Old Money
Money, or the lack of it, features in many plots. There are also references to strange amounts such as one and threepence or half-a-crown. For non-British readers used to 100 cents to the dollar, centimes to the franc or winkles to the conch, and to younger British readers, these can be confusing or even meaningless. This page is an attempt to shed some light on the oddities of British currency.
A Little History
Today, the British pound or pound Sterling contains 100 pennies. In days of old (before 1971) money was a lot more complicated and entertaining. For a start, there were 240 pennies to the pound, sub-divided into 20 shillings of 12 pennies. The symbols for pounds, shillings and pence (pennies) were '£', 's' and 'd', usually spoken as L-S-D and sometimes written Lsd. The phrase 'good old Lsd' refers to nostalgia for the old money and not, even in the psychedelic sixties, to anything else. The £ or 'L' is still used and comes from the Latin for pound, libra. The 's' came from solidus, a gold coin of the late Roman Empire and the 'd' came from denarius, a Roman silver coin.
Why the change? As millions of schoolchildren (now adults of course) will testify, dividing £24. 12s. 11d by 7 is tricky on paper and downright tough in your head (try it yourself, the answer is at the bottom of the page). Can you do it on a calculator? Or a computer spreadsheet? Imagine using this system to do household or business accounts. Now try the calculation using the nearest decimal value £24. 64p. The conclusion is obvious - Lsd had to go. The only mystery is why it lasted to 1971.
The Coins and Notes
Coins existed in many values, some of which live on in decimal disguise. There was a mixture of copper and silver coloured coins of various sizes, silver worth more than copper, and larger worth more than smaller. All values could be distinguished by touch (shape, size and edge patterns) to assist the visually impaired. (Edge patterns originated when coins were made of precious metal to stop fraudsters snipping bits off.)
Paper money was, at various times, issued in 10s, £1, £5, £10 and £20 notes of differing colours and sizes, to make the different values stand out. The notes have decreased in size over the years, no longer needing several folds to fit in a wallet. When the owl and the pussycat in Edward Lear's poem 'took some honey and plenty of money wrapped up in a five pound note' it was the 'plenty of money' that made it absurd, not wrapping it all up in the note.
Values could be written or spoken many ways. 'Ten and six' for example, means ten shillings and six pence, not ten pounds and six shillings. It would be written 10s. 6d, 10/6d or just 10/6. The 'd' was always 'pence' in speech. Regrettably, its decimal equivalent 'p' for penny is often spoken as 'pee'.
Denominations and Slang
- Farthing = 1/4 of a penny.
- A much smaller coin than the penny, hence the penny-farthing bicycle.
- Half-penny = 1/2 of a penny.
- Usually referred to as a ha' penny - pronounced 'hayp'nee' - and as near one inch in diameter as makes no difference. (A ridiculously small copper coin was introduced as half a new penny with decimalisation. In its short life it became known as the 'tiddler'.)
- Penny.
- Like the farthing and halfpenny, a copper-coloured coin made from a copper alloy. A mix of these and halfpennies might be referred to as coppers. (The decimal penny is much smaller than the old one.)
- Three penny piece = 3 pence.
- A small silver coin, replaced by the ...
- Three penny bit = 3 pence.
- A 12-sided, uniquely-coloured (a sort of dull brass as I recall), thick coin, usually spoken as 'thr'penny bit'.
- Six penny piece = 6 pence.
- Known as sixpence (pl. sixpences), a small silver coloured coin, often called a tanner (origin unknown).
- Shilling = 12 pence.
- Frequently called a bob (origin unknown) but never 'bobs', this was the lowest value coin to survive decimalisation, before being replaced by a smaller 5p piece. (12 old pence = 5 new pence exactly.)
- Two shilling piece = 2 shillings.
- Sometimes called a florin, not to be confused with the 14th cent. gold coin worth 6s. 8d (a third of a pound). The name comes from the Latin flos floris via Old English and refers to a fleur de lys design on the original coin. Survives as a slightly smaller ten pence coin. (There is now also a small, seven-sided twenty pence coin that had no pre-decimal equivalent.)
- Half Crown = 2 shillings and six pence.
- A large silver coloured coin, one eighth of a pound or 'two and a tanner', sometimes called half a dollar because it was half of a ...
- Crown = 5 shillings.
- Also known as a dollar. At one time (when the US and UK were on the gold standard, I believe) there were four dollars to the pound so one dollar equalled five shillings. A large silver coloured coin, often chosen for commemorative issues.
- Ten shilling note.
- Fondly remembered as the brick-red ten bob note (replaced by a seven-sided silver coloured coin, already re-issued in a smaller size).
- Pound = 20 shillings.
- The quid or oncer, a paper note now replaced by a gold coloured coin.
- Sovereign = 1 pound.
- Nominally 1 pound, the coin was made of 24ct gold so had a value well in excess of its face value. Still made, but not in general circulation for obvious reasons, it is used for commemorative issues and as an investment. Many were made in WW2 for allied agents etc. and they remained popular when there were controls over owning bullion.
- Guinea = 1 pound and 1 shilling.
- Long out of use as a coin, continued for a time in bespoke tailoring and auctions and is still used at thoroughbred horse sales. (A 'gentleman' engaged in an auction or betting might raise the stakes in pounds by adding 5% with the phrase 'Make it guineas'.)
- Two pound coin = 2 pounds.
- A recent and elegant addition to decimal currency, with a silver coloured centre and a gold coloured outer ring. The reverse design is often used to commemorate events.
- Five pound note = 5 pounds.
- The fiver or five quid (not quids).
- Ten pound note = 10 pounds.
- The tenner, so as not be confused with ten bob.
- Twenty pound note, fifty pound note.
- Higher value notes, more can be expected as inflation slowly takes effect.
The answer is £3. 10s. 5d. (or £3.52p). Remember to multiply carried over pounds by 20 to make them shillings and carried over shillings by 12 to make them pennies.
Return to the question.
© Reggie
