Love is in the air.. Or I guess not

"Tanada" wrote in message
ink.net...

I'm curious about the
British monetary system. I've never really been able to understand it.
How many pence in a half crown, or a crown, how much is a bob, and so
forth? I can spend money in any language, I just don't understand it.

I know that a quid is a pound, but that's all I know. I wonder what a
shilling is...

Would you call that "just my 2 pence?"

Yup - or, "Just my two penn'orth."

Seriously, I'm curious about the
British monetary system. I've never really been able to understand it.
How many pence in a half crown, or a crown, how much is a bob, and so
forth? I can spend money in any language, I just don't understand it.

Pam S. ignorant

Well, pre-decimalisation days, we had pounds(£), shillings(s) and pence(d).
There were 240 pence (pennies) to one pound. A shilling was made up of 12
pennies, so there were 20 shillings to the pound. A bob was a shilling (written
as 1s or 1/-). Half-a-crown as 2shillings and sixpence (written as 2/6d or 2s
6d), hence a crown was 5 shillings (written as 5s or 5/-) Of course, we also
had guineas... a guinea was £1 and 1 shilling, or, 21shillings, or 21/-

Then we went decimal... so we got rid of shillings. We now have pounds (£) and
pence (p). There are 100 pennies in a pound.

So... 1d = 2.4p and 1/- (or 1s) = 5p

I was a schoolkid when we went decimal over here and had great fun, as we kids
found it no hassle at all, but I remember adult relatives having a heck of a
time doing conversions... I think that experience is why *now* have little
problem flitting between metric & imperial measurements.

Cheers, helen s



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Would you call that "just my 2 pence?"

Yup - or, "Just my two penn'orth."

Seriously, I'm curious about the
British monetary system. I've never really been able to understand it.
How many pence in a half crown, or a crown, how much is a bob, and so
forth? I can spend money in any language, I just don't understand it.

Pam S. ignorant

Well, pre-decimalisation days, we had pounds(£), shillings(s) and pence(d).
There were 240 pence (pennies) to one pound. A shilling was made up of 12
pennies, so there were 20 shillings to the pound. A bob was a shilling (written
as 1s or 1/-). Half-a-crown as 2shillings and sixpence (written as 2/6d or 2s
6d), hence a crown was 5 shillings (written as 5s or 5/-) Of course, we also
had guineas... a guinea was £1 and 1 shilling, or, 21shillings, or 21/-

Then we went decimal... so we got rid of shillings. We now have pounds (£) and
pence (p). There are 100 pennies in a pound.

So... 1d = 2.4p and 1/- (or 1s) = 5p

I was a schoolkid when we went decimal over here and had great fun, as we kids
found it no hassle at all, but I remember adult relatives having a heck of a
time doing conversions... I think that experience is why *now* have little
problem flitting between metric & imperial measurements.

Cheers, helen s



--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam--
to get correct one remove fame & fortune
**$om $

--Due to financial crisis the light at the end of the tunnel is switched off--

The phrase would be spoken as "just my tuppenceworth" or possibly
"just my two-pennyworth" depending on region.

I'm afraid nowadays it's pretty boring: 100 pence = 1 pound.

But in the old days (until February 1971) our coinage was like this:

Farthing (a quarter of a penny)
Halfpenny ((pronounced haypney) half a penny)
Penny (a two-hundred-and-fortieth of a pound)
Threepence ((pronounded thruppence) three pennies, came as an 8-sided
coin)
Sixpence ((or Tanner) six pennies, the first silver-coloured coin)
Shilling ((or Bob) twelve pennies, twentieth of a pound)
Florin ((2 shillings) ie twenty-four pennies or tenth of a pound)
Half-Crown ((2.5 shillings, or "2 bob and a tanner") an eighth of a
pound)
Crown ((5 shillings, or "5 bob") a quarter of a pound) [dropped in the
50's]
Ten Shillings ((our first paper denomination) half a pound
The Pound Sterling (A quid, or a Nicker)
The Guinea ((traditionally gold) one pound and one shilling
The Sovereign ((always solid gold) varies with the bullion price, say
40 poundish)

Hope that helps :-)

Thanks for reminding me what wonderful complicated old times I lived
in!

Purrs

Gordon & the TT

--
Feline family viewable at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/exocat

"Tanada" wrote

Would you call that "just my 2 pence?" Seriously, I'm curious about
the British monetary system. I've never really been able to
understand it. How many pence in a half crown, or a crown, how much
is a bob, and so forth? I can spend money in any language, I just
don't understand it.

Pam S. ignorant

The phrase would be spoken as "just my tuppenceworth" or possibly
"just my two-pennyworth" depending on region.

I'm afraid nowadays it's pretty boring: 100 pence = 1 pound.

But in the old days (until February 1971) our coinage was like this:

Farthing (a quarter of a penny)
Halfpenny ((pronounced haypney) half a penny)
Penny (a two-hundred-and-fortieth of a pound)
Threepence ((pronounded thruppence) three pennies, came as an 8-sided
coin)
Sixpence ((or Tanner) six pennies, the first silver-coloured coin)
Shilling ((or Bob) twelve pennies, twentieth of a pound)
Florin ((2 shillings) ie twenty-four pennies or tenth of a pound)
Half-Crown ((2.5 shillings, or "2 bob and a tanner") an eighth of a
pound)
Crown ((5 shillings, or "5 bob") a quarter of a pound) [dropped in the
50's]
Ten Shillings ((our first paper denomination) half a pound
The Pound Sterling (A quid, or a Nicker)
The Guinea ((traditionally gold) one pound and one shilling
The Sovereign ((always solid gold) varies with the bullion price, say
40 poundish)

Hope that helps :-)

Thanks for reminding me what wonderful complicated old times I lived
in!

