Should we call a dollar a thaler??

I'm glad you reminded us of that, because his use of "freedom of speech" in the context of a private forum is a much more egregious "gross inacuracy" than the use of the word "penny" in reference to the US Cent.

 

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everything in the dollar store costs more than a dollar. do you bash them too for misuse of a word?

and it was brought up in a previous thread, but i will bring it up here too... what do you call a nickel? no where on the coin does it say "nickel."

 

I properly refer to them as 5 cent pieces. The earlier versions are half dimes (as stated on the coins themslves).

Dimes are interesting, as they alternatively say 10 cents or, later, one dime! Other denominations also pose interesting histories.

 

Nope, no rant. They just consider the person to be relatively unknowledgeable (or ignorant if you want a less politically correct term) and go on.

I call them five cent pieces. Sometimes I will slip and refer to them as nickels but I am trying to purge that error.

Since apparently this forum seems to be of the opinion that words don't really mean something, the use or any terms should be acceptable for anything. Any grade abbreviation can be used for any coin you have, we can freely talk about double dies, die deterioration doubling can be called doubled dies if we so choose etc. Use of proper terms is optional.

 

It's a non sequitur to state that "if you acknowledge the use of the word penny in the vernacular, you hold the opinion that words don't have meaning."

 

Does anybody ever call the 'engine' in their car a 'motor'? Motors are electrical, so unless you drive a Tesla...lol

 

Would I use the term thaler? no. But I have often heard different denominations of the dollar refered to as: a buck, sawbuck, fin, fiver, c-note, etc. none of which show up on the bills but when you hear it you know what they are talking about, much like the penny. Should these terms be used numismatically? probably not but to be so anal as to beat a dead horse and then fillet it and cook it up is a bit senseless (pun intended) too!

 

Not so. The word "DOLLAR" is derived from the German word Thaler, the name given to the first large sized European silver coins. It was designed as a subsitute of the gold florin, which originated in 1484.

Hence, calling a dollar a thaler is quite correct, since dollar evolved from thaler.

So endeth the lesson.

Just my worth!

 

Good point.

 

That would be a delicacy is some parts of the world!

 

Ahhh, this thread reminded me of a discussion I once had with one of my profs, he was making a case why Shakespeare was so good, and why the English language was so dynamic. The argument was that after the Norman invasion and conquest of the Inglish, the court and all the proper people continued to speak French, and that the common peoples language was more or less ignored in the higher circles. Academics zealously enforced the structures and rules of the French court language, Inglish was left to try new words, new ways of spelling, borrowing some here, some there, in the end the result was Shakespeare and the King James Bible, a language that could express any thought, any shades of meaning, subtleties and large topics.

I would guess that anybody who understood would welcome that creativity and dynamic gestalt.

Just remember the purpose of language is to communicate, it seems to me that making a rule that one must not call a cent anything other than a cent can lead to a stifling adherence to rules that by definition would rule out improvisation and would tend to stifle communication.

But maybe we have too much communication, maybe it needs to be stifled a bit? Or maybe it is already too stifled, and people become frustrated when they cannot express what they are thinking or feeling?

I know I used to absolutely hate the parsing of sentence structures, that seemed to me to be less about communication and more about stifling communication.

 

Now come on guys and just cool it - you can debate the topic all you want, but leave name calling and rude remarks out of your comments.

Speedy

 

Thank you for your comment. I am a very sensitive person.

 

your one to talk.

 

Fortunately, I have received a tremendous outpouring of support by private message from forum members that are reluctant to post their admiration of my fortitude for fear of being maligned.

Have fun with your coins--I do!

 

I did not realize you could send yourself pm's.

 

yes and the dollar is going up in value and the president is making both sides happy.

 

apparently he can, yet he has no friends in his profile.

 

Gee! I wonder why.

 

I decline friends invitations as I can't handle the volume of emails. As it is, I am inundated by admiring and supportive PMs to which I do not respond. I nevertheless thank all for their kind words and support.