The buck, the quid, etc.
list your known nicknames - don't be shy
dough
cash
Is there really such a thing as a 'Looney' and a 'Tooney'??
Bread and Cheddar
Quote from: jgb191 on June 13, 2026, 09:01:38 PMIs there really such a thing as a 'Looney' and a 'Tooney'??
yes and yes.
Loonie and Toonie is the proper spelling ;)
there is also such a thing as an Ozzy
geetus
lucre
dead presidents
Simoleon
Quote from: SSOWorld on June 13, 2026, 09:33:05 PMQuote from: jgb191 on June 13, 2026, 09:01:38 PMIs there really such a thing as a 'Looney' and a 'Tooney'??
yes and yes.
Loonie and Toonie is the proper spelling ;)
there is also such a thing as an Ozzy
So Loonie is another slang/nickname for a dollar?
"Spot," but it seems like that's only for $5 or $10 bills. Like "that'll set you back a 10 spot."
Quote from: jgb191 on June 13, 2026, 11:02:30 PMQuote from: SSOWorld on June 13, 2026, 09:33:05 PMQuote from: jgb191 on June 13, 2026, 09:01:38 PMIs there really such a thing as a 'Looney' and a 'Tooney'??
yes and yes.
Loonie and Toonie is the proper spelling ;)
there is also such a thing as an Ozzy
So Loonie is another slang/nickname for a dollar?
A loonie is a Canadian $1 coin. "5 loonies" would be a stack of five coins, not a $5 bill.
Now to take a ferry cost a nickel; and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. "Gimme five bees for a quarter," you'd say...
Quote from: hotdogPi on June 14, 2026, 06:00:20 AMQuote from: jgb191 on June 13, 2026, 11:02:30 PMQuote from: SSOWorld on June 13, 2026, 09:33:05 PMQuote from: jgb191 on June 13, 2026, 09:01:38 PMIs there really such a thing as a 'Looney' and a 'Tooney'??
yes and yes.
Loonie and Toonie is the proper spelling ;)
there is also such a thing as an Ozzy
So Loonie is another slang/nickname for a dollar?
A loonie is a Canadian $1 coin. "5 loonies" would be a stack of five coins, not a $5 bill.
So named because a loon is pictured on the coin. "Toonie" came about for the $2 coin because of the nickname "loonie" for the $1 coin.
Clams, smackers, smackeroos, lettuce, cabbage, undressed salad (a pile), bronze-pressed latinum (pennies), Benjis (hundreds), Andys (twenties)
In most of Appalachia, we still say (disparagingly) "red cent". 'Cauze h'it h'ain't woith no nothin' nary (that's a quadruple negative, if you are counting).
And they started saying "nothing but a red cent" back over 100 years ago, when if you actually found a penny on the ground in Appalachia, you thought you done hit paydirt. Even in my day, if I ever found five of them I could still cash in on an "R.C. co-cola" in the coke machine at the hardware store. I still pick 'em up and am thankful for every one of 'em I've found.
Quote from: Dirt Roads on June 14, 2026, 12:30:46 PMIn most of Appalachia, we still say (disparagingly) "red cent". 'Cauze h'it h'ain't woith no nothin' nary (that's a quadruple negative, if you are counting).
And they started saying "nothing but a red cent" back over 100 years ago, when if you actually found a penny on the ground in Appalachia, you thought you done hit paydirt. Even in my day, if I ever found five of them I could still cash in on an "R.C. co-cola" in the coke machine at the hardware store. I still pick 'em up and am thankful for every one of 'em I've found.
Hmm. I've never actually heard this term being used around these parts. Cool stuff!
C-note for $100 bills.
Quote from: The_Ginger on June 14, 2026, 12:46:55 PMHmm. I've never actually heard this term being used around these parts. Cool stuff!
Not just Central West Virginia. The term is still used by older folks all over Appalachia, and in some places the term "red cent" is primarily used as a curse word. Other folks curse whenever referring to a "red cent". Pretty much everyone that uses the term "red cent" is expressing some aggravation about their state of poverty (or insolvency, for those that wasted their riches).
