coin of the realm

Noun

coin of the realm (uncountable)

1. (dated) The legal money of a country.
   • [I]t was thought expedient by ſtatute 1 Mar. ſt. 2. c. 6. to revive ſpecies thereof; viz. 1. That if any perſon falſely forge or counterfeit any ſuch kind of coin of gold or ſilver, as is not the proper coin of this realm, [...] ſuch offences ſhall be deemed high treaſon.[1769, William Blackstone, “Of High Treason”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book IV (Of Public Wrongs), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 89
   • The late Proclamation for regulating the Gold Coin refers to the Reſolution or Order of the Lords of the Treaſury, dated July 24, 1773; [...] [T]he third Claſs in the above Table is ultimately to be the only ſtandard Gold Coin of the Realm.[1774 July, “Remarks on the Late Proclamation Concerning the Gold Coin”, in Sylvanus Urban [pseudonym; Edward Cave], editor, The Gentleman’s Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, volume XLIV, London...

   Synonyms:

   legal tender

2. (figuratively) Something that is valued like money within a particular context.
   • As trust in government declines, it becomes more and more difficult to make effective use of state power. For nonprofit and voluntary organizations, these issues do not arise. Free choice is the coin of the realm: Donors give because they choose to do so. Volunteers work of their own volition.2003, “Nonprofit Organizations”, in Karen Christensen, David Levinson, editors, Encyclopedia of Community: From the Village to the Virtual World (Sage Reference), volume 1, Thousand Oaks, Calif....
   • In financial markets the coin of the realm is returns; in politics it is power. Modern capital markets mediate competing claims for money and power among governments and businesses, savers and borrowers.2007, Joseph Benning, “The Politics of Finance”, in Trading Strategies for Capital Markets, New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill, →ISBN, page 17