The reason for the 25c coin in the Netherlands was also historic. The 25c coin (or kwaartje (quarter) which was demonetized in 2002 when the Euro was introduced was the same size as the kwaartje that was introduced by Willem I after the fall of Napoleon. At the same time the Dutch re-instated the metric system that has been introduced by Napoleon, albeit with Dutch names.
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jon Saxton Sent: 28 April 2008 01:22 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:40806] Re: Unknown series I have lived in the USA for about 17 years and I have had plenty of time to get used to the 25c coin. However I still find the 20c coin of Australia much more convenient. (I have other issues with the design of Australian coins but that is another story.) It seems more natural to make 45c by giving two 20c and a 5c rather than a 25c and two 10c. I can't say anything about the coinage of the Netherlands but the reason for the 25c coin in the USA (and most other countries in the Americas) is historical. By the beginning of the 18th century the Spanish dollar, a silver coin of about 1 oz with a denomination of 8 reales, had become one of the major world trading currencies. The English phrase "pieces of eight" referred to this coin. In the mid 1820s there were even moves to make the dollar the official currency of the Australian colonies but that was quashed by the British government. Although there were coins of 1, 2 and 4 reales, they were relatively scarce so for want of small change it was common practice to cut the Spanish dollar. The easiest cuts were binary, and they corresponded to the smaller denominations. So one cut yielded a half dollar, two cuts yielded a quarter and a third cut yielded what was known colloquially as a bit. (Hence the term "2 bits" meaning a quarter dollar.) When the United States established its own coinage in the late 18th century it used the Spanish dollar as the basic unit. The innovation was to divide the unit into tenths and hundredths but it was not so easy to ignore the binary divisions. Hence the 25c coin was struck. As far as I am aware there was never a 12.5c coin but the binary divisions afflicted the stock market for 200 years. Even today there are vestiges of the reales legacy: interest rates are almost invariably quoted in eighths of a percent, and so are many state sales tax rates. The 25c coin is the anomaly in the USA and Canada. US banknotes follow the 1-2-5 pattern (although for some reason the $2 note is not in common use, and Canadians have $1 and $2 coins). I remember seeing $25 notes somewhere - perhaps Aruba. If I am correct then that would probably be the Dutch influence. Martin Vlietstra wrote: > I am a frequent visitor to the Netherlands. Prior to the adoption of the > Euro, I found that I had to take a little more care when handling the Dutch > currency compared to the currency of other countries - their series was 5c, > 10c, 25c, 1G, 2.5G with 5G, 10G, 25G and 50G notes. > > In contrast, the Euro was well researched in terms of ergonomics - it has 1c, > 2c, 5c, 10, 20c, 50c, €1 and €2 coins with €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 and > €500 notes. The 1c and 2c coins are very small and two countries > (Netherlands and Finland) do not use them, otherwise the coins are well > thought out - each has a different milling pattern. The notes are all > different sizes, each 3mm higher and 6mm longer than it predecessor. There > is however a question as to whether €200 and €500 notes are needed. > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ziser, Jesse > Sent: 26 April 2008 06:12 > To: U.S. Metric Association > Subject: [USMA:40800] Re: Unknown series > > --- Pat Naughtin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > >> On 2008/04/26, at 9:43 AM, Ziser, Jesse wrote: >> >>> The Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences calls it the >>> "Hyperinflation Sequence for Banknotes". >>> http://www.research.att.com/~njas/sequences/A051109 >>> >> That is surely a fancy name for a relatively simple series. I wonder >> whether the choice of the (1, 2, 5, …) series has anything to do with >> limiting how many coins or notes are given as change during a cash >> transaction. I find the (1, 2, 5, …) series easy to handle for this >> purpose than the (1, 5, 10, 25, 50, …) coins used in the USA, but this >> may only be because I am more familiar with Australian coins. >> > > I don't disagree with you. I can see how the U.S. system of denominations > might not be the best. > I wonder whether the fact that the US was one of the first countries to use > decimal currency means > we are likely to have a less refined system than others. Incidentally, the > "50" in that sequence > is very rare. I've only seen a few half-dollar coins in my life. The dollar > coins were pretty > rare too, until they were recently reintroduced in "golden" form. > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > Be a better friend, newshound, and > know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. > http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ > > > >
