The expected but missing denomination

Started by <k>, August 19, 2017, 02:30:00 PM

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<k>

In the normal course of events, the denominational structure of a coinage falls into one of two patterns:

1] Subunits of 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50.  The units then generally also follow that pattern, though sometimes a 20 unit banknote is preferred to a 25, as in the USA.

2] Subunits of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50.  The units then generally also follow that pattern.  The UK follows this pattern.


Sometimes one of the expected denominations is missing. The UK decimal system lacked a 20 pence coin from 1971 to 1981. The Federal Republic of Germany never issued a 20 Pfennig coin, though its counterpart, the German Democratic Republic (communist East Germany) did so in 1969.

As a young Englishman, I rarely thought about the lack of a 20p coin, though I was pleased when one was eventually introduced. Do you come from a country where you felt there was a missing denomination, or did you ever visit such a country, where you felt the lack?
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malj1

Newly arrived in Australia back in 1957 I felt the lack of the half-crown after being used to this denomination in England.
Malcolm
Have a look at  my tokens and my banknotes.

<k>

#2
Australian predecimal set.jpg

Australian pre-decimal set: no half crown.


Yes, a half crown can be understood on the basis of "pieces of eight". Halve the pound, and keep halving it, until you reach a half crown.

However, when you think of the denomination as 2 shillings and 6 pence, it is quite a strange beast. You could also say 2½ shillings, then it's maybe not so strange, but denominations ending in ½ always look messy to me - except for a bare ½ itself.

Anyway, I expect if you'd told any Aussies, they would have laughed and called you "a whinging Pom."  Did you even tell any of them?
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FosseWay

Until last year, Sweden lacked both a 2 kronor coin and a 200 kronor banknote. The previous 2 kronor coin, last issued in 1971, was still legal tender until all the old "silver" was withdrawn a couple of months ago, but in practice they were never used - they were larger than the "silver" 5 kronor.

<k>

As I explain in this topic: When should the first circulation 2 pound coin have been issued ?, I felt the lack of a 2 pound coin after the round pound was issued. Four heavy pound coins in change were a nuisance. The circulation 2 pound coin was not introduced until 1998, and it was many years before there was a sufficient number of them in circulation, so the "four heavy pounds in change" remained a common event.
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<k>

#5


West Germany had no 20 pfennig coin.


Here I will quote Christian's remarks of 6 years ago:

Quote from: chrisild on June 11, 2011, 10:38:00 AMIn Germany there had been (vague) plans in the early 1990s to introduce a 20 Pfennig coin. For two reasons: One, the GDR had such a piece, so at least part of the country was already used to the concept. Two, the Deutsche Mark had the 1-2-5 setup elsewhere, so why not here as well?

Ultimately the idea "died", and shortly afterwards the euro was introduced anyway (with a 20 cent coin). However, we did get a 200 DM note in 1990 that was supposed to fill the gap between the 100 and 500 notes. Was not exactly successful ...

Christian

See: Newly introduced denominations.
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chrisild

Not that I really missed a 20 Pfennig coin in the Federal Republic ... But at some point I learned that the GDR had one, and later even used the piece as a tourist in (East) Berlin. That was when I thought, hmm, would be nice to have one here as well.

(These days, we should do away with the 1 and 2 cent coins, and introduce a 5 euro circulation instead. But the former is unlikely to happen in Germany, and the latter won't happen in the euro area, as that denomination is "blocked" by country-specific collector coins. Well, I can always dream. ;) )

In the US, there are several coin denominations that I miss, hehe. Instead of a quarter (I don't like that "25" thing, also because it makes giving change less "logical" in my opinion) they should have 0.50 and 1.00 coins, maybe a 0.20 too. And please don't tell me that the half and the dollar exist - I am thinking of actually circulating coins. >:D

Christian

FosseWay

Not part of either of the decimal structures that <k> kicked off this thread with, but I've often thought it illogical that the 5-shilling denomination was missing across the £sd world. Nowhere AFAIK in the sterling area in the 20th century issued a 5-shilling coin or note* that was both intended to circulate and actually did so in significant numbers, meaning a jump from 2s 6d (1/8 of a pound) to 10s (½ pound), or from 2s (1/10 pound) in the case of Australia with no half-crown.

* Apart possibly from the occupied Channel Islands - did they have emergency 5s notes?

<k>

Quote from: FosseWay on August 20, 2017, 11:58:32 AM
I've often thought it illogical that the 5-shilling denomination was missing across the £sd world...meaning a jump from 2s 6d (1/8 of a pound) to 10s (½ pound), or from 2s (1/10 pound) in the case of Australia with no half-crown.

Which is presumably why the gap between the eventual 10p and 50p was tolerated for so long.
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malj1

Quote from: FosseWay on August 20, 2017, 11:58:32 AM

* Apart possibly from the occupied Channel Islands - did they have emergency 5s notes?

Only Guernsey did: (quite rare as high value in WW2)
Malcolm
Have a look at  my tokens and my banknotes.

Finn235

Never could figure out why the Netherlands stopped producing 1/2 gulden coins in the 30s and never resumed?

Also, I figure this probably is outside of the scope of this topic, but the economies based on the "cash" have always fascinated me, namely because almost none had successfully introduced multiple denominations. The result is an economy where you have to pay a money-counter to tie together a "string" of 1,000 coins.

Japan is one example I can rattle off without having to go do research:
1 Ryo = 4 bu = 16 shu = 4,000 mon

They were able to get a 4 mon coin into the economy in the 1760s, and then a 100 mon in the 1830s. Nothing between 4 and 100, and you need 2 100 mon, 12 4 mon, and 2 1 mon to equal a shu, the smallest silver unit.

<k>

#11






Malawi's pre-decimal set did not include a three pence coin.
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<k>

#12



Zambia's pre-decimal set did not include a three pence coin.
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<k>

#13


Zambia's current set does not include a 20 or 25 ngwee coin.

The previous set had a 25 ngwee coin as the lowest denomination.
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<k>

#14
Paraguay 1975 set-sm.jpg

Paraguay, 1975.


When the Paraguayan coin series was issued in 1975, it lacked a 20 or 25 guaranies coin and never issued one.
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