Costentin Cornomorus wrote:
>
> "Two and a half dollars" is also quite OK in
> Merkin; though I am sure there can be some
> regional variation on the theme. And "a
> quarter eagle", amongst a certain set, is also
> 100% understandable.
If you walked down a city street, I think you'd have
a hard time finding anyone who knows that an eagle
is ten dollars. I've never heard anyone use the term
except numismatists when describing ten-dollar
gold coins (removed from circulation in 1933).
> There is a relatively large movement in the US to
> overhaul the system along those lines. Namely, to
> be rid of the penny and dollar note at least.
> Many would like be rid of the nickel for similar
> reasons; and some would like to follow Canada's
> lead and introduce a US twoonie. A few would also
> like to see a new issue of $500 and perhaps $200
> notes, to compete with the euro.
The US Mint has issued a dollar coin (the one with
the native American woman on it). No one uses
them except the machines at the post office when
giving change. The fact that no one likes them is
why the US Mint has not gone ahead and removed
the paper dollar.
----------------------------------------
Tristan McLeay wrote:
>
> And perhaps if we just have shillings on their
> lonesome, it'll discourage people from pricing
> things like 19/- instead of 20/- (or should it be 19s.
> and 20s given the (proposed) absence of pence?).
> Silly people, what's wrong with round numbers!
> But I doubt it. Nothing will make them give up their
> annoying habits I imagine.
I've always found it mildly annoying that prices are
stated as $4.95 rather than just $5. Surely no one is
dumb enough not to see through that. But I've been
surprised several times when friends would look at
a price tag saying $4.95 and exclaim, "Look. It's
only four dollars!"
> *Sigh*. Some people don't know a good idea when
> they hear it.
But bad ideas spread like wildfire (idiom!). It seems
that as soon as one clerk started giving change by
piling the coins on top of the notes, within six months
every clerk in the country was doing this (which is
especially annoying at drive-through windows). Now
they insist on putting the register receipt on top of
the notes first rather than in the bag where it goes.
--Ph. D.