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The expression two bits mean twenty-five cents but how did this expression originate?
In the early years of the United States, the government had to decide what kind of money the new country would use. The Spanish Milled Dollar and its fractional parts had been used in colonial America for many years so it was decided to base the US money on it. The Spanish Milled Dollar was also called a "piece of eight" because it would often be cut into 8 equal pieces called bits . For a time both Spanish and American coins were used in daily trade so in the transition from the Spanish Dollar to the American Dollar, American quarters were worth "2 bits", or one fourth of the Spanish Dollar, the American half dollar was worth "4 bits", or one half of the Spanish Dollar. A quarter and a half dollar were worth "6 bits" or 3/4 of a Spanish Dollar. Although the "piece of eight" Spanish Dollar is no longer considered legal tender in the US, its history in our monetary system lives on in the term "2 bits"
What does a 12.5 cent bit look like?
The term "bit" used in the USA comes from the Spanish Milled silver dollar which could be cut into 8 equal parts, 8 bits, also known as a Piece of Eight. Technically, a bit is 12.5 cents but there are no one bit coins, only 2, 4, 6, and 8 bits. 2 bits being 25 cents [a quarter dollar], 4 bits being 50 cents [a half dollar] and so on. The term is dated and is used very little today.
What does two bits in mean in the 1920s?
its means a quarter
When were two bits invented?
The reason the US quarter dollar (25 cents) is called "two bits" originates from the circa. 1598 practice of dividing a Spanish dollar (the Real de a Ocho) into eight wedge-shaped segments. The coin was worth eight Spanish reales, thus each wedge was worth 1 reale or "a piece of eight". Two such pieces (or "two bits") became a common nickname for a quarter dollar.
How many eights make a three quarters?
two eights make one quarter so it takes threes times as many to make three quarters. So, 6 eights make three quarters. ( A eighth of a dollar is called a bit so 2 bits is a quarter and 6 bits is 75 cents. There is an old song that ends with "Shave and a haircut - six bits.)