Purrs

Gordon & the TT

--
Feline family viewable at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/exocat

"Tanada" wrote

Would you call that "just my 2 pence?" Seriously, I'm curious about
the British monetary system. I've never really been able to
understand it. How many pence in a half crown, or a crown, how much
is a bob, and so forth? I can spend money in any language, I just
don't understand it.

Pam S. ignorant

Exocat wrote:
The phrase would be spoken as "just my tuppenceworth" or possibly
"just my two-pennyworth" depending on region.

I'm afraid nowadays it's pretty boring: 100 pence = 1 pound.

But in the old days (until February 1971) our coinage was like this:

Farthing (a quarter of a penny)
Halfpenny ((pronounced haypney) half a penny)
Penny (a two-hundred-and-fortieth of a pound)
Threepence ((pronounded thruppence) three pennies, came as an 8-sided
coin)
Sixpence ((or Tanner) six pennies, the first silver-coloured coin)
Shilling ((or Bob) twelve pennies, twentieth of a pound)
Florin ((2 shillings) ie twenty-four pennies or tenth of a pound)
Half-Crown ((2.5 shillings, or "2 bob and a tanner") an eighth of a
pound)
Crown ((5 shillings, or "5 bob") a quarter of a pound) [dropped in the
50's]
Ten Shillings ((our first paper denomination) half a pound
The Pound Sterling (A quid, or a Nicker)
The Guinea ((traditionally gold) one pound and one shilling
The Sovereign ((always solid gold) varies with the bullion price, say
40 poundish)

Hope that helps :-)



If you lived in complicated times, then I guess most of us have as well.
Thank you both (Helen and Gordon) for the explainations. I think I'd
still have a problem figuring it all out if I had to do the old system.
But it's more interesting and varied than the US system using base ten.

Pam S.

Exocat wrote:
The phrase would be spoken as "just my tuppenceworth" or possibly
"just my two-pennyworth" depending on region.

I'm afraid nowadays it's pretty boring: 100 pence = 1 pound.

But in the old days (until February 1971) our coinage was like this:

Farthing (a quarter of a penny)
Halfpenny ((pronounced haypney) half a penny)
Penny (a two-hundred-and-fortieth of a pound)
Threepence ((pronounded thruppence) three pennies, came as an 8-sided
coin)
Sixpence ((or Tanner) six pennies, the first silver-coloured coin)
Shilling ((or Bob) twelve pennies, twentieth of a pound)
Florin ((2 shillings) ie twenty-four pennies or tenth of a pound)
Half-Crown ((2.5 shillings, or "2 bob and a tanner") an eighth of a
pound)
Crown ((5 shillings, or "5 bob") a quarter of a pound) [dropped in the
50's]
Ten Shillings ((our first paper denomination) half a pound
The Pound Sterling (A quid, or a Nicker)
The Guinea ((traditionally gold) one pound and one shilling
The Sovereign ((always solid gold) varies with the bullion price, say
40 poundish)

Hope that helps :-)



If you lived in complicated times, then I guess most of us have as well.
Thank you both (Helen and Gordon) for the explainations. I think I'd
still have a problem figuring it all out if I had to do the old system.
But it's more interesting and varied than the US system using base ten.

Pam S.

Tanada wrote:
dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers wrote:


Just my £0.02 :-)

Cheers, helen s


Would you call that "just my 2 pence?" Seriously, I'm curious about
the British monetary system. I've never really been able to
understand it. How many pence in a half crown, or a crown, how much
is a bob, and so forth? I can spend money in any language, I just
don't understand it.

Pam S. ignorant

The crown, half crown and bob (shilling) were pre-decimal coins, they
ceased in 1971. Now it's just 100 pennies to the pound. I still convert
prices to the old currency just to tease my mother, if she buys
something for 50p I say gosh, that's 10 shillings in real money.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera)
A house is not a home, without a cat.

Tanada wrote:
dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers wrote:


Just my £0.02 :-)

Cheers, helen s


Would you call that "just my 2 pence?" Seriously, I'm curious about
the British monetary system. I've never really been able to
understand it. How many pence in a half crown, or a crown, how much
is a bob, and so forth? I can spend money in any language, I just
don't understand it.

Pam S. ignorant

The crown, half crown and bob (shilling) were pre-decimal coins, they
ceased in 1971. Now it's just 100 pennies to the pound. I still convert
prices to the old currency just to tease my mother, if she buys
something for 50p I say gosh, that's 10 shillings in real money.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera)
A house is not a home, without a cat.

Tanada wrote:


If you lived in complicated times, then I guess most of us have as well.
Thank you both (Helen and Gordon) for the explainations. I think I'd
still have a problem figuring it all out if I had to do the old system.
But it's more interesting and varied than the US system using base ten.

As does the "metric" system. I've often wondered, though -
it's obvious that counting by base ten arose from the fact
that humans have ten fingers, but how did base twelve arise?
Was there a time in pre-history when people in Britain had
six fingers on each hand? (And when it comes to linear
measure, there are twelve inches to a foot.)