Re: OT: coins and currency (was: [Theory] Types of numerals)

Nomad of Norad -- David C Hall wrote:

> Another thing that seems a mite peculiar:  Most of the coins I've seen
> pictured from all over the world tend to be round, or at least round-ISH.
> I guess things just sort of evolved that way, where coins started out as
> largely round-ish because that's what happens when you press a patterned
> image, by hand, onto a glob of molten metal, as they used to do a long
> time ago, and they just sorta stayed round over the ages due to inertia.
> Now they like round coins because they roll easily once inserted into the
> slots of a vending machine.
The Australian 50c coin is 12-sided (I think, don't have one on me right
now because I've been putting them into the vending machines on board
trams to by tickets with!). I think the reason is because when we first
decimalised they were round, but (a) inflation meant they had too much
silver in them for their value and (b) they were often confused with 20c
coins. I'm a little confused about that point, because it's my
understanding that a 50c coin was physically the size of a crown=5/- and
a 20c coin was physically the size of a florin=2/-, so unless crowns and
florins weren't popular but the replacement 20 and 50 c coins were, I
dunno. Anyway, they took them out of circulation for a few years, and
when they brought them back in, they were a different shape.

--
Tristan