Decimal currency
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Decimal currency is the term used to describe any currency for which the ratio between the basic unit of currency and its sub-unit is a power of 10.
In practice this usually means that 100 sub-units make up 1 of the basic units, but currencies divided into 1000 sub-units also exist, especially in Arab countries.
For example:
- 100 cents make one dollar in various countries.
- 100 euro cents make one euro.
- 100 British pence make one pound.
- 100 Russian kopecks make one ruble.
- 1000 Tunisian millimes make one dinar.
- 100 Indian paise make one rupee.
- 100 Polish groszy make one złoty.
Today, the only currencies which are not decimal are those that have no sub-units at all, except for:
- the Mauritanian ouguiya, 1 ouguiya = 5 khoum, and
- the ariary of Madagascar: 1 ariary = 5 iraimbilaja.
Historically, non-decimal currencies were much more common, such as the British pound Sterling before decimalisation in 1971. Once the world's leading currency, the pound Sterling worked on a system of pence (12 to a shilling) and shillings (20 to a pound), plus other combinations (ha'pence, guinea, and crown); and in addition the penny was divided into 4 farthings. A pound could be subdivided in 19 different ways into integral numbers of pence (for example, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/8 and 1/10 of a pound were respectively 60, 48, 40, 30, and 24 pence exactly) and in 8 additional ways into integral numbers of farthings (for example, 1/64 pound was 3 pence 3 farthings, written 3¾d).
On the other hand, dividing a monetary amount into sixths or eighths is not a frequent need. Most arithmetic computations are much easier in decimal currency, and the same calculator can be used in the same way for monetary computations as for any others. Over time, many countries have adopted this model.
