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Raam was launched in October 2001 by “The Global Country of World Peace.”

The GCWP is a non-profit organization based in the USA, and its headquarter is located in Maharishi Vedic City in Iowa. Raam is issued in three denominations, 1, 5, and 10 Raams. The currency was accepted in some places in the Netherlands and USA at that time. The Finance Minister of the Maharishi Movement, Benjamin Feldman, said that Raam could be proven to help eradicate poverty. He insisted that its use should be encouraged in agriculture.

Raam is commonly known as Word Peace Bond. The Maharishi Movement said that it would strengthen World Peace, balance the economy and fight poverty at the same time. In Europe, it is equal to ten Euros while in the US it becomes ten Dollars. The currency was used to build peace palaces by the organization.

Although the currency was first issued almost two decades ago, the present status of its circulation is not known, as no recent information on it is available online. There is no information that it is used widely at present outside the Vedic city, where it is used.

Not a regular legal tender

Raam is actually a “Bearer Bond” in financial terms, which is also known as local currency. A bearer bond is more of an instrument of an investment than a regular transaction. Unlike a regular currency of a country, which is accepted by everyone in that country, bearer bonds may not be acceptable to all when offered in a transaction. The bond is convertible in Holland at the Fortis Bank in Roermond in Holland and in the Maharishi Vedic City in Iowa, there is no information of it being convertible in any other location.

Bearer bonds are generally issued by corporate houses or governments to collect funds, hence it's basically a debt instrument. But no record is kept of the investors of the bonds, and therefore, whoever physically holds the bonds becomes the owner. For this reason, it can be used as a currency to exchange funds. But it is still not a regular currency, and bonds generally earn interest as it is a debt instrument.

Though it is priced at 10 Euro, as it is not a legal tender issued by a sovereign state or a central bank, it is not a regular currency. Moreover, it is not widely used as a currency. It is also not traded in the currency market and it has a fixed valuation against the Dollar and Euro.

Another fact is, that while Raam is valued at $10 and €10, bearer bonds with much more value are issued. So, it is also not the most expensive bearer bond. Therefore, it is not a regular currency, and it cannot be called the world’s most expensive currency.