On May 7, 2008, at 1:49 PM, John Kaufmann wrote:
After the revolution, when the Americans were coining their own
federal currency, I don't believe they ever actually made a 1/8
dollar coin (though individual colonies may have done so) -- but
tradition dies hard.
There was no US 12.5-cent coin, BUT
there were 1/2-cent coins until 1857, and
foreign currency, including the old Spanish dollars,
continued to be legal tender until 1857.
(In addition, before 1857, the cent coin was much larger, closely
resembling an old, pre-decimalization British penny [1d], which is why
the cent picked up the "penny" name.)
Note that the New York Stock Exchange continued to trade in 1/8ths of
a dollar until just a few years ago.
--
John W Kennedy
If Bill Gates believes in "intelligent design", why can't he apply it
to Windows?
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