

   {plastic money}, credit cards, usually made out of plastic;
      also called {plastic}; as, put it on the plastic.

   {To make money}, to gain or acquire money or property; to
      make a profit in dealings.
      [1913 Webster +PJC]