From: Philippe Verdy (verdy_p@wanadoo.fr)
Date: Wed Aug 06 2003 - 06:12:45 EDT
On Tuesday, August 05, 2003 10:54 PM, Stefan Persson <alsjebegrijptwatikbedoel@yahoo.se> wrote:
> James H. Cloos Jr. wrote:
>
> > > "Anto'nio" == Anto'nio Martins-Tuva'lkin
> > > <antonio@tuvalkin.web.pt> writes:
> >
> > Anto'nio> (Let alone the validity of things
> > Anto'nio> like k€, c€ etc.)
> >
> > I'm sure things like m€, k€, M€ and even G€ will come into use,
> > though I expect more will use them in front of the digits.
Certainly not: the placement of the currency unit symbol or multiple is language dependant, and the same local practices are used with the euro, as the one used for pre-euro currencies. In fact, the position of the currency unit and decimal separator or placement of the negative sign depends mostly of the current locale (language/region) and not on the indicated currency, so this convention is applied locally for *all* currency units.
Using the cent sign is mostly US specific and the symbol is not recognized as such in most European countries, so the cent sign is bound directly to the dollar. Using "c€" would be certainly better recognized as a cent of a euro rather than the cent sign. Such things may change in the future, but for now there's no commonly recognized symbold for the cent of a euro.
For example, here in France where the cent of a euro is named "centime" (plural "centimes") rather than "cent" which is written and read exactly like the number "cent" (100), small prices like phone call rates are written and pronounced like this "1,2 centimes/minute" or written "0,012 €/min", or "1,2 ct/min". There is NO symbol for the cent of a euro, even in ads which prefer an abbreviation like "ct", previously used to designate a "centime" of the french franc and now used to designate a "centime" of the euro.
> > I certainly use m$, k$ et al, and regulary see others use them.
>
> m€ and m$ would be millieuros and millidollars. How could anyone need
> anything like that? And why use c$ and c€, wouldn't ¢ be just as
> good?
The millieuros could be used, but it is not a natural sub-unit, and "c€" would be more appropriate if it was recognized. For now the abbreviation "ct" is much more common. On the opposite, the multiples "k€" (1 000,00 €) or "M€" (1 000 000,00 €) are quite common in informal business documents, and "G€" is quite rare.
However these unit multiples are illegal in contractual documents and legal forms where only the "€" symbol or the fully spelled amount is acceptable; some legal documents require to use both the numeric form with the "€" symbol or "EUR" and the spelled amount both written within the same locale convention, for example in French: "dix-huit centimes par minute (0,18 €/min)" or "société anonyme au capital de deux millions huit cent mille euros (2 800 000 €)"
-- Philippe. Spams non tolérés: tout message non sollicité sera rapporté à vos fournisseurs de services Internet.
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