Non-decimal currencies - Definition

Today, only two countries in the world use currencies whose subdivisions are a non-decimal fraction of their main unit. These two countries are Mauritania (1 ouguiya = 5 khoum) and Madagascar (1 ariary = 5 iraimbilanja).

Historic

Historically, the use of decimal subdivions was the exception rather than the rule. The Ruble is often said to be the first decimalized currency, when Peter the Great established the ratio 1 ruble = 100 kopecks in 1703. The British Pound Sterling was the last major currency to be decimalized, on February 15, 1971. An early attempt at decimalizing the pound was made in the 19th century with 1 Pound = 10 Florins = 100 Dimes = 1000 Cents.

A partial listing of former non-decimal currencies (giving only units of account):

• Ancient Greece - 1 Drachma = 6 Obols
• France - 1 Livre = 20 Sols = 240 Deniers
• German States
  • Frankfurt - 1 Reichstaler = 90 Kreutzer = 360 Pfennige OR 1 Reichsgulden = 60 Kreutzer = 240 Pfennige
  • Hannover - 1 Thaler = 36 Mariengroschen = 288 Pfennige
  • Hamburg - 1 Thaler = 3 Marck = 48 Schillinge = 96 Pfennige
• India - 1 Rupee = 16 Annas = 64 Pice = 192 Pies . Also, 1 gold Mohur = 15 silver Rupees
• Japan - separate gold, silver, and copper currencies, but linked during the Edo period
  • Gold: 1 Ryō = 4 Bu = 16 Shu
  • Silver: 1 Momme = 10 Fun = 100 Rin (1 Ryō = 60 Momme? 50 Momme? - I've seen both equivalences given)
  • Copper: 1 Kan = 1000 Mon (1 Ryō = 4000 Mon; hence, 1 Bu = 1 Kan)
• Netherlands - 1 Guilder = 60 Kreutzer = 240 Pfennige
• Ottoman Empire - 1 Kuru = 40 Para = 120 Akçe
• Poland - 1 Złoty = 30 Groschen
• Roman Empire - 1 Aureus = 25 Denarii = 100 Sestertii = 400 Asses = 1600 Quadrans
• Siam (modern-day Thailand) - 1 Tical = 4 Salung = 8 Fuang = 16 Song phai = 32 Phai = 64 Att = 128 Solot
• Spanish Empire - 1 Peso = 8 Reales = 512 maravedis vellon (? - the quarter-real may have been the smallest coin actually used) (the pesos are the "pieces of eight" often referred to in stories about pirates, such as Treasure Island)
• Switzerland - 1 Gulden Rheinisch = 248 Angster
• The United Kingdom and many countries formerly part of the British Empire - 1 Pound = 20 Shillings = 240 Pence = 960 Farthings. - many named coins existed (see British coinage, but these were the units of account)

Fictional non-decimal currencies

• Harry Potter - 1 Galleon = 17 Sickles = 493 Knuts
• Pern - Mark, no name for subdivisions, but occurs in denominations of 1/32, 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, 5, and 10 marks (and a few 100 marks for large transactions)