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That happens to be the series used for the Euro currency: [0.01, 0.02, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500]
by athenot 11y ago
That happens to be the series used for the Euro currency:
[0.01, 0.02, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500]
- baddox 11y agoYep, that's a good way to minimize both the number of denominations offered and the number of bills/coins needed to make change for a given amount of money. The USD is close, too. Bills are in 1, 2, 5, although the $2 bill is rare. For some reason our coins are irregular, although people in my experience find all coins a bother. The "ideal" set of 3 denominations would be 1, 2.15, and 4.64.
- haimez 11y agoIs it at all surprising? Coins don't fit in wallets, represent small denominations, and are therefore not worth the trouble.
- athenot 11y agoThat's because the highest US coin in practice is $0.25—even though $1 coins exist, they are not widespread and overlap with the $1 bill. Contrast with the Euro where the highest coin is €2 and bills start at €5. Also prices tend to be inclusive of sales tax / VAT in Europe, so a €9.99 widget can be purchased with a €10 bill and you get 1 single €0.01 coin in change. Whereas your $9.99 widget will be $10.79 (at 7% tax), so you'll get 3 dimes and a nickel (4x the amount of change) assuming you handed over $11. Most likely, you had a $20 so you also get lots of $1 bills with your coins. :)
- ars 11y agoI tried using $1 coins for a while. I found then too bulky and heavy with zero advantage over paper. I would only use them routinely if forced. In some US stores they set prices so that the total is an even total after tax.
- dragontamer 11y agoI actually found the contrary. 25 coins hold surprisingly well in a pocket, much easier than a thick set of 25-bills IMO. 25-Bills get wet with sweat and insulate your legs. I kinda prefer 25-coins over that.
- IshKebab 11y agoI think most currency uses that. Dollars are a weird exception.