# US coinage querstion: why "FIVE CENTS" and not "5¢" or "5 CENTS"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 26, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-coinage-querstion-why-five-cents-and-not-5-or-5-cents/256949 "2004-07-26T16:39:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [July 27, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-coinage-querstion-why-five-cents-and-not-5-or-5-cents/256949/21 "2004-07-27T16:29:00Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > It wasn’t always so. Let’s take just a few examples(there are more). > > If you look at the half dollars, starting in 1836, they plainly say on the reverse “50 cents.” This continued for the halves from 1836o-1839. It was the choice of the engraver at the US Mint. > > The quarter dollars struck from 1815-1838 clearly said “25 c.” on the reverse. > > The “dimes” struck between 1809-1837 said “10 c.” on the reverse. > > So, it was the engravers choice, probably. > > The question might be better asked, "why did the mint engraver, starting in and about the late 1830’s decide to spell out the denomination. My guess is that it was a design decision, nothing else. Artistic license. > > The shield nickels, struck between 1866 and 1883, had a big old “5” in the middle of the reverse, with the “cents” at the bottom. > > The two cent pieces had “2/Cents” on the reverse. > . I stand corrected. If I had had my Red Book with me, I would not have misspoken. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-coinage-querstion-why-five-cents-and-not-5-or-5-cents/256949/22 "2004-07-27T18:20:24Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > Oh, forgot to add. > > As far as I know, no U.S. currency or coinage has ever used the $ or cent symbol (which I don’t know how to type). Well, I may not be able to help out with the money question, but here is how you type a “¢” character – hold down the ALT key and type 0162 on the keypad. (The Character Map accessory in Windows will generally allow you to locate, copy and paste a particular character, and will also tell you the “ALT+nnnn” keycode for it.) ---
**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:** [July 27, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-coinage-querstion-why-five-cents-and-not-5-or-5-cents/256949/23 "2004-07-27T19:52:42Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Well, I may not be able to help out with the money question, but here is how you type a “¢” character – hold down the ALT key and type 0162 on the keypad. (The Character Map accessory in Windows will generally allow you to locate, copy and paste a particular character, and will also tell you the “ALT+nnnn” keycode for it.) Thanks! That’s a big help. Now I’ll be able to do accents, umlauts, and all those things too, right? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-coinage-querstion-why-five-cents-and-not-5-or-5-cents/256949/24 "2004-07-27T22:25:48Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > Thanks! That’s a big help. Now I’ll be able to do accents, umlauts, and all those things too, right? Yes. See here for a [printable (pdf) chart](http://www.pgdp.net/c/faq/charwin.pdf?DP_Session=4be9b6e42935236a775e40e6e3d54f63) of these Windows shortcuts. ---
**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:** [July 28, 2004, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-coinage-querstion-why-five-cents-and-not-5-or-5-cents/256949/25 "2004-07-28T19:28:54Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Well, I may not be able to help out with the money question, but here is how you type a “¢” character – hold down the ALT key and type 0162 on the keypad. (The Character Map accessory in Windows will generally allow you to locate, copy and paste a particular character, and will also tell you the “ALT+nnnn” keycode for it.) Or buy a Mac, and type: option $. Regarding coin denominations, back in 1883 the mint started releasing the “Liberty Head” nickels, with a big “V” on the reverse. Some people gold plated them and passing them off as $5 gold pieces. So the mint stopped production, and added the word “cents” at the bottom of the reverse. AFAIK, the original was the only US coin with an ambiguous denomination. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-coinage-querstion-why-five-cents-and-not-5-or-5-cents/256949.md?page=1)