# Why decimalized currency? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 29, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705 "2009-04-29T05:21:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/21 "2009-04-29T14:08:48Z")
> [@fandango](#): > > The UK decimalized its currency around 1970. Before that 240 pence made a pound (I think 20 pence made a shilling, and 12 shilling made a pound). So between 1970 and 1980 they had a "new penny’ where 100 pence made a pound. Nitpick: 1971. And not just “between 1970 and 1980”, but to this day, 100 new pence make a pound. (The coins haven’t said “new pence” since 1981, though, just “pence”.) ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/22 "2009-04-29T14:15:54Z")
Note that we have a quarter BECAUSE it’s “two bits”. In the 18th century, the defacto standard coinage in the New World (and many other places) was the [Spanish dollar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_dollar), which was worth 8 reales. The newly created US dollar was initially based on it. Thomas Jefferson suggested having twenty and fifty cent coins, but the quarter was created instead, which would be two reales, rather than 8/5. Probably a sensible decision then, as Spanish coinage would continue to circulate on par with the US dollar well into the 19th century, but it leaves us with a somewhat curious seeming denomination, which is entrenched. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/23 "2009-04-29T14:25:41Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > This is very intuitive. But if it were true, then people in such countries would be motivated to introduce a new denomination, so that they would be able to leave out some of those zeros. > > I know that in 1986, Israel switched their currency from the sheqel to the “new sheqel”, which was equal to 1000 old sheqels, precisely because of this situation. But I’ve never heard of it happening elsewhere. Not in Japan, Italy, Korea, or any of the other countries mentioned above. Most likely that’s simply because it escaped my notice. Can anyone offer other examples? Without even thinking about it: Turkey, Zimbabwe, Russia and Turkmenistan all within the last 10 years or so. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/24 "2009-04-29T14:35:53Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Nitpick: 1971. And not just “between 1970 and 1980”, but to this day, 100 new pence make a pound. (The coins haven’t said “new pence” since 1981, though, just “pence”.) I think he was saying “at some point between 1970 and 1980 they introduced new pence”. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/25 "2009-04-29T14:43:27Z")
> [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](#): > > Because then you’d be dealing with enormous numbers. When I lived in Korea, I was making _1.2 million won a month_! I felt rich. > [@Keeve](#): > > I know that in 1986, Israel switched their currency from the sheqel to the “new sheqel”, which was equal to 1000 old sheqels, precisely because of this situation. But I’ve never heard of it happening elsewhere. Not in Japan, Italy, Korea, or any of the other countries mentioned above. Most likely that’s simply because it escaped my notice. Can anyone offer other examples? The Taiwanese currency is the “New Taiwan Dollar,” (though now a NTD is itself only worth about $.03 – I suppose a “New New Taiwan Dollar” would sound faintly ridiculous). ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/26 "2009-04-29T15:03:48Z")
> [@fandango](#): > > ) > > My question is though, why do we have sub units of currency? Yen doesn’t need them, neither do Turkish lira (or Italian lira, once upon a time). Once upon a time, the Italian lira was the same as the British pound. Latin “libra pondo”, from which we derive the abbreviation “lb.” = Italian “Lira” = French “Livre” (predecessor to the “Franc”.) = British “Pound Sterling” = 1 pound of silver. In the days of yore, a pound of silver was a fairly big chunk of money. Far more than most people needed for everyday purchases. So the sub-units were necessary. It was only after currency was disconnected from bullion, and rampant inflation, that some denominations became jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/27 "2009-04-29T15:04:22Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > Without even thinking about it: Turkey, Zimbabwe, Russia and Turkmenistan all within the last 10 years or so. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/28 "2009-04-29T15:10:44Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > In the days of yore, a pound of silver was a fairly big chunk of money. Far more than most people needed for everyday purchases. It still is: a pound of silver is worth about USD 200 at the moment. You’d want some change if you took that to the shop to buy a loaf of bread. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/29 "2009-04-29T15:26:13Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > I know that in 1986, Israel switched their currency from the sheqel to the “new sheqel”, which was equal to 1000 old sheqels, precisely because of this situation. But I’ve never heard of it happening elsewhere. Not in Japan, Italy, Korea, or any of the other countries mentioned above. Most likely that’s simply because it escaped my notice. Can anyone offer other examples? In 1960, France created the new franc, which was equal to 100 old French francs. The old franc was still usable, but it counted as 1 new centime. According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_franc#The_new_franc), up until the changeover to the euro, it was still common in certain circumstances for large sums to be stated in old francs. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/30 "2009-04-29T15:48:54Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > It still is: a pound of silver is worth about USD 200 at the moment. You’d want some change if you took that to the shop to buy a loaf of bread. Not if you shop at Whole Foods, peasant. