Something I hadn't noticed until it was pointed out by a perplexed for'ner: Many of our U.S. coins are not engraved with their actual monetary value. A dime simply states "dime," along with a profile of FDR, the year of minting, the "E pluribus unum" motto, a torch, and what looks like a side of broccoli.
Of course if you know your Latin you can translate "dime" into its root word, "decima," and providing you already know the dollar is divided into one hundred cents, presumably you could ascertain the dime is equal to a tenth of a dollar. Maybe.
A quarter at least states "quarter dollar," which gives its bearer a fair shot at deduction, assuming, again, a degree of prior knowledge. Same goes for the half dollar. The penny and nickel are more user-friendly, with their respective "one cent" and "five cent" engravings.
But mostly it sounds suspiciously like one of those "we know because we know" situations. Like understanding the New York subway system. Rough on newcomers.
Why is this? So the government can potentially change the value system without having to remint every last dime?
30 January 2010
A Dime For Your Thoughts
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1 comment:
it actually sounds like one of those "raise the bar" situations. Monetary value was established at a time when Latin was not unusual to know, at least among the educated. And the educated run the country, making it a more educated country (in theory). Therefore if someone wants to know, and can't understand the root, then when it is explained to them, they've now learned something. And they are that much closer to the bar. If it were changed, there'd be no impetus to question. And the bar is lowered.
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