# Question about Euros... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 7, 2005, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-euros/302794 "2005-05-07T06:11:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2005, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-euros/302794/1 "2005-05-07T06:11:00Z")
I was looking online and found some interesting art that was sold by an artist in Germany. The prices were shown in Euros as follows: 149,00; 59,00; 179,00; etc. I’m assuming the comma serves the same purpose as the decimal point with U.S. currency. Can anyone tell me if this is correct? ---
**Author:** ![Hemlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Hemlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hemlock)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-euros/302794/2 "2005-05-07T06:19:26Z")
In non-English-speaking Europe, they use commas for points and points for commas. EG their 1.000.000,5 = our 1,000,000.5. Potentially a source of terrible mistakes when filling drug prescriptions? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2005, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-euros/302794/3 "2005-05-07T06:29:04Z")
Thanks, **Hemlock**. I appreciate the info. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2005, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-euros/302794/4 "2005-05-07T10:27:21Z")
As a compromise, I use X’000’000 when I count my millions in my bank account. 🙂 ---
**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:** [May 7, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-euros/302794/5 "2005-05-07T16:09:17Z")
This is why, when the metric system was introduced to Canada, we learned to write numbers with _spaces_ as decimal separators: 1 000 000 kg. That way, we could use either the comma or the dot as a decimal point. Of course, that’s in formal usage. In informal English usage, we continue to write 1,000,000.00. And in informal French usage, we continue to write with the comma decimal point: 1000,05. (It’s even used that way on the road signs in Quebec.) I’m not sure about the numeric separator in Quebec though… after a brief dig through [http://www.gouv.qc.ca](http://www.gouv.qc.ca), it seems that they use the space separator. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-euros/302794/6 "2005-05-08T00:07:33Z")
Here in Colombia, we use $1’000.000.00 for monetary display. ---
**Author:** ![EssOEss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6bbea6/32.png) [@EssOEss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EssOEss)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-euros/302794/7 "2005-05-08T12:54:02Z")
We don’t usually use any thousands-separator here in Estonia and use a comma (1000000,50). However, sometimes we use either a decimal point (very rare) or a space (slightly less rare) as the separator. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-euros/302794/8 "2005-05-08T15:10:39Z")
> [@Hemlock](#): > > Potentially a source of terrible mistakes when filling drug prescriptions? That’s why there’s specialized notation for filling prescriptions. And, most people trying to write down the decimal for “one and a half” will not write 1,500 when they mean 1,5. MDs and Pharmacists are repeatedly trained to avoid doing that (though with varying effectiveness) and pharmacists and nurses further are expected to call on their training to look at what is being dispensed and say “Whoa, there – there’s no \*&^% way she means give him THIS dose, page her and make sure what she meant” ---
**Author:** ![citybadger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/45deac/32.png) [@citybadger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/citybadger)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-euros/302794/9 "2005-05-08T16:58:22Z")
> [@robcaro](#): > > Here in Colombia, we use $1’000.000.00 for monetary display. You use a tick for the millions-thousand separator and a decimal point for both the thousands-units separator and the units-decimal separator? Really? What do you use between billions-millions?