Since this is not related to metric, I have addressed only to guys in Europe and who loves Europe.
I took it from http://forums.ft.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=646099322&f=831094803&m=5443084973&r=5443084973#5443084973 Are the Euro coins better designed than the Dollar coins? by bvp Guest #166 of 169 13 Jan 2002 01:36 PM How many coins does it take to give the exact change in Dollars and Euros? I have not read anything on the subject so far, so hereafter what I have found. For prices ranging from 1 to 50 cents, my calculation shows that it takes an average of 3.72 coins in dollars and 2.86 coins in Euros. From 51 to 100, you just need to add one 50 cent coin. An other way of looking at results for cents 1 to 50: 36% of the payments in Dollars require at least 5 coins, compared to only 4% of the payments in Euros, namely 48 cents and 49 cents. This is solely due to the fact that the Euro includes a 2 cent coin but not the dollar. The fact that the 20 cent coin is used instead of the quarter has no impact This probably explain why the US penny is used less and less in the US, as it takes too many coins to give the exact change (or to return it) This also would suggest that the one-dollar coin launched in the US a few years ago can be successful only if a two-dollar coin (or note) is widely used. PS: The fact that the US coins values are shown in words rather than numbers is another story. Not easy to figure out the value of a dime unless you are told. The fact that cent means (with a different pronunciation) both "cent" and "hundred" in French is also an other story. Madan __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com
