OT: "half-dollar"/"50 cent piece" Was: Recovering the ROM of an IBM 5100 using OCR

[Fred Cisin]

>> I saw this half-dollar sized plastic fob on the desk and asked what it 
>> was for.

On Fri, 28 Jun 2019, Liam Proven via cctalk wrote:
> If I may just say -- only about 5% of humanity know how big that is. I
> don't. I don't even know if a half a dollar is a note or a coin, and
> that's without getting extra-pedantic and pointing out that about a
> dozen countries call their currencies the "dollar".
> :-(

Oh, FAR FAR FAR less than 5%.
Most residents of USA haven't seen a half dollar or "50 cent piece" in 
decades.  They are as much of an oddity as the $2 bill.  They are 
nominally still in circulation, most recent being JFK, but I think that 
they stopped making them in 2002, and there are federal vaults full of 
uncirculated pre-2002 coins.  Most recent has a portrait of Kennedy. 
They are 30.61mm diameter, which is the largest relatively recent 
USA coin (not counting the long discontinued 38.1mm SILVER DOLLAR)

You could have just ASSUMED THAT IT WOULD BE logarithmically between a 
quarter[dollar] (24.26mm) and a dollar coin (26.5mm).  That would be 
completely WRONG, unless you use the 38.1mm ancient "silver dollar", but 
hardly a problem.

"50 pence coin" would be CLOSE ENOUGH.
Actually, for THIS purpose, "large coin" is as accurate as you need. 
Just as I am not at all familiar with British currency, that hasn't 
dampened my appreciation of British TV, such as Doctor Who and a variety 
of Brit-coms.


"Silver dollar" used to be a large coin. (38.1mm)  It was the standard for 
casinos.  When it was discontinued (1935), the casinos started to mint 
their own chips/tokens as a replacement.  There was a brief attempt to 
revive the silver dollar in 1971 with the "Eisenhower Dollar".
It is quite rare that you will encounter one of the "large dollars".

The Susan B Anthony dollar (1979-1981)
http://www.smalldollars.com/
was never widely accepted, mostly because it was MUCH MUCH too close to a 
quarter in size.  (26.5mm V 24.26mm)  Different edge milling is NOT 
ENOUGH.  It COULD have been widely accepted, if the gubmint were to have 
given a tax incentive to have video games that took a quarter to provide 
five games for a "Carter Quarter"; and the "quantity sale" would have 
been so profitable that the tax incentive would only have to have been 
short term.
It is quite rare that you will encounter one.

It was later replaced with the Sacajewa dollar.  Same problem.
It is quite rare that you will encounter one.

Then there was a commemorative series (gold colored) of presidents of USA. 
Change of COLOR is NOT ENOUGH.
It is quite rare that you will encounter one.

And, I understand that the gubmint is planning an "American innovation" 
commemorative series.  We are far too arrogant to learn from our mistakes.
It will be quite rare that you will encounter one.


But, the states of USA commemorative quarters were so popular that they 
followed that with national parks commemorative quarters.
The quarter is the largest USA coin that you are likely to encounter 
in circulation.

--
Grumpy Ol' Fred     		cisin at xenosoft.com