Yeah, Right, Whatever

The far-thinking folks at Travelex (a foreign exchange company) are looking toward the future. The distant future.

The Quasi Universal Intergalactic Denomination, or QUID, is the new currency of inter-planetary travelers. It was designed for the foreign exchange company Travelex by scientists from Britain's National Space Centre and the University of Leicester.

The design intent is that QUIDs must withstand the rigors of space travel – no sharp edges and no chemicals that could hurt space tourists.

...The QUID is made from a space-qualified polymer – PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene). This material is widely used by space agencies because of its durability and versatility. Earthlings know it better as "teflon," and are well-aware of its resistance to high temperatures and corrosive materials.

...The rounded edges of the QUID make it safer, and also encompass the eight planets orbiting a sun which are part of the design. Each of the orbiting planets contain a serial number; taken together, these numbers will give each QUID disc a unique code to prevent counterfeiting.

So... this company commissioned this currency (for who knows how many real pounds sterling) and these scientists, having read far too many sci fi books, actually spent time... probably lots of time... trying to figure out the perfect space currency. And this is what they came up with?

That doesn't look anything like money. It looks more like a spinning top of some sort.

The Professor Fraser points out the following.

"With an inflatable space hotel, from Bigelow Aerospace, under development in the US, and Virgin Galactic developing SpaceShipTwo, there will be better access to space than there has been.

"In the fullness of time we will have to adopt a universal currency if we are going to carry out serious commerce in space. It's an interesting initiative."

uh... yeah. Maybe they should just wait and ask the Vulcans or the Klingons what we should use. Oh, wait... the Federation doesn't even have money- they've grown "past that." What will Travelex do then?