"About the size of a silver dollar"-- why do we still use such terms, and people actually

Longacre

I was speaking on the phone today with my personal automotive engineer. I noticed a small leak from one of the cars in the garage, which caused a small stain on the carpet. When I was speaking with him, he asked how much was leaking. I said, "about the size of a silver dollar." He immediately knew what I was talking about.

As I hung up, it hit me. I had just used an archaic term, and silver dollars have not been around in about 80 years. Yet I used the term with a non-collector, and he knew exactly what I was talking about. Has anyone else noticed this? Why do we still use this term to describe things?

llafoe

Sir Longacre - The Ike's had silver dollars (albeit 40%) and the ASEs are silver dollars. I know they're not considered by "true" collectors, but they still remain silver dollars "about the size of a silver dollar."

RWB

A real silver dollar is about the same size as the circle formed by touching the tips of thumb and index finger. Both such fingers are used extensively in making various "signs" to others such as, "It's OK" or ""Sure honey" or "Your share of the profits." (In New Jersey the middle finger is substituted because it allows faster communication with other drivers on the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway.)

Thus, a circle defined in this way is able to function as a cross cultural means of communication. Obviously, you and the insignificant mechanic-person can both visualize a 1.5-inch diameter circle whether it is on one of the silk oriental carpets in your spotless garage, or on the mechanic’s forehead.

2manycoins2fewfunds

Heck frequently when I spend half dollars the clerk thinks they are dollars.

If I wasn't such an honest person I could be getting everything at 1/2 off.

notwilight

Time to call your personal carpet technician...

Stew

Might have just gotten lucky with that one individual
In my experience with bank tellers people who actually work with
the currency and coinage of our country everyday. About 90%
of the time when I ask if they have any " Old Large Silver Dollars"
that may have come in. The response I usually get is yes and
they grab a Kennedy half from the drawer.
Another response is
No but we have the gold dollar coins. I have to pull the Morgan pocket
piece from my pocket to show them the size I am referring to

tahoe98

<< <i>A real silver dollar is about the same size as the circle formed by touching the tips of thumb and index finger. Both such fingers are used extensively in making various "signs" to others such as, "It's OK" or ""Sure honey" or "Your share of the profits." (In New Jersey the middle finger is substituted because it allows faster communication with other drivers on the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway.)

Thus, a circle defined in this way is able to function as a cross cultural means of communication. Obviously, you and the insignificant mechanic-person can both visualize a 1.5-inch diameter circle whether it is on one of the silk oriental carpets in your spotless garage, or on the mechanic’s forehead. >>



...

tahoe98

...now if you would have said "about the size of what a dollar will BUY" it would be dime size.

AUandAG

I am very surprised that you, Longacre, would know what a silver dollar was. Most men
of your stature would prefer paper over dirty silver any day of the week. Alas, you are
a collector of old dirty things and that does explain the anomaly!

bob

ambro51

or BREADBOX


I think people who actually have and spend large size silver dollars are perhaps the same people who still have a Breadbox.

dsessom

Eh, maybe next time try using "About the size of a Bust half" and see what kind of reaction you get.

BAJJERFAN

Back in 1999 after Ron Dayne broke the NCAA rushing record, during the postgame comments the announcer described his eyes as looking like the size of silver dollars.

rld14

<< <i>I was speaking on the phone today with my personal automotive engineer. I noticed a small leak from one of the cars in the garage, which caused a small stain on the carpet. When I was speaking with him, he asked how much was leaking. I said, "about the size of a silver dollar." He immediately knew what I was talking about.

As I hung up, it hit me. I had just used an archaic term, and silver dollars have not been around in about 80 years. Yet I used the term with a non-collector, and he knew exactly what I was talking about. Has anyone else noticed this? Why do we still use this term to describe things? >>



Doesn't Bugatti fly out their technicians?

Coinosaurus

Longacre handles money enough to know what size it is?? How gauche.......

Dentuck

Reminds me of eccentric British millionaire Nubar Gulbenkian, who died in 1972. He drove around in a gold-plated taxi that, in his words, "can turn on a sixpence. . . whatever that is!" (The man probably never spent a trifling sixpence in his life.) His businessman father, on the other hand, was a notorious miser, who refused to let their company reimburse Gulbenkian $4.50 for a sandwich eaten at his desk. Gulbenkian sued his father for $10 million. That was around 1939. The son ended up withdrawing the lawsuit, but apparently Papa wasn't happy. . . when he died in 1955, he left about $420 million to his charitable foundation instead of to his son.



Edited to add: Gulbenkian's father was an avid ancient-coin collector, and you can see a picture of him in Harlan J. Berk's 100 Greatest Ancient Coins.

PerryHall

World coin collectors refer to these as crown sized coins.

llafoe

<< <i>First off today's bank tellers are yesterdays McDonalds workers, stuuuupid.
To me the the expression, the size of a silver dollar, while I didn't know their exact diameter which was accurately and exactly pointed out by RWB, to me is a term that means to most, a small spot as opposed to a tiny spot but not a big spot. Now if my wife had a mole on her belly the size fo a silver dollar she would not have been my wife, that is just way too big. >>



My next job is going to be a bank teller... YES!

lordmarcovan

Strange, isn't it? Even if you count the Ike dollars, which arguably weren't silver but were the same size, they've been obsolete for a third of a century.

But then again, we still use horsepower to rate the potency of engines.

SanctionII

You have your garage floor carpeted?

Let me guess, the finest carpeting available.

With plushest of piles, the maximum thread count possible, comprised of silk fibers harvested from the best silk worms with a documented pedigree going back to the first Chinese dynasty. Hand woven by the best Persian carpet weaver in the world in response to a special order from Longacre designed to insure that the tread on the tires of the vintage motorcoaches in the "Longacre collection" do not make contact with concrete or even utility carpets.

Kidding aside, I think the term "size of a silver dollar" is a term which will be around a long time since it conveys a message which most people easily understand. Similar to the term "a pinch of salt"; or Secretariat won by "a length", or "cup of coffee". We can all visualize the size of what is described, without having mathematically precise measurements.

Mission16

I think of that same thing when I see the hair restorer for women on TV. One of the clients says something to the effect of a "bald spot the size of a half dollar"

relicsncoins

It depends which state you are from. Morgan and Peace silver dollars circulated heavily right up until 1964 in Montana. My grandparents owned a pizza parlor in Missoula, Montana in the 50's and 60's and nearly put together a complete date and mm set from the till.

JJ

CaptHenway

Simple answer:
Dollar slot machines kept the size alive in people's minds until recent times. Now that the stupid casinos use those stupid paper receipt payouts rather than coins or tokens, the familiarity may fade.

TD