#19603
02/19/2001 5:33 PM
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In geographic category, wwh noted : The members of the Hanseatic League each had trade outposts in Britain. There were two main groups: The Easterlings and the Westerlings. Each had a silver coinage of such dependable value that there arose a demand for it, and the phrase "Pound Sterling" became current.
The post reminded me of hearing the phrase "Pounds or guineas?" concerning what amount is asked for a service. My understanding is that a guinea is a bit more than a pound.
I've wondered how we name our currencies ... and why the names were chosen. Is there any meaning to the word dollar or yen? What made the Irish decide on Punt?
Perhaps our Non-US friends could give us the names of their currencies?
And as a quirky note ... the US 10 cent coin is called a dime (reference to the decimal? A tenth of a dollar?) and it is the only coin to have its nickname embossed on the coin itself.
Anyone ?
wow
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#19604
02/19/2001 5:54 PM
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I have read that "dime" started as Louisiana "disme" = a tenth of a dollar.
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#19605
02/19/2001 6:56 PM
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old hand
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Anyone who's travelled to Canada may know this next factoid but there are lots of people on this board who live very, very far away, so I'll post it anyway. Our one-dollar coin is called a Loonie. Yup. The original form, which came out in 1987, had a picture of a loon on the tails side (and, as always, the queen on the heads side). There have been many commemorative loonies since then, with people, soldiers, the Parliament buildings...but they're still loonies. The standard one still has a loon on it. Then, in 1996, they decided we needed a two dollar coin to replace our two dollar bill. It has bears on it, and it's one of those nifty two-metal coins with a bronze middle and a nickel outer ring. There were numerous contests all over the country to name the new coin and lots of cute names were proposed. However, they are now informally called Toonies. I think it's a pun on the 2 dollar value, plus it rhymes with Loonie. But it's not usually spelled Twonie. Now THERE'S one to look up in my Oxford Canadian Dictionary at home. I found pictures of them at the Royal Canadian Mint's homepage products catalogue: Click on One Dollar or Two Dollar coin: http://www.rcmint.ca/products/en/main.cfm?Product_Id=100&Section_Id=2&Area=ProductsAs an aside, they produce all the Canadian coins in Winnipeg, my hometown. Yay Winnipeg! 
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#19606
02/20/2001 4:29 AM
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Yes, a guinea is 21 shillings = 1 pound 1 shilling = 1.05 pounds.
I assume punt is just how pound sounds in Irish Gaelic.
Here of course we have the much-ailing rupiah (often just called the rup (with an oo sound)). I assume the name is connected to the Indian rupee. A long, long, long time ago the rupiah was divisible into 100 sen. The one hundred rupiah coin is often referred to as perak, literally silver. So Rp. 500 would be called 5 perak. These days of course it's just a tacky plastic token.
Bingley
Bingley
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#19607
02/20/2001 10:38 AM
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Pooh-Bah
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Rumour-humour had it that, at the time of its introduction, it was feared that the Irish equivalent to the pound would fall rapidly in value. It was named after the flat-bottomed boat so that it would remain upright when it hit the bottom! Given its current strength, it is the joke that fell flat!
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#19608
02/20/2001 12:57 PM
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old hand
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I looked up dollar in the dictionary and this is what I got for its origins as a word:
Low German daler, short for Joachimstaler, a coin from the silver mine of Joachimstal, now Jáchymov in the Czech Republic.
However, it doesn't explain how this word came to be used for the currency of Canada, US, and Australia (and probably smaller countries which weren't listed in that dictionary entry)? Also, why do we use dollars in Canada and not pounds (ditto for Australia)?
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#19609
02/20/2001 1:23 PM
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After the war (independence) there was a lot of anti british sentiment-- the new govement made an effort to have new money, and reject Pence for cent (as in 1/100) and chose dime (which is not a nickname, but the name of ten cent piece, (nickel is a nickname, from the metal used to make the coin). Quaters became popular since the spanish gold dollars that had been used where often cut into 4 or 8 wedges, and a quarter today is still called "two bits". So US money names are a combination of new made up names for money, and existing non english names for money. The original plan was for three denominations, cents, dimes and dollars.Nickels and quarters where not part of the original monitary plan, but came to be latter.
