Marionette artist sent back money (6)
I believe the answer is:
dollar
'money' is the definition.
(US currency)
'marionette artist sent back' is the wordplay.
'marionette' becomes 'doll' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'artist' becomes 'RA' (Royal Academician, member of Royal Academy of Arts).
'sent back' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'ra' in reverse letter order is 'ar'.
'doll'+'ar'='DOLLAR'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dollar that I've seen before include "Monetary unit in several countries" , "Economic factors deployed as 'soft power'" , "The almighty currency, a buck" , "American currency" , "Foreign currency" .)