# How did we end up with two nickle/nickels? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 1, 2020, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015 "2020-08-01T20:15:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/1 "2020-08-01T20:15:04Z")
Seems like I get them wrong about half the time when I spell them. And what if there was a Nichol’s Nickel Nickle company, what would they make? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/2 "2020-08-01T20:59:33Z")
n/m didn’t notice the forum. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/3 "2020-08-01T21:04:18Z")
Is there another meaning of nickle, besides being a variant (or incorrect, if you’re prescriptive) spelling of nickel? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/4 "2020-08-01T23:00:29Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Seems like I get them wrong about half the time when I spell them. And what if there was a Nichol’s Nickel Nickle company, what would they make? You appear to be under the impression that the mineral and the coin are spelled differently. They are spelled the same: nickel. “Nickle” is a variant spelling, I would guess usually for the coin. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/5 "2020-08-02T00:31:51Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > You appear to be under the impression that the mineral and the coin are spelled differently. They are spelled the same: nickel. Apparently I was under that impression. Sheesh. Wonder why I thought that? Well at least I made it to 74 before publicly demonstrating I’m an idiot. (Oh, fer chissakes don’t anyone search my earlier posts). ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/6 "2020-08-02T00:34:25Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > “Nickle” is a variant spelling, I would guess usually for the coin. That’s what I learned as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/7 "2020-08-02T15:57:10Z")
I’m 62. I’ve never seen “nickle” written before this thread. Might be a regionalism. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/8 "2020-08-03T03:13:41Z")
I wouldn’t call it a regionalism, just a misspelling. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/9 "2020-08-03T11:53:54Z")
The OED has an entry for _nickle_: > _English regional (north midlands)_. A woodpecker; (perhaps) _spec._ the green woodpecker, _Picus viridis_. The etymologies of _nickel_ and _nickle_ are different. The OED says that the word for the metal comes from Swedish, since it was first isolated by a Swedish chemist in the mid-18th century. Meanwhile, the bird name descends from the Middle English word for the bird, from at least the 15th century. Of course, I would bet one shiny quarter that most instances of “nickel” online are misspellings, and are not referring to [handsome/terrifying birds.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_green_woodpecker#/media/File:European_green_woodpecker_(Picus_viridis)_female_Barnes.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/10 "2020-08-03T15:55:50Z")
Nickle is a programming language and a common misspelling of nickel. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/11 "2020-08-03T17:35:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’m 62. I’ve never seen “nickle” written before this thread. Might be a regionalism. > [@panache45](#): > > I wouldn’t call it a regionalism, just a misspelling. Yeah, in my experience, it’s a prertty common misspelling. Understandable, because most similar words are spelled with “le” (pickle, tickle, etc.), but still wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/12 "2020-08-03T17:40:29Z")
Stupid trivia question: Why does the back of a dime say “ONE DIME” but the back of a nickel say “FIVE CENTS” and not “ONE NICKEL”? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/13 "2020-08-03T17:46:59Z")
Is it because “dime” already means “ten cents” (or one tenth of a dollar), while “nickel” doesn’t refer to a particular value? ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/14 "2020-08-03T17:57:14Z")
Exactly See 31 U.S. Code § 5101. “United States money is expressed in dollars, dimes or tenths, cents or hundreths [_sic_], and mills or thousandths. A dime is a tenth of a dollar, a cent is a hundredth of a dollar, and a mill is a thousandth of a dollar.” ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/15 "2020-08-03T18:04:18Z")
In fact, the first nickels in the United States were three cent-nickels first issued in 1865. The five-cent nickel was not issued until 1866. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/16 "2020-08-03T18:54:45Z")
They tried issuing silver 3-cent coins, and they were so tiny, people hated them. But there was a demand for a 3-cent coin, because first class postage was 3 cents. And BTW, for years, 5 cent pieces were also silver. They didn’t say FIVE CENTS either-- they said HALF DIME. ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/17 "2020-08-03T19:45:28Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > They didn’t say FIVE CENTS either-- they said HALF DIME. Originally (1792) they said [HALF DISME](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1792_half_disme) ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-we-end-up-with-two-nickle-nickels/917015/18 "2020-08-03T19:52:32Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > Of course, I would bet one shiny quarter that most instances of “nickel” online are misspellings, and are not referring to [handsome/terrifying birds.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_green_woodpecker#/media/File:European_green_woodpecker_(Picus_viridis)_female_Barnes.jpg) Well, at least one instance.