Which is Better?

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Ok, here is one for the ages and I expect this thread to run and run.

Which coin system is better? And why?

USA – 5c, 10c, 25c
Rest of World – 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c

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Rest of the World?
Not quite the rest of the World – for the UK coins currently in circulation are: 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p,

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Ok, ‘rest of the world’ was a bit of a stretch. I was trying to exclude coins below 5c as some countries (Australia) have removed them from circulation – and also limit it to coins below the $1 (pound, etc) because some countries don’t have them.

One question that stumps me – why is the US 10c piece smaller than the US 5c piece (not to mention which is the dime and which is the nickle)?

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> why is the US 10c piece smaller than the US 5c piece?

That is not uncommon; the Euro 5 cent coin is also larger than the 10 cent coin – see Euro coins. In the former Dutch currency, before the advent of the Euro, the difference between 5 and 10 cent coins was even more pronounced – see here (site in Dutch)

> which is the dime and which is the nickle?

dime = 10c. etymology: Middle English, tenth part, from Old French disme, from Latin decima (pars), tenth (part), from decem, ten.
nickel = 5c, obviously from the metal nickel, although it is not the primary “ingredient” of this coin (copper is).

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obviously from the metal nickel, although it is not the primary “ingredient” of this coin (copper is).

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They were originally called “half dismes” (dismes later became dimes) and contained no nickel: they were mostly silver.

Steve

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obviously from the metal nickel, although it is not the primary “ingredient” of this coin (copper is).

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They were originally called “half dismes” (dismes later became dimes) and contained no nickel: they were mostly silver.

Steve

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nickel = 5c, obviously from the metal nickel, although it is not the primary “ingredient” of this coin

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The original Australian (round) 50

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And there was a time when the US penny (1

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Well, I think it has here in .
We have;
Coins; 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.50 (which is the same size as 0.05 but silver coloured), 1.00, 2.00, 5.00.
other than the 50 centime/rappen coin they are all progresively larger in size.
Notes; … 10, 20, 50 100, 200, 1000 (which is equal to $785.18)

We used to have a CHF500 note but it was withdrawn, and replaced by a CHF200.

There is a (urban legend) story of a lady, who goes into a Swiss post office (which has banking functions as well) and asks them to ‘break’ a CHF1000 note for smaller notes. The clerk, obviously affronted, says – “Hey Lady, we are not a bank”. “Oh”, she says “Can I buy a 0.50 postage stamp”. “Of course” says the clerk as he gives her the stamp and 999.50 change.

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Well, I think it has here in .
We have;
Coins; 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.50 (which is the same size as 0.05 but silver coloured), 1.00, 2.00, 5.00.
other than the 50 centime/rappen coin they are all progresively larger in size.
Notes; … 10, 20, 50 100, 200, 1000 (which is equal to $785.18)

We used to have a CHF500 note but it was withdrawn, and replaced by a CHF200.

There is a (urban legend) story of a lady, who goes into a Swiss post office (which has banking functions as well) and asks them to ‘break’ a CHF1000 note for smaller notes. The clerk, obviously affronted, says – “Hey Lady, we are not a bank”. “Oh”, she says “Can I buy a 0.50 postage stamp”. “Of course” says the clerk as he gives her the stamp and 999.50 change.

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And there was a time when the US penny (1

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nickel = 5c, obviously from the metal nickel, although it is not the primary “ingredient” of this coin

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The original Australian (round) 50

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> why is the US 10c piece smaller than the US 5c piece?

That is not uncommon; the Euro 5 cent coin is also larger than the 10 cent coin – see Euro coins. In the former Dutch currency, before the advent of the Euro, the difference between 5 and 10 cent coins was even more pronounced – see here (site in Dutch)

> which is the dime and which is the nickle?

dime = 10c. etymology: Middle English, tenth part, from Old French disme, from Latin decima (pars), tenth (part), from decem, ten.
nickel = 5c, obviously from the metal nickel, although it is not the primary “ingredient” of this coin (copper is).

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Ok, ‘rest of the world’ was a bit of a stretch. I was trying to exclude coins below 5c as some countries (Australia) have removed them from circulation – and also limit it to coins below the $1 (pound, etc) because some countries don’t have them.