My understanding is that after the copper "cent" was first coined in 1792, many of the American citizens started calling it a "red cent" to distinguish it from other "pennies". But by the 1830s, the term "Red cent" had become a pejorative all over America (the only states west of the Mississippi then were Missouri and that portion of Louisiana). Like so much of old American culture, the term now only remains in Appalachia. And that h'ain't worth a "red cent".
Fin - $5 bill
Sawbuck - $10 bill
Quote from: Big John on June 14, 2026, 07:45:36 PMFin - $5 bill
Sawbuck - $10 bill
I see these on lists like this thread is compiling, but I have never once heard someone use them in a sentence, even when I was working with cash (never had someone give me a $100 bill and ask for "twenty fins" or "ten sawbucks").
Franklin, Grant, Jackson, Hamilton, Lincoln, and Washington
also "Bennie" and Benjamin
What slang is used for non-US/Canada currency? (I've taken to using Quid Cash for UK currency and Euro Cash for the Euro)
I've heard some referring to AUD as Aussie (Ozzie)
A good friend of mine has a co-worker from Laos whose name is Dolla. That's because, when he was born, his parents named him after the US currency for good luck—but they didn't know the right way to spell it.
Oh, wait, this is "currency nicknames", not "currency first names".
Paper Venmo
Printed CashApp
Physical NFTs
Paypal Receipts
Quote from: wxfree on June 15, 2026, 02:52:56 PMPaper Venmo
Printed CashApp
Physical NFTs
Paypal Receipts
Apple Card
oh wait, there is one (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Card)
Chamillionaire
50 Cent
Neither one is the guy's real name.
Mind if I use some bizarre terms for scrip used in coalmines and logging camps for parts of Appalachia?
- clackers (certain coalmines in West Virginia, South-central Kentucky and North-central Tennessee)
- doogaloo (logging camps in the Smokies; this term spread widely to other logging camps and coalmines)
- drag (certain coalmines in North-Central West Virginia)
- flicker (certain coalmines in the Potomac Highlands of Maryland and West Virginia)
- jingle (certain coalmines in East Tennessee)
- lightweights (certain coalmines in the Potomac Highlands of Maryland and West Virginia)
- p'lolly (not certain, but appears to be from certain coalmines in North Carolina)
- slicker (certain coalmines in Southern West Virginia)
- sticker (certain coalmines in Eastern Kentucky)
Anywhoosit, some of the mine operators and logging camp bosses that issued scrip wanted to scare off their employees and families from exchanging scrip for U.S. currency. That's where the dollar bill got the "toadhide", which were called "toadies" for short. Some places had different pejorative for the dollar bill such as "frogskins" and "green frogs". On the flip side, many coalminers waited patiently for a full paycheck to accumulate so as to be paid in U.S. currency (some sources say most coalminers). This practice was referred to as "growing green".
I listen to too much rap, but usually:
"Band" or "rack" = $1000
"Hundo" = $100 (duh)
Singles = $1s.
Presumably if $2s were more common you could, by analogy, call them "doubles".
Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 15, 2026, 09:06:36 PM"Band" or "rack" = $1000
Kind of confusing because paper currency bands (straps) signify 100 of the same denomination, so the only one of those "bands" that's worth $1000 is the yellow straps of $10s.
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 16, 2026, 12:21:15 AMSingles = $1s.
My wife thinks I'm crazy for calling them this. Would you mind telling her it's normal?
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 16, 2026, 12:21:15 AMKind of confusing because paper currency bands (straps) signify 100 of the same denomination, so the only one of those "bands" that's worth $1000 is the yellow straps of $10s.
I assume that's just what people's minds naturally define it as. It's not like you'd expect someone to refer to $10,000 as "five bands" (five 100-packs of $20).
"Ten bands" (ten 100-packs of $10) probably sounds more logical. It's like the opposite of how "one ton" actually means two thousand pounds.
Quote from: SSOWorld on June 13, 2026, 08:11:01 PMlist your known nicknames - don't be shy
Some I haven't seen yet...
