A Bit About Divisibility

Money, it seems, is a curious thing. Throughout human history, people have organized for themselves various methods and items through which they can exchange goods and store wealth. If we were to examine the historical development of what we conceive of as money, we would find that one of the properties that money tends to pick up along its journey is called divisibility.

Sadly, today our money is not divisible. If it were, you would be able to cut a dollar bill in half and treat each half as fifty cents. You can see why money tends to develop this property, because, really it would be pretty cool if we lived in a world where you could make change by cutting your money up. In fact, our forebearers did live in such a world, and they cut up silver dollars into 8 pieces and used the “bits” (Wikipedia) to buy and sell items of lesser value.

I was amused at a new (albeit obscure) development that focuses on the divisibility of money. The Northwest Territorial Mint has released a divisible silver bar. That is, it is one ounce of silver that you can easily break into four separate pieces, each exactly one fourth of an ounce. Hey, that’s not a bad idea, but the marketing (NWTM) that goes along with the product, is absolutely priceless:

“For When You Have To Get Out of Dodge” Protect and prepare for any oncoming crisis when you own “divisible” 1-oz. Stagecoach Silver bars from Northwest Territorial Mint. This portable and tradable silver bullion is perfect for when you need to get out of dodge fast! Each .999-fine silver bar is scored into four pieces, giving them the potential to be split up should the need arise. Stock up and be ready with this barter-friendly bullion today. Northwest Territorial Mint

But let’s not miss an opportunity to point out the clearest example of the word of the day, divisibility:

With these silver barter bars, you’ll carry change in your hand. Should the need arise, the changeable nature of Stagecoach Silver will enhance your flexibility in any financial or trade scenario. (emphasis added)

Sometimes, you hear those “Buy Gold Now!” ads on the radio, and you think, “Yeah, I probably should”, but others will attack the ad as “fear-mongering”. I shudder to think what adjectives they would invent to describe this “Get Out Of Dodge” emblazoned silver.

But the history of money is such that divisibility will probably make a comeback at some point in the future. Although we can imagine that a decimalized digital currency is the ultimate in divisibility, there are other properties that money tends to have that strongly discourage such a system. And if you don’t care one bit about divisibilityon a two bit blog, I wouldn’t worry about it too much, things have a way of working themselves out over time.