One question that stumps me – why is the US 10c piece smaller than the US 5c piece (not to mention which is the dime and which is the nickle)?

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Rest of the World?
Not quite the rest of the World – for the UK coins currently in circulation are: 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p,

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If you compare the minimum number of coins that are required to make up values from 5c to $1, then the coinage system of the rest of the World is better.
Only values of 25c or 35c require fewer coins in the US system, 7 values require the same number of coins but for 11 values the rest of the World requires fewer coins.

Another view is that the US system is better as it has fewer denominations of coins making it is a simpler system.

This is where somebody steps in and says your calculations are wrong

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If you compare the minimum number of coins that are required to make up values from 5c to $1, then the coinage system of the rest of the World is better.
Only values of 25c or 35c require fewer coins in the US system, 7 values require the same number of coins but for 11 values the rest of the World requires fewer coins.

Another view is that the US system is better as it has fewer denominations of coins making it is a simpler system.

This is where somebody steps in and says your calculations are wrong

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Tim,
Have you noticed – everywhere else puts the numeric value on the coins, but the ‘merkins only use words; penny, nickle, dime, quarter (not sure what the use for $0.50, but you don’t see many of those, outside of Nevada).

Why? It just makes it difficult for us foreigners!

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not sure what the use for $0.50

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Fifty-cent piece

Shows how much it is common circulation or we would have named it

Steve

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Or a half-dollar. As for the names, the ‘rest of the world’ is just a bit ahead of the US in this. Think of guinea & florin, IIRC. And the US is getting better-we used to have eagles & double-eagles. (Gold $10 & $20 coins.) I still, occasionally, hear $10 bills referred to as sawbucks-not sure why. $5 bills used to be fins & $20 were double-sawbucks.

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Supposedly:
$5 is a fin from finf, yiddish for five.

A sawbuck is sawhorse that has a crossed pair of legs at each end. The crossed legs make an “X” which is the roman numeral for 10.
Hence a sawbuck is $10.

FYI. A “grand” to refer to $1000 is from the early 1900s when $1000 was “a grand sum of money”.

Steve

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Supposedly:
$5 is a fin from finf, yiddish for five.

A sawbuck is sawhorse that has a crossed pair of legs at each end. The crossed legs make an “X” which is the roman numeral for 10.
Hence a sawbuck is $10.

FYI. A “grand” to refer to $1000 is from the early 1900s when $1000 was “a grand sum of money”.

Steve

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Or a half-dollar. As for the names, the ‘rest of the world’ is just a bit ahead of the US in this. Think of guinea & florin, IIRC. And the US is getting better-we used to have eagles & double-eagles. (Gold $10 & $20 coins.) I still, occasionally, hear $10 bills referred to as sawbucks-not sure why. $5 bills used to be fins & $20 were double-sawbucks.

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not sure what the use for $0.50

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Fifty-cent piece

Shows how much it is common circulation or we would have named it

Steve

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I’ve been slowly forced to change my vocab to suit the locals (no more “surname”, “jumper”, “fortnight”, etc) but I just cannot get a handle on the dimes and nickels. Quarters are ok because that is fairly obvious but if people ask me for a dime or a nickel, I ask if they are after a 5c or a 10c piece. To me a dime is a swedish lollie (or sweet if you like) – caramel with a chocolate covering.

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What’s a jumper?

Becky

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The sheep in your userpic is wearing a jumper.

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The sheep in your userpic is wearing a jumper.

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(Edited by Timbo on 27-Jul-04 19:01. delete sweater, insert pullover)

See A jumper is a pullover. It sort of destroys the joke …

Q: What do you get if you cross a sheep with a kangaroo
A: A woolly jumper.

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If you ask for a jumper in the US, you might get a strange look. It’s a sort of dress that is usually worn over a shirt. Most of the time they are worn by little girls, but they are made in adult sizes, as well. See the attached picture for an example.

Becky

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If you ask for a jumper in the US, you might get a strange look. It’s a sort of dress that is usually worn over a shirt. Most of the time they are worn by little girls, but they are made in adult sizes, as well. See the attached picture for an example.

