Fiduciary (from lat. fiducia - trust), fiat (from lat. fiat - decree, instruction, "so be it"), symbolic, paper, credit, unsecured money - not backed by gold and other precious metals money, the nominal value of which is established and guaranteed by the state, regardless of the cost of the material used for their manufacture. As a rule, fiat for gold or silver. Often, fiduciary money is used as a means of payment on the basis of state laws that oblige them to be accepted at face value. The value of fiduciary money is maintained by people's belief that they can exchange it for something of value. The fall in the authority of state power leads to a decrease in the purchasing power of fiduciary money, that is, to devaluation, “flight from money” (attempts to maintain their purchasing power through investment), etc.
Seigniorage when issuing such money is almost equal to their face value
Etymology
The term "fiat money" was first used in the resolutions of one of the party congresses held in the United States in the last quarter of the 19th century. In fact, the United States then had neither a central bank nor a gold standard, and the concept that was discussed in that controversy fit perfectly into the terminology of fiduciary money that already existed at that time. However, in American English, the term "fiat money" is used more often, although the Englishman J. M. Keynes used the term "fiduciary money" in the 20th century.
