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The word bit is a colloquial expression referring to specific coins in various coinages throughout the world. ==United States== In the United States, the bit is equal to one eighth of a dollar or cents. In the U.S., the "bit" as a designation for money dates from the colonial period, when the most common unit of currency used was the Spanish dollar, also known as "piece of eight", which was worth 8 Spanish silver reales. One eighth of a dollar or one silver real was one "bit". With the adoption of the decimal U.S. currency in 1794, there was no longer a U.S. coin worth of a dollar but "two bits" remained in the language with the meaning of one quarter dollar, "four bits" half dollar, etc. Because there was no one-bit coin, a dime (10¢) was sometimes called a ''short bit'' and 15¢ a ''long bit''. (The picayune, which was originally ''real'' or bit (¢), was similarly transferred to the US 5¢-piece.) In addition, Spanish coinage, like other foreign coins, continued to be widely used〔Murray N. Rothbard. ("The Mystery of Banking" ) (pdf), p.10, referenced 2009-08-24.〕 and allowed as legal tender by Chapter XXII of the Act of April 10, 1806〔Library of Congress. ("An Act regulating the currency of foreign coins in the United States" ), passed on April 10, 1806, referenced 2009-08-24.〕 until the Coinage Act of 1857 discontinued the practice. Robert Louis Stevenson describes his experience with bits in ''Across the Plains'', p. 144:〔(Across the Plains & Homeward: With Other Memories and Essays – Robert Stevenson, John Hyde – Google Books )〕 :In the Pacific States they have made a bolder push for complexity, and settle their affairs by a coin that no longer exists – the BIT, or old Mexican real. The supposed value of the bit is twelve and a half cents, eight to the dollar. When it comes to two bits, the quarter-dollar stands for the required amount. But how about an odd bit? The nearest coin to it is a dime, which is, short by a fifth. That, then, is called a SHORT bit. If you have one, you lay it triumphantly down, and save two and a half cents. But if you have not, and lay down a quarter, the bar-keeper or shopman calmly tenders you a dime by way of change; and thus you have paid what is called a LONG BIT, and lost two and a half cents, or even, by comparison with a short bit, five cents. "Two bits" or "two bit" continues in general use as a colloquial expression, primarily because of the song catchphrase "Shave and a Haircut, two bits." As an adjective, "two-bit" can be used to describe something cheap or unworthy. Roger Miller's song "King of the Road" features these lines: ''Ah, but two hours of pushin' broom buys an / Eight by twelve four-bit room''. The U.S. budget record label Crown (1930-1933) advertised on their sleeve, "2 Hits for 2 Bits" (25¢). Another example of the use of "bit" can be found in the poem "Six-Bits Blues" by Langston Hughes, which includes the following couplet: ''Gimme six bits' worth o'ticket / On a train that runs somewhere...''. The expression also survives in the sports cheer "Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar ... all for ''(player's name)'', stand up and holler!" The New York Stock Exchange continued to list stock prices in eighths of a dollar until June 24, 1997, at which time it started listing in sixteenths. It did not fully implement decimal listing until January 29, 2001. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bit (money)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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