- Moolah
- Guap
- Coin
- Benny Frank ($100)
- Grand ($1000)
Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 16, 2026, 07:30:00 PMI assume that's just what people's minds naturally define it as. It's not like you'd expect someone to refer to $10,000 as "five bands" (five 100-packs of $20).
Well, in the context of where I was using paper currency bands (casino), the usual construction would be "five straps of $20s". If you just said "a band" without specifying the denomination, people would look at you blankly until you said a denomination. And if you just said $10,000 you'd get a strap of hundreds.
Quote from: kphoger on June 16, 2026, 12:19:55 PMQuote from: Scott5114 on June 16, 2026, 12:21:15 AMSingles = $1s.
My wife thinks I'm crazy for calling them this. Would you mind telling her it's normal?
Dear Mrs. Hoger,
Calling $1 bills "singles" is one of the most normal things you can do.
Kindest regards,
Scott Nazelrod 104485
Former Casino Cashier
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 16, 2026, 08:00:30 PMWell, in the context of where I was using paper currency bands (casino), the usual construction would be "five straps of $20s". If you just said "a band" without specifying the denomination, people would look at you blankly until you said a denomination. And if you just said $10,000 you'd get a strap of hundreds.
I don't know how long ago you worked in that casino, but "band" as cash is a relatively new term, and even then I believe it's not extremely widespread either. I wouldn't be surprised if people were confused by it.
Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 16, 2026, 08:18:54 PMQuote from: Scott5114 on June 16, 2026, 08:00:30 PMWell, in the context of where I was using paper currency bands (casino), the usual construction would be "five straps of $20s". If you just said "a band" without specifying the denomination, people would look at you blankly until you said a denomination. And if you just said $10,000 you'd get a strap of hundreds.
I don't know how long ago you worked in that casino, but "band" as cash is a relatively new term, and even then I believe it's not extremely widespread either. I wouldn't be surprised if people were confused by it.
It was six years ago.
I think the disconnect here is that people who fantasize about having large amounts of cash don't grasp what actually dealing with institutional amounts of cash is like and thus what vocabulary is needed. In my experience, bankers tend to be able to interpret casino cash jargon fairly readily even if it doesn't match up 1:1 to what bankers use.
Quote from: SSOWorld on June 15, 2026, 02:22:22 PMWhat slang is used for non-US/Canada currency? (I've taken to using Quid Cash for UK currency and Euro Cash for the Euro)
I've heard some referring to AUD as Aussie (Ozzie)
I've come to refer to the Euro as
áureo (from the highest Roman denomination
aureus). I've also heard
pavo (akin to "buck"), but for me that word refers to US Dollars, not Euros.
Are the terms penny and nickel actually nicknames, or are they official? :fight:
Quote from: kphoger on June 18, 2026, 10:21:10 AMAre the terms penny and nickel actually nicknames, or are they official? :fight:
I just grabbed my 2009 proof set. They're all official except it says "cent" instead of "penny". "Half-dollar" is hyphenated. The quarters are just labeled "quarter" even though the coins themselves say "quarter dollar".
While not official in the US, "penny" is official in the UK.
Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 16, 2026, 08:18:54 PMQuote from: Scott5114 on June 16, 2026, 08:00:30 PMWell, in the context of where I was using paper currency bands (casino), the usual construction would be "five straps of $20s". If you just said "a band" without specifying the denomination, people would look at you blankly until you said a denomination. And if you just said $10,000 you'd get a strap of hundreds.
I don't know how long ago you worked in that casino, but "band" as cash is a relatively new term, and even then I believe it's not extremely widespread either. I wouldn't be surprised if people were confused by it.
You clearly don't listen to a lot of modern rap. :) Bands and racks are both common terms.
One I didn't see mentioned upthread - ducats.
Quote from: hotdogPi on June 18, 2026, 11:02:43 AMWhile not official in the US, "penny" is official in the UK.
Correct. Thomas Jefferson first coined the term "cent" way back in 1784 before any of this stuff was official. His treatise entitled
Notes of the Establishment of a Money Unit and a Coinage for the United States was intended to push the budding country into using the decimal system. This was officially adopted in 1792. So much for the twelve-pence shilling.
