The yearbook staff took in $700 last week. When they counted their money, it turned out, strangely, that they had an equal number of dollar bills, half-dollars, and quarters. How many of each did they have?
Solution
Now, dollar + cents + cents = . How many multiples of $1.75 are there in $700? Answer: 400. The yearbook staff had 400 of each unit of money.
This problem hearkens back to the day when half-dollars were common in circulation. Starting in 1964, President John F. Kennedy was on the face side of the coin; Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, was on the reverse.