Abstract: | There is more to how individuals value money than just the denomination, based on several recent research articles. Could the very form of money, whether paper or metal, be a basis for such subjective valuation? A theoretical explanation based on the representativeness bias is explored and three experimental studies are employed to investigate this question. The results show that there is a bias in how the value of money is assessed based on whether that money is comprised of coins or bills. Bills are estimated to have more purchasing power than coins for the same objects, including for a different currency where a specific exchange rate is given. Copyright © 2014 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |