Money in New York in 2007

Money in New York is counted in dollars and cents:

1 dollar = 100 cents

Money comes in four forms:

1. Coins made of cheap metal (with their rough value in metric pennies, which have 0.5 grams of silver):

• dollar (5)
• quarter (1.25)
• dime (0.5)
• nickel (0.25)
• penny (0.05)

2. Paper notes:

• 20-dollar note (100)
• 10-dollar note (50)
• 5-dollar note (25)
• 1-dollar note (5)

Paper money did not become common till the 1930s.

3. Cheques: a piece of paper issued by your bank where you write in how much to pay someone and then sign it. Not in common use till the 1890s.

4. Plastic bank cards: Most money exists as numbers in computers. Your card tells the computer at your bank to subtract money from your account and add it to another. Commonly used for amounts over $100 starting in the 1970s.

Yesterday on May 11th 2007 I gathered prices in New York. To make them easy to compare with those of Shakespeare and Leonardo, I have converted them to metric pennies.

To get the original dollars, divide by five; to get current British pounds, divide by ten and to get grams of silver divide by two.

What people get paid in New York (and the presidents, secretaries of state and senators who live in Washington) in metric pennies a day:

   379000 Chuck Prince, head of the largest bank in New York
     7600 president
     6060 surgeon
     3550 secretary of state (foreign minister)
     3100 senator
     3050 judge
     2380 airline captain
     1800 pastor
     1750 computer programmer
     1550 English professor
     1150 undertaker
     1120 teacher
     1050 actor
     1025 store manager
     1015 secretary
      860 fireman
      655 taxi driver
      630 watchman
      500 cook
      430 waiter
      400 bus driver
      400 maid
      400 labourer
      300 beggar

I assumed an 8-hour work day and a 250-day work year. Some get free food, like beggars and cooks. I do not figure that in.

Prices in metric pennies (those above 25 are rounded to the nearest 5):

    65000 car

     6720 Encyclopaedia Britannica
     6100 MacBook computer
     4800 washing machine and clothes dryer
     1900 television
     1665 eyeglasses (mine)
     1665 computer
     1500 bed for two
      950 iPod Nano
      800 man's suit
      620 two-bedroom flat in Manhattan, daily cost
      330 microwave oven
      280 small DVD player
      260 gold ring, 14k
      240 two-bedroom flat in Queens, daily cost
      190 boots
      190 Complete works of Shakespeare (hardcover, Oxford)
      165 see a play
      145 shoes
      130 hard-cover book
      100 tea, kg (makes 400 cups of tea)
       95 Webster's Unabridged dictionary
       95 dress shirt
       95 blue jeans
       85 cheese, kg (Swiss)
       85 belt
       75 film on DVD - "Casino Royale"
       75 butter, kg
       70 chocolate, kg
       70 pepper, kg
       65 haircut
       65 Bible
       55 book (Iliad, Penguin paperback)
       50 see a film
       50 underwear
       50 CD - Beyonce's "B'day" (10 songs)
       50 Barbie doll
       50 telephone
       45 taxi (5 km)
       40 beef, kg
       40 lock
       35 a meal
       30 melon
       30 magazine (The Economist)
       24 scissors
       24 knife
       24 bread, kg
       24 magazine (TIME)
       24 Frosted Flakes, kg
       22 strawberries, kg
       20 magazine (Harper's Bazaar)
       17 Big Mac
       14 salad
       14 beer, L
       12 Coke, L
       11 dozen eggs
       10 subway
        9 candle
        9 yogurt, kg
        8 sugar, kg
        7 pair of socks
        5 song on iTunes
        5 newspaper (New York Times)
        4 Internet service, daily cost
        2 send a letter
        1 4 cups of tea

See also:

• Money in Shakespeare’s time
• Money in Leonardo’s time
• Money in the time of the 1897 Sears Catalogue
• metric crowns and pennies
• American dollar
• New York