Which form of money has intrinsic value due to its material?

• A. Commodity money
• B. Fiat money
• C. Representative money
• D. Symbolic money

Answer: (A)

Commodity money has intrinsic value because the money itself is made of a material that is valuable on its own, like gold or silver coins—the metal’s worth isn’t just as a token of payment, but as the metal itself. This is different from fiat money, whose value comes from government backing rather than the material, and from representative money, which is a certificate that promises exchange for a commodity rather than being valuable for the material it’s made from. Symbolic money would similarly lack inherent material worth, relying on trust or decree instead. So the form where the material itself carries value is commodity money.