The other matter relating to decimalization of the currency is whether a currency (like pounds-shilling-pence or L-s-d) uses more "natural" units or serves as a badge of "Britishness" not to be tossed overboard (according to those who would resist the changeover).
One wonders if L-s-d had been kept around until now; any effort to decimalize the currency at this stage might just get run over by the bus of "Let's not let Brussels (since they're using a decimalized euro) tell us Brits what to do!" -- Ezra ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Humphreys" <[email protected]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, April 9, 2010 2:46:31 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific Subject: [USMA:47088] RE: Decimal currency & Metrication You could also say that 'base-10' is the only thing that links metric and decimal currency. On other levels there is very little commonality - For example - you can have a mixture of unit-types happening concurrently. In fact all countries are mixed unit (imp or USC and metric) - just to varying degrees, eg Germany has very little imperial - but still has it (BTU, inches) right up to the UK and then the US. In the latter two countries you can see a large mix of units operating concurrently. You cannot have a decimal currency and a non-decimal currency running concurrently. Maybe during a transition there are 'equivalences' but this simply makes non-dec currency equivalent to a a dec one. Some people say that money is a 'measure' of wealth. I think that's as far as the use of the word goes. Decimal and decimalization is a mathematical theory - ie 'decimal' is not a measurement. metric and metrication *is* a measurement topic. > Date: Fri, 9 Apr 2010 21:24:48 +0100 > From: [email protected] > Subject: [USMA:47087] Decimal currency & Metrication > To: [email protected] > > > > > I doubt it. Currency is different. It's not metricating. The > > equivalent in measures would be to make 10 inches = a foot etc (that's > > decimalisation) . > > Decimal currency predated the metric system, which is why there > are differences, but both decimal currency and metrication have a lot in > common - the main property being both align conversion of units/subunits > with the base numbering system. Since base 10 is universally used in > number representation (leaving aside computer internals), both > metrication and decimal currency achieve the same ease of conversion by > using tens and multiples of tens. Metrication is simply the appliance > of the principles of decimal currency to other forms of measure, > extending the range of multiples to suit varying magnitudes. > > Of course, it is in the interest of anti-metric campaigners to try and > paint metrication and decimalization as totally different concepts. > This is because decimal currency is widely accepted in the two main > metric hold-out countries. Pretty much every American is familiar with > converting between dollars and cents, and sees the correlation between > $1.24 and 124 cents without even thinking about it. > > A powerful argument in favor of metrication is that measuring your > height in metric as 1.74 m (or 174 cm) is exactly the same as dealing > with dollars and cents. For the far right jingoistic gun-toting > nationalists, you can point out that the metric system is simply the > application (and extension) of the American idea of applying decimal > principles to other forms of measurements. Once the US introduced > decimal currency (the first major currency to do so) it pretty much was > followed everywhere else. We should not lose the opportunity to draw > parallels between the two in the campaign for metrication in the US. > > For the UK, some people are old enough to remember the cumbersome twelve > pennies to the shilling an twenty shillings to the pound (which lasted > until 1971). It should be pointed out that if organizations like the > BWMA had their way in the seventies, people would still be struggling > with this nonsense. No doubt after metrication has been established for > a few years, people will look back on miles & pints with the same > curious bafflement at why people put up with it for so long. > > The parallels between metrication and decimal currencies are of major > importance in the campaign for metrication. They are *not* completely > different concepts, but two sides of the same coin (so to speak). > > Tom Wade > Get a new e-mail account with Hotmail - Free. Sign-up now.
