The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-12-09
coLLoQUiAL NAMES FOR MONEY.
Coins Have Varied Designations in DIFF
| ferent Sections of the Country.

From the Galveston News.
Referring to the word "picayune," it
may not be uninteresting to give a
sketch of subsidiary coinage and cur
rency as used in the past and the vari-
Gus names under which it was known.
In Ohio in 1874 and previously there
was a good deal of foreign coin in cir
cuIation, mostly Spanish, with some Of
the old state coinage Of different states
occasionally making it's appearance.
One of the most plentiful of these for
eign coins was piece which passed for
81 cents In Ohio that was known as
a fipenny bit a contraction, probably,
Of tivepenny bit. The half-dimes of
American coinage were also becoming
frequent at that time, and as a dis
tinction between the half-dime and the
fpenny bit the former was contracted
to the word ftp The dime went un-
der its lawful name, while the old
Spanish double of the fipenny bit was
known as the bit" and the Spanish
and American quarter dollars were
nearly always referred to as two bits"
The latter term, 1 think, still obtains in
reference 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 Pine
Ilee StdtS SIllullS, COHlinS from Maine,
was sometimes seen, but not much used.
Its value was supposed to be 16 2-3
cents. The old-fashioned big copper
cent of American coinage was plentiful
while occasionally an English halfpenny
of copper was found floating around,
generally passing on the same basis as
the American copper cent. Queen Vic
toria's head was shown on the English
halfpenny.
Later, when, as boy, I removed with
my mother to Illinois, I met my FIRST
stumbling block in money names. There
the tipenny bit was the picayune, while
the ftp had its proper name
of half-dime, or 5 cents.
But the larger coins retained
the old names, as did the copper
cents. AS near as I can learn the term
plcayune originated with the French,
who had settled st. Louis and had set
Elements at points all the way from
New Orleans to st. Louis and the fur
ther Northwest, and their names for
money predominated in that region.
Still later, when I had strayed away
new names for money. There every
thing wac based on the shilling which
represented u cents A quarter of dol
lar was always two shillings," and all
sums under 500 were calculated on the
same basis. When + asked the price of
board l was told 1T ranged from is to
so shillings a week. The price of suit
Of clothes was generally stated in shill-
ings. That was all right for the ma
tives, but + confess I had frequently
to brush up my arithmetic to get at
what 33 shillings, 23 shillings, II shill-
ings or some other higher number
amounted to. 1t was all clear enough
when it was 2. or shillings, but when
it got above the dollar it required some
"ciphering'' on the part of the stranger
to get correct results.
The 3-cent piece, originally coined in
silver, came into general circulation in
the North about 1850 and was later
made in nickel, being coined in that
metal about the same time as the pres
ent nickel scent piece.
Some time before the civil war the
old-fashioned copper cent was replaced
at the mint with the present small cop
per cents and 2-cent pieces. Later the
first nicltels were made, but almost
went out of circulation during the war
and were succeeded by the fractional
currency of that day, issued in 5, 10, 25
and 5O-cent bills. These were never
very popular with the masses, and
were looked upon by the government
as a temporary expedient. The most
popular designation of them was Shin
plaster" though in Memphis and some
other parts of the country they were
referred to as Chicken feed"