posted
I wish they had some sort of motto below Ben's portrait with the words, "A Penny Saved Is Pretty Much Worthless."
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I find it interesting that the treasury uses "note" in at least part of its promotional material. Some of the pages use "bill," but the top page uses "note." Most of Europe uses note these days, it seems, but I hear bill every once in a while. I wonder if this is a recent change, or a change at all.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Pretty sure I have a little book somewhere from the late 80s, published by the Treasury, that uses both "bill" and "note" interchangeably.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
The OED has "note" as a form of bill of sale or notation of finances going back to 1587. I see a few more references to "note" being used on the context of promissory notes, which frankly seems to make more sense etymologically, given that money has its roots as a symbol for actual specie held somewhere in a vault, and had no intrinsic value of its own. In that sense, it appears to have its roots in the 17th century.
The OED does mention that in the 19th century, North America transitioned away from "note" and began to use "bill." First reference is in 1652, but in the context we're talking about, the 1850s is when it appears to have entered the common usage in the United States.
It appears note is used almost always in Europe, and bill is never used in Europe, whereas the two are used interchangeably in the United States, though bill seems to be more colloquially common than note, which is more formal.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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