Sam Loyd's Palmistry Puzzle - Solution

Puzzles -> Sam Loyd Puzzles

The Puzzle: A gypsy queen who ekes out a precarious existence by gathering quarters from gullible victims who want the future revealed, laments the decline of the fortune-telling industry as follows:

"The week before last I earned less than three dollars, last week only a third as much and this week somewhat less than half as much as the week before".

How much did she earn in three weeks?

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The Solution . . .

The gypsy queen earned $2.25 the first week, as it had to be a sum less than three dollars made up of quarters divisible by three.

Then on the second week she made 75 cents and only 25 cents the third week, making $3.25 in all.

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