What obsolete coin denominations are still used as terms for money?

Discussion in 'World Coins' started by The Eidolon, Mar 8, 2021.

  1. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Wow, I had no idea the singular of "lepta" was "lepton". Makes sense, but it's also a term in particle physics (particles with half-integer spin, such as electrons), so it sounds surprising to hear it in English.
     
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  3. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    The classic "two bits" used in the US to refer 25¢ and "four bits" for 50¢ is old slang that might still be in use, but it was very widespread in the 19th-20th centuries.

    The "bit" referred to is 12.5¢, the equivalent value for 1/8 of a Spanish 8 reales. These coins, in colonial time and during the early years of the newly independent US were sometimes cut up into 8 bits, each roughly worth 12.5¢ for use in everyday transactions.
     
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  4. harrync

    harrync Well-Known Member

    "Two bits, four bits, six bits a dollar, all those for [insert name of your team here] stand up and holler." OK, I haven't heard that cheer in 60 years, but maybe somewhere it is still used.
     
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  5. trussell

    trussell Active Member

    There's a "Fin" ($5) and Sawbuck ($10).
     
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  6. tenbobbit

    tenbobbit Well-Known Member

    My username ;)

    Although the origins of the term " Bob " to describe a Shilling ( 5p ) are unknown, it is still used to this day.
    10 Shillings = 50p, which becomes 10 Bob.

    A TenBobBit is a 50p piece.
     
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  7. KBBPLL

    KBBPLL Well-Known Member

    "Buck" as slang for a dollar possibly originated from the early colonial period, where items were valued based on deer hides, or buckskins. But buckskins are not an obsolete coin, so that's stretching the OP's criteria. There are other theories for the origin of "buck".
     
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  8. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    I learned another example, sort of: "cash" in French is "espèces," the equivalent of the English "specie" (money made of precious metal). Not a specific denomination,
    I guess, but I like seeing all of these old terms lurking in modern speech.
     
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  9. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    One more! Russian "denga" (1/2 kopek = 1/200 ruble) is still used as a general term for money in (I think) the plural. (деньги? I don't really get Russian plurals.)
     
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