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And why does American coinage and currency not observe the 2-3-5 rule? We have $1, $2 but it's obsolete, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100 but no $200, $500, $1000 but n

And why does American coinage and currency not observe the 2-3-5 rule? We have $1, $2 but it's obsolete, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100 but no $200, $500, $1000 but no $2000 and so on. Worse yet, coinage! 1 cent, 5, 10, 25(!), 50, 100 and we're done.

Dylan16807 4y ago
Because currency isn't trying to fill out the spectrum. We want to have as few different values as possible, focused on a certain range. And really big bills are rare. So looking at 1-100, 20 vs. 25 doesn't really matter, people won't bother to carry 50s, and people won't bother to carry 2s. 3s wouldn't help at all. We barely even need the 10 either. 1,5,20/25,100 works fine. And above 100 you can use powers of 10 and nobody will really care.
ElevenLathe 4y ago
Now that some ATMs let you choose your denominations, I get all my cash in fives. Even $300 (pretty much the outer limit of what I ever want to carry in cash) in fives comfortably fits in my wallet, and you avoid most of the headaches of trying to make change for larger bills.
- meatmanek 4y ago
  You can fit a stack of 60 bills in your wallet comfortably!? The internet says a bill is 0.0043 inches thick, so 60 bills would be roughly a quarter inch thick. Folded in half, that's over half an inch just for your cash.
  - ElevenLathe 4y ago
    ah, sorry. My "wallet" is one of those folio type things that doubles as a phone case. I don't keep it in my back pocket like a traditional Costanza-style wallet.
    - OJFord 4y ago
      Do people keep wallets in their back pockets outside of cartoons and 20th century pickpocket victims in films? I prefer it separate to my phone, but always front pocket, I don't want to sit (lop-sided?!) on it.
      - ElevenLathe 4y ago
        I used a regular back-pocket wallet until 2020 when I didn't use it for a few months except to enter my credit card number online. I'm in the Midwest and it seems that this is still the norm. Maybe things are different on the coasts?
      - marssaxman 4y ago
        That is still the standard practice, as far as I am aware; I've never carried my wallet anywhere else. Not sure what else the back pockets would be used for. Perhaps you'd feel weird about watching other people's asses, as you walk down the street, but if you did, I bet you'd notice a lot of worn-in rectangular patterns - especially on blue jeans - revealing the wearer's wallet location.

Dylan16807 4y ago

Because currency isn't trying to fill out the spectrum. We want to have as few different values as possible, focused on a certain range. And really big bills are rare. So looking at 1-100, 20 vs. 25 doesn't really matter, people won't bother to carry 50s, and people won't bother to carry 2s. 3s wouldn't help at all. We barely even need the 10 either. 1,5,20/25,100 works fine. And above 100 you can use powers of 10 and nobody will really care.

ElevenLathe 4y ago

Now that some ATMs let you choose your denominations, I get all my cash in fives. Even $300 (pretty much the outer limit of what I ever want to carry in cash) in fives comfortably fits in my wallet, and you avoid most of the headaches of trying to make change for larger bills.

meatmanek 4y ago
You can fit a stack of 60 bills in your wallet comfortably!? The internet says a bill is 0.0043 inches thick, so 60 bills would be roughly a quarter inch thick. Folded in half, that's over half an inch just for your cash.
- ElevenLathe 4y ago
  ah, sorry. My "wallet" is one of those folio type things that doubles as a phone case. I don't keep it in my back pocket like a traditional Costanza-style wallet.
  - OJFord 4y ago
    Do people keep wallets in their back pockets outside of cartoons and 20th century pickpocket victims in films? I prefer it separate to my phone, but always front pocket, I don't want to sit (lop-sided?!) on it.
    - ElevenLathe 4y ago
      I used a regular back-pocket wallet until 2020 when I didn't use it for a few months except to enter my credit card number online. I'm in the Midwest and it seems that this is still the norm. Maybe things are different on the coasts?
    - marssaxman 4y ago
      That is still the standard practice, as far as I am aware; I've never carried my wallet anywhere else. Not sure what else the back pockets would be used for. Perhaps you'd feel weird about watching other people's asses, as you walk down the street, but if you did, I bet you'd notice a lot of worn-in rectangular patterns - especially on blue jeans - revealing the wearer's wallet location.