it was fifty years ago today! who can remember decimal day?

[two sheds]

I remember having a woodwork teacher who was keen on the old system because (he said) it was easier to divide a sum of money into equal parts to split between a number of people.

You can divide a pre-decimal pound into three lots of 6 shillings and 8 pence, but you can't divide a decimal one in the same way.

Yep and 12 divides by 2, 3, 4 and 6.

 

[Pickman's model]

Born in 72 so i don't remember schillings etc but i do remember half pence coins and pound notes. Also the coins used to say "new pence" on them.

You must have noticed the 5p's which said shilling on them. Or rather the shillings which were 5p's

 

[skyscraper101]

I was born in 81 so well after all this old money nonsense. But even as a kid I remember some old dude giving me change in the 80s describe a 5p as a shilling.

 

[skyscraper101]

No, I'm too young. I miss ha'pennies and pound notes though.

They should still have pound notes!! I hate coins with a passion.

 

[MrSki]

Half pence was popular when I was young and skint. Used for weighing a sixteenth. Still in circulation in the scales department till well into the 90s

 

[Pickman's model]

Half pence was popular when I was young and skint. Used for weighing a sixteenth. Still in circulation in the scales department till well into the 90s

Yeh the digital scales I first saw in Amsterdam thirty years ago faced stiff opposition from the penny and half penny used for weighing drugs

 

[Mation]

You must have noticed the 5p's which said shilling on them. Or rather the shillings which were 5p's

I was born a week and a day after it happened and don't remember seeing them, even if perhaps I was aware of them at some point.

 

[isvicthere?]

Wow. That is utterly bonkers!

I'd never heard of tanners, and had no idea how the other denominations were subdivided. I still don't, having read that

A tanner was sixpence (with the stress on the first syllable) which was half a shilling (or bob) and would be two and a half pence in the new money.

There was a group (in the '90s?) called Sixpence none the richer.

 

[isvicthere?]

I remember having a woodwork teacher who was keen on the old system because (he said) it was easier to divide a sum of money into equal parts to split between a number of people.

You can divide a pre-decimal pound into three lots of 6 shillings and 8 pence, but you can't divide a decimal one in the same way.

To confuse things further, in mediaeval times a mark existed, which was 6/8 (six shillings and eightpence) which equalled exactly a third of a pound.

 

[moochedit]

You must have noticed the 5p's which said shilling on them. Or rather the shillings which were 5p's

Yeah good point. i do remember that they were still legal tender and the old 2 shilling coin was worth 10p in "new money" iirc. Think they only stopped being legal tender when the 5p and 10p coins got smaller.

 

[NoXion]

so complicated !

Understanding old British money - pounds, shillings and pence

Before decimalization on 15 February 1971, there were twenty (20) shillings per pound.

The shilling was subdivided into twelve (12) pennies.

The penny was further sub-divided into two halfpennies or four farthings (quarter pennies).

More than a pound (£)

1 guinea and a £5.0.0 note​

1 guinea = £1-1s-0d ( £1/1/- ) = one pound and one shilling = 21 shillings or 21/- (which is £1.05 in todays money)

1 guinea could be written as '1g' or '1gn'.

A guinea was considered a more gentlemanly amount than £1. You paid tradesmen, such as a carpenter, in pounds but gentlemen, such as an artist, in guineas.

A third of a guinea equalled exactly seven shillings.

Less than a pound (£)

Shilling and pennies​

"Bob" is slang for shilling (which is 5p in todays money)

1 shilling equalled twelve pence (12d).

£1 (one pound) equalled 20 shillings (20s or 20/-)

240 pennies ( 240d ) = £1

There were 240 pennies to a pound because originally 240 silver penny coins weighed 1 pound (1lb).

A sum of £3 12s 6d was normally written as £3-12-6, but a sum of 12s 6d was normally recorded as 12/6.

Amounts less than a pound were also written as:

12/6 meaning 12s-6d

10/- meaning ten shillings.

An amount such as 12/6 would be pronounced 'twelve and six' as a more casual form of 'twelve shillings and sixpence'.

More than a Shilling (s. or /- )
Coins of more than one shilling ( 1/- ) but less than £1 in value were:

a florin (a two shillings or 2 bob or 2 bob bit)	10 x 2/- = £1
a half-crown ( 2/6d) (2 shillings and 6 pence)	8 x 2/6d = £1
a crown (5/-) (five shillings or 5 bob)	4 x 5/- = £1
a half-sovereign (ten shillings or 10 bob)	2 x 10/- = £1
a half-guinea (10/6d) (10 shillings and 6 pence)	2 x 10/6d = £1/1/-

Less than a Shilling (s. or /- )​

Other coins of a value less than 1/- were	1/- (shilling) =
a half-groat (2d)	6 x 2d = 1/-
a threepenny bit (threepence) (3d) made of silver	4 x 3d. = 1/-
a groat (4d) There were four pennies in a groat	3 x 4d = 1/-
a sixpence (silver) often called a 'tanner'	2 x 6d = 1/-
a penny (copper) often called a 'copper'	12 x 1d = 1/-

The word threepence would often be pronounced as though there was only a single middle "e", therefore "thre-pence". The slang name for the coin was Joey.