What if find interesting is how England (and Ireland) have quickly adopted 1pound coins, but the US public fight against 1 dollar coins.
I think it is because most men in this country don't carry change in a coin purse, but loose in there pockets, and the dollar coins are too heavy.
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#19610
02/20/2001 2:29 PM
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old hand
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What if find interesting is how England (and Ireland) have quickly adopted 1pound coins, but the US public fight against 1 dollar coins. I think it is because most men in this country don't carry change in a coin purse, but loose in there pockets, and the dollar coins are too heavy.
See, that's what we find odd in Canada. Men here have approximately the same pocket-change habits as those in the US, and we do have both one and two dollar coins. In fact the toonie (see above) is an improvement because if someone gives you $4 change, that's only two coins instead of four. (Nothing like the poor cashier having to give back four loonies and apologizing for being out of toonies - this is starting to sound like Dr. Seuss!) So we find it REALLY strange that there is no US dollar coin, or any two dollar piece at all (bill or coin).
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#19611
02/20/2001 2:33 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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>England (and Ireland) have quickly adopted one-pound coins
Yes, I found the lack of a dollar coin very strange, especially as dollar bills are so .... smelly ... yuk
In Scotland we still have pound notes. I'm still not used to them and often pull one out expecting it to be at least a tenner .. the disappointment!
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#19612
02/20/2001 2:51 PM
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In reply to:
So we find it REALLY strange that there is no US dollar coin, or any two dollar piece at all (bill or coin).
Of course there is a US dollar coin. when i was a child, it was the "eagle", then came the "susan b anthony" dollar coin, and now we have the "golden" dollar. there was also a gold (real gold, not just gold colored) $10 coin too, but these have been rare since before WWII.
and we have a two dollar bill-- but that is rare too-- one good reason to make a visit to one of the US Mints it to get a $2 bill. They are great presents for kids-- cheap souviners of US. My neice in Japan loved her $2 bill!
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#19613
02/20/2001 3:37 PM
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of Troy wrote : we have a two dollar bill-- but that is rare too-- one good reason to make a visit to one of the US Mints it to get a $2 bill. They are great presents for kids-- cheap souviners of US. My neice in Japan loved her $2 bill!
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It's extremely rare to see a $2 bill in circulation these days. I cannot remember getting one in change for a larger bill for the past 40 years!
They were used a lot at racetracks for $2 bets! So having a lot of $2 bills sort of gave a lie to excuses to the Boss that you were at Grandmother's funeral!
When I was MUCH younger they were fairly common but presented the problem of being confused with the $1 ... The $2 is easy to confuse with a $1 as they look alike except for the number. Led to a lot of "short changing" i.e. getting no or less returned money than you should when a purchase made.
So, the $2 gained a reputation for being unlucky.
In the 1940s and 1950s you often got a $2 with the upper left corner torn supposedly to counteract the bad luck ... but in a practical way it drew your attention to the number in the corner so you were less likely to mistake the $2 for a $1. Whew!
The $2 would make a neat souvenir but I don't know where you'd get it except at the Mint ... For gifts I have often brought foreign coins home as souvenirs and bought the coin holders that encirle the coin without damaging it and that has a loop at the top ... available from jewelers ... so that the coin could be put on a chain and worn as a necklace. The new $1 golden eagle coins make nice presents for children.
I never confused the 50-pence coin when in UK because it had corners -- don't know how else to describe it -- and cannot fathom the reason the US hasn't adopted a similar shape. Sure would make the $1 US coin easy to distinguish from the US 50-cent piece which is nearly the same size.
Oh, for the non-USA coin collectors out there, the US Mint is currently making coins commemorating all the States's entry into the Union. Featuring the state seal on each coin. Legal tender. The Northeastern states, being first in the Union are now available. The 50 coins will be made in batches and the entire 50 state set available in, I believe 2005. The US Mint has a web site and you can order online and get news via Email.
wow
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#19614
02/20/2001 4:21 PM
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The "torn corner" bit was what made them "unlucky"
Con artist would stack a two and one together. then tear of the corners of both bill, getting the same "tear" line. they they would "paste the 2 onto the one. you only ripped one corner off of each two, and the $2 bill would still be legal tender-- but you eventually ripped all the corners off the $1-- and with a bit of effort and tape, doubled its value. then you took a stack of "2's" with some bogus "2's" between the real ones, went to a busy store, and "bought" something-- so if every 3rd bill was bogus-- you got an $18 item for $15 dollars. With inflation, that is not much of a discount, but in days past-- it was a big deal!
