This article contributes to the development of an institutionalist theory of money and money regulation. Through a review of the historical roots of the institution and regulation of money, it seeks to clarify the meaning of contemporary changes in money practices and policies which are at the heart of capitalism's globalization process. The first section, epistemological in nature and informed by the work of Michel Freitag, is devoted to constructing a theory of the institution of money. It enables the author to propose a phenomenology of money practices and regulation in traditional and modern societies and to sketch a typology of forms of money regulation. This typology is informed by Bourque and Duschastel's analysis of State forms and political regulation. The article concludes with a more detailed examination of neo-liberal money regulation and suggests that this regulation participates directly in the legitmation and production of the institutional and organisational infrastructure necessary to current changes in money and the institution of money in the sphere of private finances.