# Is the quarter coin unique to the US and Canada? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130 "2014-01-30T15:20:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/21 "2014-01-30T17:59:47Z")
Oman has a 25 baisa coin (one quarter of a rial.) India used to have a quarter-rupee/25 paisa coin, but it’s no longer in circulation because of inflation. The smallest subdivision now is the 50 paisa; a rupee is worth under 2 cents. ETA: link doesn’t work for me either. Regional block? ---
**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:** [January 30, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/22 "2014-01-30T18:01:09Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > Link doesn’t work, Odd. The link works fine for me. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/23 "2014-01-30T18:07:15Z")
Germany used to have a 25 pfennig coin, Spain used to have a 25 peseta coin and France used to have a 25 centimes coin. All long gone now that they all use the Euro. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/24 "2014-01-30T18:13:13Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Odd. The link works fine for me. That is strange. I get the 403 error too. Why would a link work for some and not others? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/25 "2014-01-30T18:15:08Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > Link doesn’t work, but does have one of the better 403 error messages: > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > ETA: link doesn’t work for me either. Regional block? > [@Colibri](#): > > Odd. The link works fine for me. It’s a 403 forbidden page due to trying to access a bare image. Many websites are set up to use something called a referrer to see what page led you to a particular URL. This keeps people from using the image on their own site. Often you can get around this by clicking in the URL field and then pressing enter, which counts as typing it directly and thus has no referrer at all. As for **Colibri** , he likely has the image in his cache from when he found the image, and thus the image is being loaded from his hard drive rather than the website itself. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/26 "2014-01-30T18:34:51Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Thanks! This information allowed my to search Wikipedia for the phrase “25 centavo”, and it got several hits! To answer the OP, there is currently a 25 centavo coin in [the Philippines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_twenty-five_centavo_coin) and in [Nicaragua](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaraguan_c%C3%B3rdoba), and elsewhere, though they’re not labelled “quarter” the way the American coin is denominated. And the nine dollar bill! ---
**Author:** ![Artemis\_Tardis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Artemis\_Tardis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Artemis_Tardis)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/27 "2014-01-30T18:44:42Z")
We have them in Brazil. 5 cents, 10, 25, 50 and 1 real. Then the bills are: 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/28 "2014-01-30T18:44:57Z")
Pre- decimal UK coinage had the half crown (1/8) of a pound as a fully circulating coin ( the crown in later years was commemorative only, but worth 1/4 of a pound. Confusingly as well as the half crown 1/8, we also had the florin in circulation- 1/10 of a pound. So the coins were: farthing 1/960, Halfpenny 1/480, penny 1/240, threepenny bit 1/80, sixpence 1/40, shilling 1/20, florin 1/10, half crown 1/8. Not to mention historic and oddities- mark 1/3 pound, guinea 1 and 1/20 of a pound. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/29 "2014-01-30T19:09:43Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > As for **Colibri** , he likely has the image in his cache from when he found the image, and thus the image is being loaded from his hard drive rather than the website itself. Anyway, [here’s](http://cdn.coins-auctioned.com/uploads/images/5000-9999/5786/5786_1279780142.jpg)a different image of the coins. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/30 "2014-01-30T19:36:24Z")
Some countries in the Caribbean use the [East Caribbean Dollar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Caribbean_dollar), which has a 25-cent piece that is the same size as the Canadian 25-cent piece. I know this because I got one in my change once. I offered to mail it back to someone I know who lives in one of those countries. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/31 "2014-01-30T19:44:27Z")
Add Barbados to the list. Their coins are exactly the same as US coins and easy to confuse, although their dollar is pegged at .50 USD. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/32 "2014-01-30T22:33:39Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Germany used to have a 25 pfennig coin, Spain used to have a 25 peseta coin and France used to have a 25 centimes coin. All long gone now that they all use the Euro. Germany didn’t have a 25 pfennig coin. The pfennig coins were 1, 2, 5, 10, and 50 pfennigs (plus 1, 2, and 5 marks, and 10 marks commemorative coins). Maybe way back, but certainly not up until the introduction of the euro. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/33 "2014-01-30T22:38:37Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > We think of our money as being dollars and cents, but actually its > > mill 1/1000 dollar > cent 1/100 dollar > dime 1/10 dollar > dollar > eagle 10 dollars. That’s quite true, with the exception of the Eagle. The American currency system is legally defined in the following way by the relevant statute (31 U.S.C. § 5101): > [@](#): > > United States money is expressed in dollars, dimes or tenths, cents or hundreths, 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. > [@](#): > > I think the only exception to the “powers of two” coin denominations was the three cent piece What about the nickel? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/34 "2014-01-31T00:07:23Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > The Netherlands used to have a 2½ guilder coin, until it adopted the euro. It also had 1c, 5c, 10c, and 25c coins, and 1 and 5 guilder coins, and it used to have ½c and 2½c coins too. Similarly, Germany used to have 2 1/2 DM coins too. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/35 "2014-01-31T00:11:46Z")
I believe that Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda have 25 cent coins. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/36 "2014-01-31T00:17:35Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/37 "2014-01-31T00:28:10Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > That’s quite true, with the exception of the Eagle. The American currency system is legally defined in the following way by the relevant statute (31 U.S.C. § 5101): > > What about the nickel? Answering both of your questions. The Eagle is only currently used with bullion (and maybe commemorative) coins, but it was originally part of the definition of US coinage. I assume they got rid of it when the discontinued the use of gold in coins back in the 30s. And as I said in the original, the “nickel” was originally a half di(s)me so it did fall into the half-type coinage. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/38 "2014-01-31T01:02:13Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Answering both of your questions. > > The Eagle is only currently used with bullion (and maybe commemorative) coins, but it was originally part of the definition of US coinage. [Although they now say 50 Dollars.](http://www.apmex.com/product/79031/2014-1-oz-gold-american-eagle-brand-new) ---
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/39 "2014-01-31T02:11:36Z")
I’ve learned from various mathematical puzzles that power-of-two denominations is that most efficient way of making change. Obviously merchants and bankers of old noticed this too. Unfortunately, our numbering system is base-10 instead of base-2 so they made the very logical adjustments of bumping 4 up to 5, 2 up to 2-and-a-half, 12-and-a-half down to 10, and/or some combination. It’s quite interesting. (I don’t know how the 3-cent coin was supposed to fit.) ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130/40 "2014-01-31T02:37:54Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I believe that Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda have 25 cent coins. Cayman definitely. We have 1, 5, 10, and 25 cent pieces. The 25 cent piece is commonly referred to as a quarter and is the same size as a US quarter. The 10 cent piece is larger than the 5 cent coin however. In paper currency we have 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 dollar bills. No 20. Years ago there was a 40 dollar bill but it is no longer made. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-quarter-coin-unique-to-the-us-and-canada/680130.md?page=3)