Business and Personal Finance Dictionary
# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
- FUNGIBLE
When two or more things are interchangeable, can be substituted for each other, or are of equal value, they are described as fungible. For example, shares of common stock issued by the same company are fungible at any point in time since they have the same value no matter who owns them. Forms of money, such as dollar bills or euros, are fungible since they can be exchanged or substituted for each other. Similarly, put and call futures contracts on the same commodity that expire on the same date are fungible since a futures contract to buy (a call) can offset, or neutralize, a futures contract to sell (a put). On the other hand, multiple classes of the same stock may not be fungible. For example, this may occur in markets where citizens of the country are eligible to buy one class of stock and noncitizens a different class. Typically, the shares have different prices and may not be exchanged for each other.Back