The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-03-06
iHE coINs or ronMnn DAYs.
Some of the Terms Used in This
Country TO Designate Them.


Country TO Designate Them.
From the Galveston Crex) News.
In Ohio. In 1874 and previously. there
was a good deal of foreign coin in circu-
lation, mostly Spanish, with some Of the
cd state coinage of different states occa-
sionally making its appearance. one of
the most plentiful Of these foreign coins
was a piece which passed current Cor 81
cents. In Ohio this was known as a lipen-
ny bit, a contraction, probably, of live
pennyblt. The half dimes of American
coinage We're also becoming frequent at
that time, and as a distinction between
the half dime and the hpenuy bit, the for
mer was contracted TO the word ftp
The dime went under Its lawful name,
while the old Spanish double of the hpeany
bit was known as the bit" and the span
ish and Mexican quarter dollars were near
ly always referred to as two bits" The
latter term, l think, still obtains in ref
erence to quarter dollar American pieces
IN some sections. There was also a New
York state "two-bit" coin, as well as a
Bit of the same coinage, which was
sometimes called the York shilling" The
New England shilling's value was 1G "a
cents The old-fashioned big copper cent
"a <AAAiNAhe<AiA NO4AldEE was HiEHIilQl, WINE
occasionally an English halfpenny Of cop
per was found floating around, generally
passing on the same basis as the Aneri-
cen copper cent. Queen Eictoria's head
was then shown on the English halfpen-
MES.
Later, when. as a boy removed with
my mother to Illinois, l met my first STUN
ping block in money names There the
npenny bit was the plcayune, while the
mp had its proper name of half dime
or cents. But the larger coins retained
the old names, as did the copper cents.
AS near as l can learn, the term picayune
originated with the French who had set
tied st. Louis and had settlements at
points all the way from New Orleans TO
st. Louis, and the further Northwest, and
their names for money predoninated in
that region.
Still later, when I had strayed away to
New York state, L again encountered new
names for money. There everything was
based on the Shilling" which represented
l2i5 cents. A quarter of a dollar was al
ways two shillings," and all sums under
800 were calculated on the same basis
When asked the price of board, I was
told it ranged from 16 to 80 shinings a
week. The price of a suit of clothes was
generally stated in shillings That was all
right for the natives, but ] confess | had
AiSqdShliy 10 pIuSH up my arithmetic TO
get at what 80 shlllngs, Y shiYings, II shil-
lings, or some other high number amount
ed to. IL was all clear enough when it was
2, A, or shillings, but when 1t got above
the dollar 1t required some "ciphering'' on
the part Of a stranger to get correct re-
suits
The three-cent piece, originally coined in
silver, came into general circulation in the
North, about 1885, and was later made in
nickel, being coined in that metal at about
the same time as the present nickel five
cent piece.
Some time before the civil war the old
fashioned copper cent was replaced at the
mint with the present small copper cents
and the two-cent pieces. Later the first
nickels were made, but almost went out
of circulation during the war and were
succeeded by the fractional currency of
that day, issued in s. 10, %, and 50 cent
bills. These were never very popular with
the masses, and were looked upon by the
government as a temporary expedent The
most popular designation for them was
'shinplasters," though in Memphis and
some other parts of the country they were
referred to as "chiken feed"
During the war there We're many other
substitutes for money mostly in the form
of cardboard promises to pay everything.
from drink Of whisky or a ride on the
cars 10 a suit of clothes, from a quart of
milk or a pound of beefsteak to weeks
salary. They have dropped out of use in
most sections, and in their place Uncle
Sans coppers, nickeis, dimes quarters, half
dollars, and dollar of the daddes'' now
reign supreme.