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![fandango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b5ac83/32.png) [@fandango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fandango)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/31 "2009-04-29T16:19:32Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Once upon a time, the Italian lira was the same as the British pound. > > Latin “libra pondo”, from which we derive the abbreviation “lb.” > = Italian “Lira” > = French “Livre” (predecessor to the “Franc”.) > = British “Pound Sterling” > = 1 pound of silver. > > In the days of yore, a pound of silver was a fairly big chunk of money. Far more than most people needed for everyday purchases. So the sub-units were necessary. It was only after currency was disconnected from bullion, and rampant inflation, that some denominations became jokes. This begs the question, though, a pound seems like a bad choice for a unit of currency, why not use ounce sterling or grains sterling? ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/32 "2009-04-29T16:19:53Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Having used UK currency all my life, I don’t agree at all. :eek: > > We had to learn our 11 and 12 times tables at school, purely to cope with the currency. > > When 12 pennies (d) made a shilling (12d) and 20 shillings (s) made a pound you were constantly multiplying by 12, or doing other timewasting calculations: > “It costs 5s 3p. I’ve got 7s 2p, so if I buy it I will have 1s 11p change.” > > I have handled a farthing (0.25d), a halfpenny (0.5d), a threepenny bit (3p), a sixpence (6d), a shilling (1s) a half-crown (2.5s) and a guinea (£1 1s). > (I don’t remember florins (2s) or crowns (5s), but there you go.) > > So you have a pocket full of coins: > > 5 half-crowns > 3 shilling > 7 sixpences > 1 threepenny bit > 2 halfpennies > 6 farthings > > Can you afford to buy something worth £1 4s 7p? :rolleyes: > If so, how much change will you have? :smack: You don’t remember florins? My good fellow, a florin was simply 2/- As for crowns, you can still get them from banks, they sometimes issue commemorative crowns same as they do £5 coins every Christmas. Now then about groats… ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/33 "2009-04-29T16:28:31Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > Now then about groats… Not to mention marks, which were valued at the convenient rate of 13/4 or 2/3rds of a pound. I mean, you’ve always been thinking to yourself, “Gee, why doesn’t anybody invent a convenient monetary unit that’s 2/3rds of our existing monetary unit?” 16th-century Englishmen, you so crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/34 "2009-04-29T16:30:53Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > You don’t remember florins? > > My good fellow, a florin was simply 2/- In fact, florins were a first attempt at a decimalised currency, since a florin is exactly one tenth of a pound. That mean that when Britain finally went decimal, florins could be used interchangeably with 10p coins. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/35 "2009-04-29T16:34:23Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > Well, in Italy, the Lira was of course replaced by the Euro. The [Turkish Lira](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_lira), on the other hand, which used to have a rate of exchange even higher than Italian Lira, recently divided by 1,000,000 to eliminate _six_ zeros. So it does happen. Poland is another example, knocking four digits off the zloty in 1995. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/36 "2009-04-29T18:56:04Z")
Decimal currency is much easier to work when using a calculator compared to pounds, shillings and pence. Does anyone remember the ready-reckoner books you had to use when working out percentages in the old currency? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/37 "2009-04-29T19:01:22Z")
> [@Rayne\_Man](#): > > Decimal currency is much easier to work when using a calculator compared to pounds, shillings and pence. Does anyone remember the ready-reckoner books you had to use when working out percentages in the old currency? But that was also the days before cheap hand-held calculators. If the UK still used Lsd, they would sell calculators that did calculations in Lsd on the UK market. (Just as the percentage ready-reckoners have gone out with the dodo, so have books with tables of logarithms and trigonometric functions. Why buy a book when a calculator is cheaper, and does it to 10 places instead of 4?) ---
**Author:** ![fandango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b5ac83/32.png) [@fandango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fandango)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/38 "2009-04-29T20:04:22Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > There’s two separate issues here; decimalisation and granularity. > > “Granularity” refers to the size of the basic currency unit. Yes, if your basic unit is small enough, then you don’t need any subdivisions, but there is no particular advantage to having no subdivisions. On the other hand, it’s a pain to write and read strings of zeros. Plus, there is something faintly demoralising about having a currency unit which is worth so little that it won’t buy anything at all, not even a matchstick. I doubt if there is any country that chose to have a small basic currency unit; those who have them got them as a result of intense or sustained periods of inflation. Shouldn’t there then be a need for a “super unit” of currency–we have an unofficial one where a person says they make “80K” or a car costs “30 grand”–but the fact that we don’t have those as actual units seems to imply that reading and writing strings of zeros isn’t a problem. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/39 "2009-04-29T20:32:03Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > In 1960, France created the new franc, which was equal to 100 old French francs. The old franc was still usable, but it counted as 1 new centime. And much, _much_ later, French people were still referring to prices of expensive items such as houses in old francs. Even in the 1990s, if someone said “30 millions”, it was possible that they meant FFR 300,000. This usage may have persisted until the franc was replaced by the euro. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705/40 "2009-04-29T20:36:22Z")
> [@fandango](#): > > …But rather than phasing out the pound and keeping the old penny but creating a new unit that equal to 100 pence (and 10/24th of a pound) they went the other way… When Australia & New Zealand decimalised their currencys they dumped the pound and created a dollar worth 10 old shillings (ie A£1 = A$2). The UK kept the pound sterling as is because it’s a major reserve currency. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decimalized-currency/494705.md?page=3)