285. Names of national coins translated into international form (as
"dolaro", dollar, "cendo", cent) cannot convey a very definite meaning
to persons not familiar with these coins. Consequently the system
devised for international use (not for actual coins, but for calculation
and price quotations) is based upon a unit called the "speso". The
multiples of this unit are the "spesdeko" (10 spesoj), "spescento" (100
spesoj), and "spesmilo" (1000 spesoj). Ten spesmiloj have approximately
the value of a five-dollar gold piece, twenty marks, twenty-five francs,
one pound sterling, etc. The spesmilo, equivalent to about $0.4875 in
the money of the United States and Canada, is the unit commonly used.
(To reduce dollars to spesmiloj, multiply by 2.051.)