Hard Money

1. Funding by a government or organization that is repetitive, rather than a one-time grant. Examples include ongoing government daycare subsidies or firms that pay annual scholarships to post-secondary students.

2. Describes gold/silver/platinum (bullion) coins. A government that uses a hard money policy backs the value of the currency it uses with a hard, tangible and lasting material that will retain its relative value over time. 



|||1. Governments and organizations prefer hard money because it provides a predictable stream of funds.

2.  For example, in the early 1900s, the U.S. dollar was backed by the value of gold. Today, most countries use fiat money, which is made legal tender by government decree but has no intrinsic value of its own.