Animals are minted on the back of Croatian coins in daily use. A nightingale appears on the most common coin. Two nightingales are worth a tuna, and five nightingales are worth a bear. That is, a bear is worth two and a half tunas. By the way, a bear is worth about a dollar or half a pound sterling at today’s exchange rates. As I am staring at different coins strewn across my table, I suddenly become aware of the apparent relative values of different animals. And I start feeling uncomfortable about what I see in front of me. If you ask me, a bear is worth at least five tunas. And a tuna is worth about twenty nightingales. That would make a hundred nightingales to a bear, which strikes me as about the right rate of exchange between the animals in question. Of course, the designer of Croatian coins had nothing of the sort in mind. Luckily, too, for the rates of exchange between the animals would differ quite a lot between those using them daily. If they were not aware of the nominal values of the coins, they would argue forever about every exchange. Just imagine the mayhem in each and every market or store! There would be many casualties, I am sure.