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Twenty-five cents
- Spanish dollars were deemed equivalent in value to a U.S. dollar. Thus, twenty-five cents was dubbed "two bits," as it was a quarter of a Spanish dollar.
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Aug 15, 2018 · Two-bits, four-bits, six-bits, and eight-bits make reference to the eight-reales silver coin of New Spain and Mexico. It is also called a piece of eight and circulated in the English...
- Coinweek
Nov 6, 2023 · As we’ve discovered on this linguistic adventure, two bits as slang for a quarter dollar has its roots in the history of American money and trade. The Spanish dollar, cut into eight bits or reals, led “two bits” to be shorthand for the handy amount of 25 cents.
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The supposed value of the bit is twelve and a half cents, eight to the dollar. When it comes to two bits, the quarter-dollar stands for the required amount. But how about an odd bit? The nearest coin to it is a dime, which is, short by a fifth. That, then, is called a short bit.
Money sense in two bits, etc. is originally from Southern U.S. and West Indies, in reference to silver wedges cut or stamped from Spanish dollars (later Mexican reals); transferred to "eighth of a dollar."
Spanish steps. It’s a little known fact that the US currency is based on the old Spanish system of “eights”. Each coin had eight pieces – these slices, parts, or bits were called “pieces of eight” – and two of them, “two bits” made a quarter.
Sep 20, 2023 · The term “two bits” originates from the practice of cutting Spanish colonial silver dollars into smaller denominations, known as “bits”. Each dollar was cut into eight reales, resulting in eight bits. Therefore, two bits referred to a quarter of the dollar. Value of Two Bits in the Old West.
Cutting money was not illegal, like it is now. In fact, it was expected that, to make change, they literally cut the coins into 8 pieces or “bits.” Hence, the British called the Spanish dollar a “Piece of Eight,” and when they said something cost “two bits,” they meant it cost a quarter of a dollar.