Quote from: Dirt Roads on June 18, 2026, 11:59:41 AMCorrect. Thomas Jefferson first coined the term "cent" way back in 1784 before any of this stuff was official. His treatise entitled Notes of the Establishment of a Money Unit and a Coinage for the United States was intended to push the budding country into using the decimal system. This was officially adopted in 1792. So much for the twelve-pence shilling.
And, from that, I've seen definitions for "cent" and "dime", but not for "nickel". Maybe I just missed that one.
Quote from: kphoger on June 18, 2026, 12:28:24 PMQuote from: Dirt Roads on June 18, 2026, 11:59:41 AMCorrect. Thomas Jefferson first coined the term "cent" way back in 1784 before any of this stuff was official. His treatise entitled Notes of the Establishment of a Money Unit and a Coinage for the United States was intended to push the budding country into using the decimal system. This was officially adopted in 1792. So much for the twelve-pence shilling.
And, from that, I've seen definitions for "cent" and "dime", but not for "nickel". Maybe I just missed that one.
Nickel is not a unit of currency; it only refers to the coin. In the US, before five-cent coins were made of nickel, it was sometimes used informally for other coins.
Quote from: hotdogPi on June 18, 2026, 12:38:23 PMNickel is not a unit of currency; it only refers to the coin. In the US, before five-cent coins were made of nickel, it was sometimes used informally for other coins.
So, then, it's a nickname. :nod:
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 16, 2026, 12:21:15 AMSingles = $1s.
Quote from: kphoger on June 16, 2026, 12:19:55 PMMy wife thinks I'm crazy for calling them this. Would you mind telling her it's normal?
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 16, 2026, 08:00:30 PMDear Mrs. Hoger,
Calling $1 bills "singles" is one of the most normal things you can do.
Kindest regards,
Scott Nazelrod 104485
Former Casino Cashier
I appreciate that. I really do. In fact, I just e-mailed a screenshot of that to her from across the living room here. Unfortunately, her reaction was...
— Pffft. Seriously?
— What?
— Ridiculous. Ridonculous!
— What's ridiculous?
— "Singles".
Quote from: JayhawkCO on June 18, 2026, 11:17:49 AMBands and racks are both common terms.
And of course, in a casino, a rack (always specified with a color) is 100 chips (since that's how many a standard chip rack or tray can hold). So if I have a "rack of red" that's $500.
An older example: In the UK during WWII, a crown (5 shillings) was often called a "dollar" due to them being worth about the same with the exchange rate at the time.
Of course, the typical pre-decimal nicknames like "bob" for shilling were still there.
Quote from: hotdogPi on June 18, 2026, 12:38:23 PMQuote from: kphoger on June 18, 2026, 12:28:24 PMQuote from: Dirt Roads on June 18, 2026, 11:59:41 AMCorrect. Thomas Jefferson first coined the term "cent" way back in 1784 before any of this stuff was official. His treatise entitled Notes of the Establishment of a Money Unit and a Coinage for the United States was intended to push the budding country into using the decimal system. This was officially adopted in 1792. So much for the twelve-pence shilling.
And, from that, I've seen definitions for "cent" and "dime", but not for "nickel". Maybe I just missed that one.
Nickel is not a unit of currency; it only refers to the coin. In the US, before five-cent coins were made of nickel, it was sometimes used informally for other coins.
I think it referred more to the metal originally. At one time there were simultaneously circulating three-cent pieces in nickel and silver (to make postage purchases easier). There were also simultaneously circulating five-cent pieces in nickel ("nickels") and silver (half-dimes). Both overlaps were in the late 1860s-early 1870s.
Quote from: SSOWorld on June 13, 2026, 09:33:05 PMQuote from: jgb191 on June 13, 2026, 09:01:38 PMIs there really such a thing as a 'Looney' and a 'Tooney'??
yes and yes.
