Re: OT: the euro & 01.01.02 (was NATLANG/FONT:)
| From: | Padraic Brown <agricola@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Friday, December 21, 2001, 22:44 |
|---|
Am 21.12.01, Nik Taylor yscrifef:
> Tristan Alexander McLeay wrote:
> > Where did these interesting names for coins in the US come from?
>
> Penny: From the equivalent British coin, don't know origin of that term
> Nickel: Coin is (was?) made of nickel (I think today it's an alloy)
> Dime: Official name "One-dime piece" (On a dime, it reads "One dime")
> Quarter: Short for quarter dollar
Just to pick a nit: no US coin has an "official name", only
the monetary denominations.
> There's also the "bit", 1/8 dollar (i.e.,
> 12.5 cents), but I don't think there was ever an actual US coin for
> that, altho it was the exact equivalent of the Spanish real.
Indeed not. Until 1857, Mexican coins were legal tender here,
so 12.5c coins circulated as a matter of course.
Padraic.
--
Bethes gwaz vaz ha leal.
Replies