Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2017 December 21

= December 21 =

Currency gift for foreign visitor
Over Christmas, we are hosting a young lady visiting from France. As my gift to her- and because traditional gifts are difficult in this situation (she would have to pack them home on an international flight)- I thought about giving her one of each U.S. paper currency in circulation; i.e. spending money she could use to buy what she wants while here. So, one of each bill: $100, $50, $20, $10, $5, $2, $1.

But, just to make it a little more personal than just cold cash, I'd like to include some document in the card/envelope that tells about the currency: the design, history, etc.. However, I don't want it to be too dense. Any ideas on a "quick reference guide" for U.S. currency? Or I am open to other ideas. Thank you all. Ditch &#8733; 00:03, 21 December 2017 (UTC)
 * You could start with United States dollar. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 00:11, 21 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Well, yes...but if printed out every WP article on each denomination, I would need a legal sized manilla envelope to fit it all. I guess I was looking for a condensed source...maybe something that foreign travelers might use...that explains how our currency works. (I've seen similar guides that explain how coins work in Mexico, for instance.) Ditch &#8733;  00:16, 21 December 2017 (UTC)
 * What do you mean by how it "works"? Dollars and Euros are currencies. 50 is twice 25, 100 is twice 50, and so on. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 00:19, 21 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Yes, so "how it works" was bad wording on my part. I'm sure she will have no issue figuring out how to spend the money. I was just looking to make it educational about the bills themselves.
 * If you had a checklist of specific things you wanted to tell her, that would make your taks much easier. Such as whose picture is on it, what their significance is to American history, what the pictures on the back represent, etc. The serial numbers can be an interesting topic. Bills are printed in sheets, and the serial numbers indicate something about where on the bills came from. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 01:04, 21 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Maybe something from here?
 * —2606:A000:4C0C:E200:B8D8:3FE9:323E:5312 (talk) 00:30, 21 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Yes, that's a good start. Thank you. I may end up typing something separately about who/what is featured on each bill and when they where issued. (Or Maybe I'll just say to her, "Here's $188 bucks kid. Go act like an American and spend it. Merry Christmas.") Ditch &#8733;  00:51, 21 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Yes, that's a good start. Thank you. I may end up typing something separately about who/what is featured on each bill and when they where issued. (Or Maybe I'll just say to her, "Here's $188 bucks kid. Go act like an American and spend it. Merry Christmas.") Ditch &#8733;  00:51, 21 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Don't forget coins, including 1 quarter for each state. 2606:A000:4C0C:E200:B8D8:3FE9:323E:5312 (talk) 01:26, 21 December 2017 (UTC)
 * And the bicentennial quarters, which you still see sometimes. And the current series, national parks. But regardless of collectability, they're all worth 25 cents. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 01:29, 21 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Yeah, but [(50 + 40) x 0.25] + [ United States Bicentennial coinage ] = $24.25 (if I did the math correctly) 2606:A000:4C0C:E200:B8D8:3FE9:323E:5312 (talk) 02:59, 21 December 2017 (UTC)
 * It looks like 24 raised to the 25th power, which would be a very large number indeed. I note this because your earlier 0.25 is in the standard format, so I assume you want us to interpret these things differently.  --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  21:02, 21 December 2017 (UTC)
 * He means 24 dollars and 25 cents. The state and national park quarters add up to 22 dollars and 50 cents, and the bicentennial stuff adds up to 1 dollar and 75 cents, total 24 dollars and 25 cents. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:11, 21 December 2017 (UTC)
 * I don't get the point of the superscript in one case but not the other. --  Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  00:12, 22 December 2017 (UTC)
 * I don't either. When hand-writing a price or the amount on a check or whatever, it is often customary to put the cents superscripted with an underline beneath them. But when typing, there's no need for that. Maybe the poster will come back here and clarify. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:57, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

Note the decimal point. "Superscripted" Dollars.Cents is not as often used as previously, but still somewhat common in US (e.g., etc.). Not sure what you mean by "not the other" -- the only "other" represents a decimal multiplier, while the superscript represents a dollar & cent amount. -- less verbose than "24 dollars and 25 cents". (Frankly, the pedantry of this desk is amusing) 2606:A000:4C0C:E200:B8D8:3FE9:323E:5312 (talk) 06:01, 22 December 2017 (UTC)
 * "The other" is the bit I highlight here: [(50 + 40) x ] + [ United States Bicentennial coinage ] = $24.25 You call it a decimal multiplier, but it has to be a dollar & cent amount, as otherwise you're adding an amount of money to an abstract number to get another amount of money, and that's not possible in Euclidean algebra (the old "apples and oranges" problem). Or maybe you want us to interpret "50" and "40" as $0.50 and $0.40.  If so, you needed to say so.  This has nothing to do with "pedantry".   --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  19:56, 22 December 2017 (UTC)
 * ped·ant·ry. /ˈped(ə)ntrē/ noun : excessive concern with minor details and rules —2606:A000:4C0C:E200:B8D8:3FE9:323E:5312 (talk) 21:08, 22 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Perhaps also a gift from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing or the United States Mint Nanonic (talk) 07:51, 21 December 2017 (UTC)

Daily Recommended Values
How does the FDA and the like calculate the Daily Recommended Values as seen on the nutrition facts of various foodstuffs in the USA (i.e. your daily recommended intake of protein, calories, fat, carbohydrates, etc.)?--WaltCip (talk) 13:43, 21 December 2017 (UTC)
 * See Recommended daily value.--Shantavira|feed me 14:27, 21 December 2017 (UTC)