Ray's New Higher Arithmetic · Art. 321 · Unit 20: Percentage with Time: Exchange
91. Foreign exchange
Goal: Your student changes foreign money into United States money with a table of values, and finds the cost of a bill on London, Paris or Amsterdam.
You'll need
- The book
- A slate, small whiteboard or scrap paper
- A notebook and pencil
What's in the book
Foreign exchange: the Treasury's table of foreign coin values (January 1, 1884), notes on sterling exchange and how London bills were quoted, and examples. Answers are printed.
The lesson, step by step
Warm-up
Ask: If a British pound is worth about $4.87, about how many dollars is £10?
The idea
Read:
In Foreign Exchange it is necessary to find the value of money in one country in terms of the monetary unit of another country.
Look over the book's table of foreign coins with your student. Find the pound, the franc, the mark and the guilder.
Old money
English money was pounds (£), shillings (s.) and pence (d.): 12 pence to a shilling and 20 shillings to a pound. Read:
London exchange is the most common, and is received in almost all parts of the civilized world.
Work the book's example
Find the cost of a bill of exchange on London, at 3 days sight, for £530 12s., exchange being quoted at $4.88.
12s. = .6 of a pound, so £530.6 × $4.88 = $2589.33.
Guided practice
What is the cost of a bill on Paris for 1485 francs, $1 = 5.15 francs.
Here you divide: 1485 ÷ 5.15. Then try the Amsterdam bill with ½% brokerage.
Independent practice and check
Your student works the remaining examples and checks the printed answers.
Wrap-up
Ask: When exchange on London rises from $4.86 to $4.89, is it cheaper or dearer to pay a debt in London? (Dearer.)
Tip
The table is dated January 1, 1884, so this copy was printed in 1884 or later, even though the book is the 1880 edition. Exchange rates today are different.