In binary!

Peter, thank you for the first answer I have had to this puzzlement that makes sense. Of course with 20/20 hindsight... but that's the trick, isn't it? To see beyond the obvious to the answer that subsequently becomes the obvious.

My son had given me a clue that I failed to assimilate when he told me that banks and financial institutions always stored their currency data as pennies, not dollars.cents but I didn't pursue the logic of that beyond the idea that it was how they avoided the problem, but not why the problem was thus avoided.

Thank you again.

tanstaafl.