Comments on: Canadian versus Australian Coins

By: Nora

Nora — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 14:23:12 +0000

In reply to Lucas.

Hi Lucas,
Yes – it’s quite pragmatic, the use of the word “piece”!

By: Lucas

Lucas — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 13:47:18 +0000

I never really noticed the whole piece thing for less than a dollar, however i think it kinda makes sense. 1,5,10,20,50 cent piece is a “piece” of a whole dollar. I guess like many things word just got around and kinda stuck.

By: David Young

David Young — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 02:01:35 +0000

In reply to Darryl Patterson. It's now 2018 and the penny has been gone since 2012. The $2 is often spelled toonie to go with loonie.

By: Nora

Nora — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 01:38:08 +0000

In reply to Christine Breese.

Hey Christine!
Ha ha – no, I’ll let coin collectors take care of the museum stuff. In fact, I usually give myself a playful challenge in every country, to acquire and spend the exact amount of cash I need, to the last cent! I aim to leave without any currency. (Hint: it often involves running around in the airport on the way out, trying to figure out how best to spend my last $4.52 – ha ha)!

By: Christine Breese

Christine Breese — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 22:03:13 +0000

Thanks for the chuckles! Made me laugh. I have always been fascinated by the currencies of other countries. Every time I go to another country I always bring back a little bit of currency from there (of course not the expensive big bills) as a souvenir and even some extras to give to my sister’s kids. However, my collection is probably pretty small compared to how big a collection like that would be to someone like you. Do you collect a little bit of currency from every country you visit? You would exhibit something like that in a museum someday if you did!

By: theprofessionalhobo

theprofessionalhobo — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 20:30:43 +0000

In reply to Lee.

Ha ha – Thanks, Lee, for the tutorial! This makes much more sense now…I think… 😉

By: Lee

Lee — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 03:48:01 +0000

In reply to Annie.

The reason Australia uses 5,10,20,50c coins that are the size that they are is because prior to 1966 we used the British Imperial Fractional system (gold and silver standard coinage) – 12 pennies to 1 Shilling, 20 Shillings to a Pound. The coins were all made of real silver (Sterling Silver)- Three pence (3d), sixpence(6d), 1 Shilling(1s), 1 Florin (2s), Crown (5 Shillings) etc… So, todays modern decimalised fiat coins (no intrinsic value) are a direct replacement. i.e the 5c is the same size as the old silver sixpence. 10c replaced the Shilling. 20c replaced the Florin. Yes – todays coins are way too large! Especially the 50c coin (which used to be round and silver). The $1 and $2 coins replaced paper notes in 1984 and 1988 respectively and they replaced the 10 Shilling note and 1 Pound note. Wow – Does that help? lol.

By: theprofessionalhobo

theprofessionalhobo — Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:54:31 +0000

In reply to Annie. Hi Annie - I've just toured through eight European countries in the last month, managing all kinds of coins. And you know what? None of them made sense! Ha ha!

By: Annie

Annie — Sun, 27 Oct 2013 23:50:03 +0000

In reply to Carlo.

What do you call a 20 cent piece? A “fifth”? Do you have a “fifth” I can borrow?

It would be “Do you have 20 cents I could borrow?” 🙂

But then again, we wouldn’t ask for a dime, we’d ask if you had a spare ten cents.

But you have a good point about the $2 and the 50c. I’ve never understood why the coin that’s worth the most is the smallest (well, other than the 5c) while the 50c has to be the only one with straight edges.

By: theprofessionalhobo

theprofessionalhobo — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:07:23 +0000

@Tash – I love telling the story to people from other places in the world of how we came to name our beloved Loonie and Twoonie. It’s a little glimpse into how Canadians as a nation don’t take themselves too seriously, and we sure like to have a little fun – even if it’s at the expense of our currency!