Back when the first Harry Potter book was released, author J.K. Rowling gave a passing nod to money in the wizarding world, then did make mention of it a few times in later books in the series. Harry’s new-found pal Hagrid explained that there were gold galleons, 17 silver sickles to a galleon and 29 bronze knuts to a sickle. In all, it was amusing, and over the course of time there have even been some souvenir shops that sell these “coins,” all made of copper or brass. While we can have a laugh at something like this, it can make us look at our own monetary system in a different light, and maybe the systems of a neighbor or two.
A Simple Decimal System?
In the U.S., we are often proud to say that our system is clean and simple, with a dollar being divided easily and cleanly into
