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Bit (money)
Encyclopedia
The word bit is a colloquial expression referring to specific coin
s in various coin
ages throughout the world.
or two shilling coin, was often referred to as the "two bob bit". When the British pound was worth 2 1/2 US Dollars (8 shilling
s to dollar), a 2 shilling coin was worth 25 US cents.
. As a way of making change, these dollars were cut into eight pie-slice shaped pieces which were called "bits". (For this reason, the whole coin was known as a "piece of eight".) Each eighth-dollar bit was then worth 12.5 cents, "two bits" was a quarter of a dollar (25 cents), "four bits" was a half-dollar (50 cents) and "six bits" was 75 cents. Because there was no one-bit coin, a dime (10 ¢) was sometimes called a short bit and 15¢ a long bit.
Robert Louis Stevenson
describes his experience with bits in Across the Plains, p. 144 :
"Two bits" or "two bit" continues in general use as a colloquial expression, primarily because of the song catchphrase "Shave and a Haircut
, two bits." As an adjective, "two-bit" can be used to describe something cheap or unworthy.
Another example of the use of "bit" can be found in the poem "Six-Bits Blues" by Langston Hughes
, which includes the following couplet
: Gimme six bits' worth o'ticket / On a train that runs somewhere…. The expression also survives in the sports cheer "Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar ... all for (player's name), stand up and holler!"
The New York Stock Exchange
continued to list stock prices in eighths of a dollar until June 24, 1997, at which time it started listing in sixteenths. It did not fully implement decimal listing until January 29, 2001.
used stamps denominated in bits and francs with 100 bits to the franc; the lowest value was five bits.
Coin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
s in various coin
Coin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
ages throughout the world.
United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries
Most familiarly, the old threepence (3d) coin, which was referred to as the Thrupp'ny bit. The FlorinFlorin
Florin derives from the city of Florence in Italy and frequently refers to the gold coin struck in 1252.This money format was plagiarized in other countries and the word florin is used, for example, in relation to the Dutch guilder and the coin first issued in 1344 by Edward III of England, then...
or two shilling coin, was often referred to as the "two bob bit". When the British pound was worth 2 1/2 US Dollars (8 shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s to dollar), a 2 shilling coin was worth 25 US cents.
United States
In the U.S., the "bit" as a designation for money dates from the colonial period, when a common unit of currency was the Spanish milled dollar worth 8 Spanish realesSpanish real
The real was a unit of currency in Spain for several centuries after the mid-14th century, but changed in value relative to other units introduced...
. As a way of making change, these dollars were cut into eight pie-slice shaped pieces which were called "bits". (For this reason, the whole coin was known as a "piece of eight".) Each eighth-dollar bit was then worth 12.5 cents, "two bits" was a quarter of a dollar (25 cents), "four bits" was a half-dollar (50 cents) and "six bits" was 75 cents. Because there was no one-bit coin, a dime (10 ¢) was sometimes called a short bit and 15¢ a long bit.
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
describes his experience with bits in Across the Plains, p. 144 :
- In the Pacific States they have made a bolder push for complexity, and settle their affairs by a coin that no longer exists – the BIT, or old Mexican real. 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. If you have one, you lay it triumphantly down, and save two and a half cents. But if you have not, and lay down a quarter, the bar-keeper or shopman calmly tenders you a dime by way of change; and thus you have paid what is called a LONG BIT, and lost two and a half cents, or even, by comparison with a short bit, five cents.
"Two bits" or "two bit" continues in general use as a colloquial expression, primarily because of the song catchphrase "Shave and a Haircut
Shave and a Haircut
Shave and a Haircut and the associated response "two bits" is a simple, 7-note musical couplet popularly used at the end of a musical performance, usually for comic effect....
, two bits." As an adjective, "two-bit" can be used to describe something cheap or unworthy.
Another example of the use of "bit" can be found in the poem "Six-Bits Blues" by Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
, which includes the following couplet
Couplet
A couplet is a pair of lines of meter in poetry. It usually consists of two lines that rhyme and have the same meter.While traditionally couplets rhyme, not all do. A poem may use white space to mark out couplets if they do not rhyme. Couplets with a meter of iambic pentameter are called heroic...
: Gimme six bits' worth o'ticket / On a train that runs somewhere…. The expression also survives in the sports cheer "Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar ... all for (player's name), stand up and holler!"
The New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
continued to list stock prices in eighths of a dollar until June 24, 1997, at which time it started listing in sixteenths. It did not fully implement decimal listing until January 29, 2001.
Danish West Indies
From 1905 to 1917, the Danish West IndiesDanish West Indies
The Danish West Indies or "Danish Antilles", were a colony of Denmark-Norway and later Denmark in the Caribbean. They were sold to the United States in 1916 in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies and became the United States Virgin Islands in 1917...
used stamps denominated in bits and francs with 100 bits to the franc; the lowest value was five bits.