Becky

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It’s much cheaper to buy a deodorant than a woolen garment, if you’re bothered by sweat.

Alan

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It’s much cheaper to buy a deodorant than a woolen garment, if you’re bothered by sweat.

Alan

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What’s a jumper?

Becky

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As a kid in the US, I found the strangest currency term to be the “bit”. I recall the cheer leaders chanting “2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits, a dollar”. I never did succeed in finding a “bit” coin for my collection. I guess it’s a source of confusion nowadays – “2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits, a byte?”

But this does remind me of the counterfeiter who set out to vindicate himself from his cohorts, who jeered at his latest idea – the $15 bill. He proudly announces that he was able to pass it off with no problems. “How did you do it?”, they asked. “Just went in and bought a 35

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There was no “bit coin”. Silver dollars were frequently cut into 8 pie-shaped bits and used as currency. This is also were the term “pieces of eight” came from.

Steve

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I should have smilied the “bit” about the one bit coin, being half a quarter or 12.5

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And I do have a silver dollar to show for my travels.

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Did you get yourself an “Ike” (about the size of a hubcap) or one of the newer “female” varieties (about the size of a quarter)?

The Eisenhower silver dollars are very large, heavy coins, and there’s no mistaking them for anything else. They were last minted in 1978. Since then, the dollar coins are so small, they often get lost in a pocket full of ‘loose change’.

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It couldn’t be an “Ike”, since it was given to me in 1970. Without digging it out, I can’t give the details for sure, but I think it was dated 192? or 193? and might be of the “Peace” variety. I think it was noticably bigger than the normal half dollar, but certainly smaller than a hubcap.

Alan

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It couldn’t be an “Ike”, since it was given to me in 1970. Without digging it out, I can’t give the details for sure, but I think it was dated 192? or 193? and might be of the “Peace” variety. I think it was noticably bigger than the normal half dollar, but certainly smaller than a hubcap.

Alan

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And I do have a silver dollar to show for my travels.

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[/indent]
Did you get yourself an “Ike” (about the size of a hubcap) or one of the newer “female” varieties (about the size of a quarter)?

The Eisenhower silver dollars are very large, heavy coins, and there’s no mistaking them for anything else. They were last minted in 1978. Since then, the dollar coins are so small, they often get lost in a pocket full of ‘loose change’.

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I should have smilied the “bit” about the one bit coin, being half a quarter or 12.5

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There was no “bit coin”. Silver dollars were frequently cut into 8 pie-shaped bits and used as currency. This is also were the term “pieces of eight” came from.

Steve

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As a kid in the US, I found the strangest currency term to be the “bit”. I recall the cheer leaders chanting “2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits, a dollar”. I never did succeed in finding a “bit” coin for my collection. I guess it’s a source of confusion nowadays – “2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits, a byte?”

But this does remind me of the counterfeiter who set out to vindicate himself from his cohorts, who jeered at his latest idea – the $15 bill. He proudly announces that he was able to pass it off with no problems. “How did you do it?”, they asked. “Just went in and bought a 35

Reply | Quote

I’ve been slowly forced to change my vocab to suit the locals (no more “surname”, “jumper”, “fortnight”, etc) but I just cannot get a handle on the dimes and nickels. Quarters are ok because that is fairly obvious but if people ask me for a dime or a nickel, I ask if they are after a 5c or a 10c piece. To me a dime is a swedish lollie (or sweet if you like) – caramel with a chocolate covering.

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Actually, you won’t fine penny, nickle, dime on the coins in the US. It’s one cent, 5 cents, 10 cents (and quarter dollar), so the quarter is the only one with it’s ‘name’ on it.

Drew

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Actually, you won’t fine penny, nickle, dime on the coins in the US. It’s one cent, 5 cents, 10 cents (and quarter dollar), so the quarter is the only one with it’s ‘name’ on it.

Drew

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Tim,
Have you noticed – everywhere else puts the numeric value on the coins, but the ‘merkins only use words; penny, nickle, dime, quarter (not sure what the use for $0.50, but you don’t see many of those, outside of Nevada).

Why? It just makes it difficult for us foreigners!

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