It was done with 20's too, Four corners of a $1 with $20 denomination on it. crumple the bills, put them out of order, it would be easy at christmas time or other busy times to cheat a cashier. which is why they were taught to line up all the bills, face up, in the same direction, and look at the whole bill, not just the corners! Now its easy to cheat credit card companies, and that is not a federal offence...
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#19615
02/20/2001 4:21 PM
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old hand
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Of course there is a US dollar coin. Okay, I phrased that wrong. I knew there were dollar coins in the US, and I'd heard there was a $2 bill, but I was aware that they were pretty much never seen in general circulation. Our loonies and toonies replaced the corresponding bills, so we have no choice about what to use! And we'd "always" used $2 bills, before the toonies, without confusion...but that brings me to the next post about confusing bills... Confusing bills are never a problem in Canada, because each bill is a different colour (five=blue, ten=purple, twenty=green, fifty=red, hundred=brown). When I've travelled to the US I've been extremely confused because your $20 bills and $1 bills look essentially the same, to one who is used to looking for colour! I think what this comes down to is whatever you're used to is the best. As a Canadian I'd never realized how much the colour coding was burned into my consciousness until a few trips to the US where all your bills look like they should be twenties!
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#19616
02/20/2001 4:59 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
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2 dollar bills
I have been told that the main reason why $2 bills and 50-cent coins are rarely seen in the U.S., although plenty were issued, is because there is no slot in the drawer of a cash register for them, so retailers discouraged them and didn't usually give them in change, since they tended to get thrown into the bottom of the cash drawer, under the tray with the slots holding the other cash. This is, I think, the main reason why $1 coins do not catch on. I doubt very much that $1 coins or $2 bills will ever catch on until the U.S. govt. takes the very sensible step of discontinuing the $1 bill, which has been discussed for a long time.
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#19617
02/20/2001 5:03 PM
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retailers discouraged them ...tho' good ol Kaintuck loves them $200 bills
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#19618
02/20/2001 5:08 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
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veteran
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veteran
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Guineas
As noted, a guinea was worth 21 shillings, or one pound (20 shillings) plus 1 shilling. There was a guinea coin until the early 1800's, when it was discontinued. But for some reason, sellers of luxury products continued to price their goods in guineas, so that right up to the time of the introduction of decimal currency, a Rolls Royce, or a fur coat, or a diamond necklace, would usually be priced in guineas. Likewise, many professional fees were also set in guineas, so that your solicitor might send you a bill for 100 guineas for the costs of your lawsuit against the Harley Street specialist who charged you 5000 guineas to remove your tonsils. Of course, when you paid your solicitor, your check was for Ł105/-/-.
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#19619
02/20/2001 5:15 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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And speaking of odd pricing practices: the apparently unbreakable practice of pricing items at one cent less than a dollar ($3.99; $89.99) was the result of store owners wishing to force clerks to give change with each transaction, so that the clerk would be required to open the cash register and tally the sale instead of pocketing the exact sale amount handed to him. This must have been before the days of sales tax ...
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#19620
02/20/2001 5:17 PM
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your check was for Ł105Coutts Bank will apparently still honour a cheque written longhand as '105 guineas'. This from those lovely people who have blithely lent some dotty old bat several millions without any security, just because she claims to be the Queen's mother - good to know the old values aren't completely dead! 
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#19621
02/20/2001 5:37 PM
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old hand
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is because there is no slot in the drawer of a cash register for themWhen we had our $1 bills changed to coins, everyone had to get new drawer inserts made to accomodate them. All the pop machines had to get new machinery and be re-calibrated. And everyone did do this, although the retailers sure complained. Eventually everything was straightened out - only to have the toonie introduced a few years later - then the whole process began again! 
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#19622
02/20/2001 7:54 PM
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So we find it REALLY strange that there is no US dollar coin, or any two dollar piece at all (bill or coin).Both Australia and NZ have one- and two-dollar coins, but for some bizarre reason, the Australian two-dollar coin is smaller than their one-dollar coin, and, to add to the confusion, is almost exactly the same size as the NZ one-dollar coin. Given that $1AUD = c.$1.21 NZD, it can be annoying to realise, too late, that the one dollar coin one has just inserted into a vending machine was actually worth $2.50! 
