circulating medium

American  

noun

1. any coin or note passing, without endorsement, as a medium of exchange.

2. such coins or notes collectively.

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circulating medium British  

noun

1. finance currency serving as a medium of exchange

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Etymology

Origin of circulating medium

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

The electoral mandate stiffened Jackson’s resolve to kill the “monster” in whose control over “the circulating medium” resided the “power to increase or diminish the price of property and to levy taxes on the people in the shape of premiums and interest.”

From Forbes

This would regulate the currency by furnishing a circulating medium, and constitute a basis on which loans could be obtained.

From Project Gutenberg

It was this picture that gave occasion for one of John Van Buren's noted sayings that were once a circulating medium in the lawyers' offices of New York.

From Project Gutenberg

Taking it in connection with the combination of corporations, and Wall street brokers, the prospect of having coin as a circulating medium is but faint, if it is ever possible.

From Project Gutenberg

If the object were to furnish a circulating medium, the legal tender treasury notes would have been a preferable currency.

From Project Gutenberg