Loonie and Toonie is the proper spelling ;)
there is also such a thing as an Ozzy
And they relate specifically to the coins. If you've got an old $1 Canadian bank note, you don't have a Loonie.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on June 18, 2026, 11:17:49 AMQuote from: interstatefan990 on June 16, 2026, 08:18:54 PMI don't know how long ago you worked in that casino, but "band" as cash is a relatively new term, and even then I believe it's not extremely widespread either. I wouldn't be surprised if people were confused by it.
You clearly don't listen to a lot of modern rap. :) Bands and racks are both common terms.
One I didn't see mentioned upthread - ducats.
Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 15, 2026, 09:06:36 PMI listen to too much rap, but usually:
"Band" or "rack" = $1000
Uhhhh.....
Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 21, 2026, 02:45:18 PMQuote from: JayhawkCO on June 18, 2026, 11:17:49 AMQuote from: interstatefan990 on June 16, 2026, 08:18:54 PMI don't know how long ago you worked in that casino, but "band" as cash is a relatively new term, and even then I believe it's not extremely widespread either. I wouldn't be surprised if people were confused by it.
You clearly don't listen to a lot of modern rap. :) Bands and racks are both common terms.
One I didn't see mentioned upthread - ducats.
Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 15, 2026, 09:06:36 PMI listen to too much rap, but usually:
"Band" or "rack" = $1000
Uhhhh.....
I mean, I wasn't disagreeing, right?
Quote from: JayhawkCO on June 21, 2026, 02:57:18 PMQuote from: interstatefan990 on June 21, 2026, 02:45:18 PMQuote from: JayhawkCO on June 18, 2026, 11:17:49 AMQuote from: interstatefan990 on June 16, 2026, 08:18:54 PMI don't know how long ago you worked in that casino, but "band" as cash is a relatively new term, and even then I believe it's not extremely widespread either. I wouldn't be surprised if people were confused by it.
You clearly don't listen to a lot of modern rap. :) Bands and racks are both common terms.
One I didn't see mentioned upthread - ducats.
Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 15, 2026, 09:06:36 PMI listen to too much rap, but usually:
"Band" or "rack" = $1000
Uhhhh.....
I mean, I wasn't disagreeing, right?
Well, I suppose it depends on how a "common" term is defined. "Band" and "rack" are definitely used by a lot of people. But I don't think they've quite reached the level of recongnition to be a standard financial term for a specific amount of money that most of the general public (like Scott's patrons at the casino) would understand.
Among English speaking tourists, businessmen, and expats in Nicaragua the Cordoba is called a "cord". Different people pluralize it differently, some would say "7 cords", others would say "7 cord". It is a bi-currency system, everyone will take dollars and knows what the exchange rate is. The symbol for dollar is U$, the symbol for cordoba is supposed to be $, but most everyone uses C$ although old people will use the cent mark, which is what they were taught in the past.
Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 21, 2026, 03:13:03 PMQuote from: JayhawkCO on June 21, 2026, 02:57:18 PMQuote from: interstatefan990 on June 21, 2026, 02:45:18 PMQuote from: JayhawkCO on June 18, 2026, 11:17:49 AMQuote from: interstatefan990 on June 16, 2026, 08:18:54 PMI don't know how long ago you worked in that casino, but "band" as cash is a relatively new term, and even then I believe it's not extremely widespread either. I wouldn't be surprised if people were confused by it.
You clearly don't listen to a lot of modern rap. :) Bands and racks are both common terms.
One I didn't see mentioned upthread - ducats.
Quote from: interstatefan990 on June 15, 2026, 09:06:36 PMI listen to too much rap, but usually:
"Band" or "rack" = $1000
Uhhhh.....
I mean, I wasn't disagreeing, right?
Well, I suppose it depends on how a "common" term is defined. "Band" and "rack" are definitely used by a lot of people. But I don't think they've quite reached the level of recongnition to be a standard financial term for a specific amount of money that most of the general public (like Scott's patrons at the casino) would understand.
I meant common terms in rap, not common parlance. I didn't see anything in the OP to make me think we were trying to come up with the most common slang terms, just ones people had heard of perhaps.