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#19623
02/20/2001 8:00 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
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In reply to:
I have been told that the main reason why $2 bills and 50-cent coins are rarely seen in the U.S., although plenty were issued, is because there is no slot in the drawer of a cash register for them...
Funny, I've always heard that it was due to the tendency for collectors/packrats to hoard them.
My guilt is not only implied, it's admitted.
And jmh, I'm with you. Bills are smelly. 
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#19624
02/20/2001 8:43 PM
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 347
enthusiast
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enthusiast
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Bean asks Also, why do we use dollars in Canada and not pounds (ditto for Australia)?
In Australia we initially adopted the British pounds-shillings-pence system which was in use until decimal currency was introduced in 1966 (14 Feb 1966 to be exact - I can still recall the TV ads with a cartoon character called Dollar Bill). I presume they chose "dollar" rather than "new pound" or some such to avoid confusion.
1 pound converted to 2 Australian dollars. Initially there were 1c,2c,5c,10c,20c and 50c coins, then notes for $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, not sure about higher denominations. [As an aside - 50c coins were initially pure silver, but when the value of the coin dropped below the value of the silver people started melting them down, so they changed the metal!] Many years ago when inflation had eroded most of their value, the 1c and 2c coins were phased out. Prices are still quoted to the nearest cent but totals are rounded to 5c. The next development was replacing $1 notes with coins, then $2 notes with $2 coins. Like Max I rue the fact that they opted for a $2 coin smaller than the $1. Then came plastic notes instead of paper. Oh and there are also $50 and $100 notes (and probably higher but I never see them!)
The old names bring back faint memories for me :-
florin, shilling, sixpence, threepence (pronounced throopuhnce with a short 'oo'), penny, halfpenny (pronounced hayp-ny) and farthing (=1/4 penny; this one was out of circulation in my time). Some of these had nicknames too - "zack" (sp?) is one that comes to mind, but I don't know which one it is.
But what the heck is a "rahzoo" (sp?), as in "I haven't got a brass rahzoo"? Is that a widespread expression?
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#19625
02/20/2001 11:57 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
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there is no slot in the drawer of a cash register for them, ($2 bills)
I'm surprised some company hasn't tumbled to the fact that they could market new inserts -- for a price, of course -- and even whole new cash registers!
Where is that great American entrepreneurial spirit for making an honest buck?
wow
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#19626
02/21/2001 11:48 AM
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old hand
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In reply to:
Where is that great American entrepreneurial spirit for making an honest buck?
Or two, to be more precise!
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#19627
02/21/2001 9:43 PM
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094
old hand
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Sure would make the $1 US coin easy to distinguish from the US 50-cent piece which is nearly the same size.
Oh, for the non-USA coin collectors out there, the US Mint is currently making coins commemorating all the States's entry into the Union. Featuring the state seal on each coin. Legal tender. The Northeastern states, being first in the Union are now available. The 50 coins will be made in batches and the entire 50 state set available in, I believe 2005.Actually, the 50 cent piece is quite a bit bigger. It's strange how we don't make the coin sizes in order of value. The nickle is bigger than the dime. The one dollar coin is almost the same shape as the quarter, and when you're searching in your pocket with your hand you can't really tell the difference that much. They did facilitate that by making the dollar coin have smooth edges compared to the quarter's ribbed edges. Part of the favor for the bill as opposed the coin is that you may not want coins weighing down your pocket, but a guy will always have his wallet with him because it has his drivers license. And about the 50 State Quarters Program, they're releasing 5 each year, (one every 10 weeks) so it will conclude in 2009. The ones out so far are Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York. North Carolina is next. (And they would be so presumptuous as to put "First Flight" on their license plates and now their coin when the Wright brothers developed the plane and lived their whole lives in Ohio! . . . maybe we'll put astronauts on ours. More astronauts have come from Ohio than any other state. John Glenn was even our senator. )
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#19628
02/21/2001 9:55 PM
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Thanks JazzO for straightening out the info re coins.
