Thread: Meanwhile in...
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Old 07-27-2020, 05:11 PM   #371
sexobon
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Join Date: Oct 2009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tw View Post
Once upon a time (some decades ago), smallest denomination was a dime. ...

... Now that we have 0.1 and 0.5 cent [sic] denominations (called the penny and nickel), ...
US 1¢ coins have been minted since 1793. US 5¢ coins have been minted since 1866 and before that Half Dimes were minted since 1794.

You're intertwining denominations with legal tender status. US 1¢ and 5¢ coins didn't become legal tender until 1873 (over a century ago). The total amount they were legal tender for was limited though.

It was the Coinage Act of 1965 ("some decades ago") that codified legal tender status for all US circulating coins without limit.

The US 1¢ and 5¢ denominations previously existed as have 1/2¢, 2¢, 3¢ and Half Dime denominations for periods of time in the past.
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