Currency nicknames

[Scott5114]

Singles = $1s.

Presumably if $2s were more common you could, by analogy, call them "doubles".

"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.

[kphoger]

Singles = $1s.

My wife thinks I'm crazy for calling them this.  Would you mind telling her it's normal?

[interstatefan990]

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.

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.

[webny99]

list your known nicknames - don't be shy

Some I haven't seen yet...

• Moolah
• Guap
• Coin
• Benny Frank ($100)
• Grand ($1000)

[Scott5114]

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).

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.

Singles = $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

[interstatefan990]

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.

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.

[Scott5114]

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.

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.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

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)

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.

[kphoger]

Are the terms penny and nickel actually nicknames, or are they official? 

[hotdogPi]

Are the terms penny and nickel actually nicknames, or are they official? 

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.

[JayhawkCO]

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.

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.

[Dirt Roads]

While 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.

[kphoger]

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.

And, from that, I've seen definitions for "cent" and "dime", but not for "nickel".  Maybe I just missed that one.

[hotdogPi]

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.

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.

[kphoger]

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.

So, then, it's a nickname. 

[kphoger]

Singles = $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

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".

[Scott5114]

Bands 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.

[hotdogPi]

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.

[akotchi]

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.

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.

[kkt]

Is 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.

[interstatefan990]

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.

I listen to too much rap, but usually:

"Band" or "rack" = $1000

Uhhhh.....

[JayhawkCO]

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.

I listen to too much rap, but usually:

"Band" or "rack" = $1000

Uhhhh.....

I mean, I wasn't disagreeing, right?

[interstatefan990]

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.

I 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.

[SP Cook]

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. 

[JayhawkCO]

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.

I 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.