That makes sense. I was thinking of additive rather than multiplicative gaps; I would have thought there was some desirability to being able to make up any arbitrary amount in coins, and in the US system you need the penny for that, because there's no 2 cent coin. (In practice, nobody really wants the 1 cent change or to be fussed with giving it; many cash registers have a 'take/leave a penny' cup, so the silly worthless things don't clog up the till too much.)
There is a downside to losing the dime from the additive point of view -- two nickels are quite a bit bulkier than one dime, even though they're both silver-coloured coins.
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Date: 2006-11-25 06:56 am (UTC)There is a downside to losing the dime from the additive point of view -- two nickels are quite a bit bulkier than one dime, even though they're both silver-coloured coins.