On subject of coin sizes :
A friend who is a neurologist uses a standard old test for patients .. you are asked to close your eyes and identify the coin he places on your fingertips ... the coin size helps a bit but people's guesses soon deteriorate .
He told me that he was amazed just once : when an older gentleman patient named every coin correctly through a triple length test. Turned out the gentleman was a retired fare collector on a bus line. Being able to identify coins by touch was a necessary part of the job. He could spot a "slug" by touch alone!
Now there's a party trick if I ever heard one!
wow
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#19629
02/22/2001 1:05 AM
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Identifying objects by feel is "stereognosis". Funny with all the other "stereo" words my dictionary did not have it.
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#19630
02/22/2001 2:06 AM
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>or any two dollar piece at all
Oh yes, I knew one of those "ladies" once.
OOOPS. Sorry. Wrong forum! I thought it was A Whore A Day.
TEd
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#19631
02/22/2001 4:41 AM
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In reply to:
a guy will always have his wallet with him because it has his drivers license.
I was vaguely under the impression that the US term for a wallet was billfold. Is there a difference between the two?
Bingley
Bingley
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#19632
02/22/2001 9:28 AM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460
addict
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addict
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<"zack" (sp?) is one that comes to mind, but I don't know which one it is.>
Zack was sixpence, Marty, and a razoo was [according to Syd Baker] a non-existent coin, sometimes a brass razoo, as in "I haven't a razoo" (I haven't any money). There was also a skerrick (a small sum of money), but used negatively as in "I haven't a skerrick".
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#19633
02/22/2001 2:17 PM
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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In reply to:
It's strange how we don't make the coin sizes in order of value.
Like almost everything else, things today are the way they are because they are unchanged from what suited before. Originally, the sizes of the coins approximated actual values. The penny, made of copper, contained about 1 cent of value. The nickel, made of nickel, contained about 5 cents worth of nickel. The dime, made of silver, contained about 1/10th of a dollar's worth of silver. Quarters and half-dollars were also silver, and are thus were progressively larger. I think dollar coins were initially gold, but changed to silver a long time ago. Although the metallic content of the coins has since changed, the sizes initially established have remained.
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#19634
02/22/2001 4:37 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
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old hand
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old hand
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About recognizing coins by feel...not all the Canadian coins are round, so that helps. The penny has 12 sides and the loonie has 11 sides. Some old nickels have "square" sides, maybe 10 or so (I've never counted), but the current ones are round. Also dimes and quarters (like in the US) have ribbed edges, while the others have smooth edges. Our new series of bills which just started coming out has Braille on them.
Here's a money-related question: what images do other countries put on their coins? Here we have
penny - maple leaves
nickel - beaver
dime - the Bluenose (a sailing ship)
quarter - caribou
$1 coin - loon
$2 coin - bears
Our bills all have famous Canadian guys (politicians) on them.
I can't even remember what is on the US coins, except the penny has a building on it, I think. Anyone else want to share?
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#19635
02/22/2001 6:26 PM
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Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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US currency imagery:
penny - President Lincoln in profile/Lincoln memorial, there are still some old (pre 1960s-ish) pennies with wheat shafts opposite the Lincoln profile
nickel - President Jefferson profile/Monticello
dime - President F Roosevelt/liberty torch
quarter - President Washington profile/eagle is the standard issue, as previously discussed, each state now has/will have its own quarter, and there are still a few 1976 bicentennial quarters about
half dollar - President Kennedy/?
dollar - issued in 1980ish, the Susan B Anthony coin has SBA on one side, and I can't remember the other. -- issued in 2000, the Sacagaweah (sp?) is gold and has Sacagaweah and her baby on one side, and I haven't seen a photo of the other side.
All paper money is the same color scheme - gray ink on one side and green ink on the other
one dollar - portrait of Washington/eagle and pyramid in circles
two dollars - ?
five dollars - Lincoln portrait/Lincoln memorial
ten dollars - President Hamilton/Treasury building
twenty dollars - President Jackson/the White House
fifty dollars - ?
one hundred dollars - Benjamin Franklin/?
