Decimal currency
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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
- 1000 Tunisian millimes make one dinar
- 100 Indian paise make one rupee
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 Malagasy franc of Madagascar: 1 ariary = 5 Malagasy francs. The latter currency is especially unusual, since the "default" unit is the smaller unit.
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. Since 960 is a highly composite number, this allowed a pound to be subdivided in 19 different ways into integral numbers of pence (for example, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, and 1/8 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 sixth 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. So, over time, many countries adopted this model. Further impetus was given by the rise of the decimal U.S. dollar to the status of the world's leading currency during the 20th century, and the creation of other currencies copying its dollar and cent denominations. Thus it is decimal currencies that dominate the world today.ru:Десятичная валюта de:Dezimalwährung