Penny coins were referred to as 'coppers'

Less than a penny (d)
Pennies were broken down into other coins:

a farthing	= ¼ of a penny (1/4d)
a halfpenny (pronounced 'hay-p'ny')	= ½ of a penny (1/2d)

Farthing
Diameter : 20.0 mm ; Weight : 2.8 grams

Half Penny
Diameter : 25.0 mm ; Weight : 5.7 grams

Other names for coins
A shilling was often called a 'bob'.
"It cost me four bob."

Five shilling piece or crown was sometimes called a dollar

sixpence (silver) - often called a 'tanner'

A penny was often called a 'copper' after the metal it was minted from.

Old money conversions to money used today

• Sixpence - 2½p
• One shilling (or 'bob') - 5p
• Half a crown (2 shillings and sixpence) - 12½p
• One guinea - £1.05

That is absurd. The closest I've gotten to this nonsense was that time I found a half-penny. What the fuck would you buy with a half-penny? A quarter of a fizzy cola bottle?

 

[moochedit]

They should still have pound notes!! I hate coins with a passion.

When i was in america a few years back where they still have dollar notes they were a fucking pain when you got them in your change everywhere. I think i prefer coins.

 

[danny la rouge]

Yeah good point. i do remember that they were still legal tender and the old 2 shilling coin was worth 10p in "new money" iirc. Think they only stopped being legal tender when the 5p and 10p coins got smaller.

When 5p and 10p stopped being real.

 

[Spymaster]

What the fuck would you buy with a half-penny?

An aniseed ball.

 

[danny la rouge]

That is absurd. The closest I've gotten to this nonsense was that time I found a half-penny. What the fuck would you buy with a half-penny? A quarter of a fizzy cola bottle?

Two black jacks.

 

[existentialist]

I was born in '63, so I was just old enough to learn all about the prevailing currency and then have to learn the new one. Fortunately, I was a proper nerd, and loved the whole thing (including metrication, which was going on alongside). I thought the new system was fascinating, but ultimately disappointing - the charts of pennies-in-the-pound, etc were a lot more interesting before the change.

From my recollection, 50p coins were doing the rounds as early as 1969, possibly earlier - at the tender age of 5, my means did not extend to such vast sums.

There was a commemorative set of the new coins, which I deeply coveted, but was likewise far out of reach. And I recall them swapping out all the Lsd plastic money in the play shop for new money. I also recall being completely baffled at people's confusion and resistance to the change.

Meanwhile, I was learning every metric-to-imperial conversion factor off by heart

 

[existentialist]

Two black jacks.

Which was a con, because they'd been 4 for an old penny prior to decimalisation

 

[Espresso]

They should still have pound notes!! I hate coins with a passion.

I was in Jersey before all of this and got a few pound notes as change in pubs. Very pleasing.

 

[danny la rouge]

Which was a con, because they'd been 8 for a penny prior to decimalisation

Dinosaur. Get with decimalisation, grandpa.

 

[existentialist]

Dinosaur. Get with decimalisation, grandpa.

There were a LOT of old ladies who were absolutely convinced they were being fleeced every time they bought something!

 

[Steel Icarus]

That is absurd. The closest I've gotten to this nonsense was that time I found a half-penny. What the fuck would you buy with a half-penny? A quarter of a fizzy cola bottle?

Obviously you could get more for your money. Three jelly teddies cost 1p, a Mojo was 2p, and you could get a Mars for 9p

 

[WouldBe]

It was bonkers. 12 pennies to a shilling. 20 shillings to a pound. A tanner was 6 pence and a florin was 2 shillings.

A crown was 5 shillings and there was a half crown as well.

 

[prunus]

You could still use florins up to 1993 - they were those odd 10p coins one saw with decreasing frequency that had “two shillings” written on them. I’ve got one here

 

[NoXion]

Obviously you could get more for your money. Three jelly teddies cost 1p, a Mojo was 2p, and you could get a Mars for 9p

Do you know how much a Mars bar weighed back then?

 

[danny la rouge]

There were a LOT of old ladies who were absolutely convinced they were being fleeced every time they bought something!

I remember. I remember my teacher telling us how lucky we were to be young and how hard it would be for older people.

We’d had plastic replicas of the new money to play at placing on pictures of the various denominations since the start of the school year the previous August. It was the day we’d been waiting for when common sense would prevail and Britain would emerge from the Dark Ages.

 

[ElizabethofYork]

That is absurd. The closest I've gotten to this nonsense was that time I found a half-penny. What the fuck would you buy with a half-penny? A quarter of a fizzy cola bottle?

 

[Artaxerxes]

 

[Artaxerxes]

That is absurd. The closest I've gotten to this nonsense was that time I found a half-penny. What the fuck would you buy with a half-penny? A quarter of a fizzy cola bottle?

Two black jacks.

I do genuinely miss pick n mix in shops, the only time I ever see it is those overpriced tourist retro shops or the cinema.

 

[Mation]

A crown was 5 shillings and there was a half crown as well.

I read that as a crown was 5 shillings and a half crown was as well, which just about sums up my level of confusion

 

[Steel Icarus]

Do you know how much a Mars bar weighed back then?

No idea, probably about a stone if it had been in my grandma's fridge