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I've been to more than 50 countries around the world, and it seems like United States coins are the only ones' that are not numerical (except $1 coin), and rather show text "One cent", "Five Cents", "Dime", "Quarter dollar".
It's very difficult for visitors, and even newly immigrants, or those who don't speak English to know the coins.
It seems like a person must memorize the coins in order to know them.
OK, maybe most people could read and understand "Five Cents", but what about a "Dime"?! How would people know what a "Dime" is?
Dime is a chocolate from IKEA by the way
When I used to work in retail in NYC, all tourist showed me their hands and told me to pick the coins, or asked me what the coins was etc.
I've heard three things over and over from friends overseas or people I talk to at bars in the USA (I love talking to foreigners).
1) The USA is the only country of any relative size left in the world that has all its bills the exact same size. The rest of the world has the bills of least value be the smallest and the bills of greatest value to the largest. Otherwise there's no way for blind people to easily tell what they're getting - and it's just easier when you reach in your wallet to eye a smaller bill.
2) The USA is one of the only countries in the world, and the only one with a major currency, that doesn't put the numerical value of a coin on the coin itself. Instead we write it out in English "dime", "quarter", "penny" - which aren't even really good descriptions anyway.
3) The coins aren't sized according to value. The penny is larger than a coin worth 10 times as much. The nickel is larger than both of them. The half dollar is quite huge compared to most coins of the world.
It would certainly make sense to change those three factors. I was just in the little shop by our elevators today, and the eastern asian man who was taking over for a friend had a hell of a time making change for me. I don't think he quite remembered which coin was worth what.
Just like, the USA in many cases does not write the numerical value on postage stamps. Often they use a letter of the alphabet to represent the numeral value.
And the USA is one of very few remaining nations not to use the Metric System for all measurements. The USA was scheduled to change over in the 1980s, but President Reagan ordered it stopped. This was discussed a few months ago on this Forum.
And the USA is one of very few remaining nations not to use the Metric System for all measurements. The USA was scheduled to change over in the 1980s, but President Reagan ordered it stopped. This was discussed a few months ago on this Forum.
I am grateful President Reagan stopped it. Why have something the majority of Americans don't want?
Maybe this is the reason that foreigners are such poor tippers?
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