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#19636
02/22/2001 6:51 PM
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Carpal Tunnel
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
well the US mint has a web site too, and if any one is interested you can look up details of money http://www.usmint.gov/Bingsley-- I know stores sell bill folds, but men carry wallets-- i think its like Luggage/baggage... and old name for english money, started with farthing, ha'peny, penny (pence), tupence (2 pence) thrupence (3 pence) 6 pence, shilling, and there were half crowns,(2/6 as i recall) crown (5 shillings), florins (10 shillings) -- mythical money included "a brass farthing" (maybe it wasn't always mythical? during WWII, the US made steel dimes-- not silver ones) I am so old, i remember when a pound sterling was worth over $5.40 US!-- and then being given a shilling (12 pence= 60 + cents!-- instead of a dime for a treat! Boy was it every a treat! i felt like the queen of the may! and up to about 1950, US had Liberty dimes-- with a representation of Lady Liberty-- they were very popular.
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#19637
02/22/2001 6:53 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
one dollar - portrait of Washington/eagle and pyramid in circles
The Egyptian pyramids? If so, why on earth would that be? If not...well, which ones?
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#19638
02/22/2001 7:10 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
Yes an Egyptian pyramid-- and the latin for "New World Order" (novus ordo seclorum) but the pyramid is not finished-- which is supposed to mean the US of A is not finished-- that we are still evolving to a new world order...
the top of the pyramid has an eye-- and a bit of latin i forget-- (and i am not running now to babblefish to translate) annuit coeptis It is all part of the "great Seal of the United States" the other side of the seal has the eagle, it carries 13 arrows and a olive branch with 13 leaves-- and in times of peace the eagle always faces the olive branch-- but in times of war he faces the arrows...in his mouth he carries a banner-- e pluribus unum-- (from many, one)
Remember-- we were started by a bunch of intelectual revolutionaries!
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#19639
02/22/2001 7:18 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
nickel - President Washington profile/Monticello --- Make that Pres Jefferson and I'll go along with it.
dollar - issued in 1980ish, the Susan B Anthony coin has SBA on one side, and I can't remember the other. -- issued in 2000, the Sacagaweah (sp?) is gold and has Sacagaweah and her baby on one side, and I haven't seen a photo of the other side. --- There's an eagle on the back with maybe some mountains and stars of the number of states that were in the Union at the time of Lewis and Clark's little cross country jaunt.
two dollars - ? --- Thom Jefferson -- Signing of the Declaration of Independence on the back (yes, I have one in my pocket)
fifty dollars - ? --- Pres. Grant. Not sure about the back.
one hundred dollars - Benjamin Franklin/? --- Scratch the question mark. It is good old Benjy.
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#19640
02/22/2001 8:20 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771 |
>dime - President F Roosevelt/liberty torch
Yeah, and the liberty torch is flanked by what look like two sprigs of parsley for garnish... one's got to be an olive branch, I guess I'll have to go the the US Mint website and check out the herbs.
>half dollar - President Kennedy/?
I just so happen to have one in my purse (didn't I mention I hoard odd currency?). JFK is indeed on the front, and the Presidential Seal eagle is on the back (shield in front, talons outstretched holding olive branch and arrows, 13 rays, blah blah blah). Looks like 50 stars around the eagle (to represent of each state), but I'm not going to count them just now.
And with regard to my pet, the two dollar bill (good for you for carrying one, Faldage!), I think one of the things that attracts me most to it is the phenomenal detail with which somebody's famous painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is rendered.
I promise when I get home I'll check my stashes of Ecuadorean sucres (a rare find anymore...), Korean won, and Chinese yuan. I'll report back when I know more, Cap'n.
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#19641
02/22/2001 8:30 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
When the Roosevelt dime first came out, a Republican joke was that it was the only coin with a naval vessel on it:
A destroyer.
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#19642
02/22/2001 9:05 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409 |
Here's a money-related question: what images do other countries put on their coins?
The NZ 5˘ coin has a tuatara on it, the 50˘ has the Endeavour (Captain Cook's barque), the $1 coin has a kiwi surrounded by a fern wreath, and I can't remember the others. The NZ $5 note is apparently unique in the world for depicting a living person other than a head of state. It features Sir Edmund Hillary. NZers have the highest rate of ETPOS usage in the world, and almost the lowest rate of ATM usage in the developed world. CapK's hometown market's itself as "cash-optional" since it is possible to pay for absolutely everything electronically, right down to parking meters
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