Money, whether in the form of banknotes, coins, or digital credits in our bank accounts, is at the heart of nearly everything we do in modern life. But we rarely give it any sustained thought. What, after all, is money, really? How does it work? Where does it come from? Who controls the banks? How does monetary policy work, and what roles do central banks play in its use?

Those questions and more are answered in this catalog to a new permanent exhibition at the Museum of Money at the Deutsche Bundesbank in Frankfurt. More than five hundred illustrations trace the history and uses of...