U.S. Coins Have Names

Can you name these coins?  Most likely you can.  From smallest to largest: dime, penny, nickel, and quarter.  We use the names for these coins without even thinking about it, but that's not the case in every country.

For example, with these euro coins, they are only identified by their denomination ("20 cent coint", "50 cent coin", etc.):

I think this in an interesting part of our culture that we often overlook.  In fact, we don’t even notice our coins don’t have numbers on them.  The euro coins above all have large numbers that show their value, but ours are written out: “one cent”, “five cents”, and “quarter dollar”.  If you look at the dime, you’ll see it doesn’t even tell you it’s worth ten cents; instead, it says “one dime.”

The next time you throw your change down on your dresser, think about the cultural character they represent. :)