Option contract mechanics link price quotes to fixed share multiples.

Evidence

Before the recent decimalization, U.S. securities prices were quoted in binary fractions of dollars. Because the options contracts in question referred to 100 shares, a price of, for example, “3’4” translates into a cost of 325 per contract. A `July/40 call" gave the right to buy 100 Polaroid shares at 40 per share at any time up to its July expiration date. — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, 1408

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains options terminology (call contract, strike price, quote conventions) in concrete form.
• XREF: connects to: Option prices at day’s open and close are distorted by institutional mechanics — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial…, 105

Broader Connections

• Option prices at day’s open and close are distorted by institutional mechanics #complicates (0.75) — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, 105