Reading discount rates

How I should read discount rates like the following:

a $3.50 discount

I'm not sure if I should say

"a three-fifty dollar discount,"

"a three dollar and fifty cent discount,"

or just "a three-fifty discount."

Solution 1:

The first one would never be correct. The second one is correct. The third one is acceptable, but not the best way of saying it.

Solution 2:

I think a three dollar fifty discount is the most common.

• Dollar is singular because it is modifying a noun.

• It's common to abbreviate and fifty cents to fifty after a dollar amount.

Solution 3:

The only correct reading in American English is "a three dollar and fifty cent discount." The "and...cent" is virtually never dropped when the number is used adjectivally, as it is here. (On the other hand, it is nearly always dropped when it is used as a noun: "How much do I owe you?" "Three fifty.") I believe I have heard the British say something like "a three pound fifty discount," (missing the "and...pence"), but I defer to a native speaker across the pond on that one.