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

[isvicthere?]

How much was a deutschmark worth back then?

About 25p.

 

[NoXion]

Funny that, nobody ever says kilometres.

It's quicker to say "klicks".

 

[Skin1]

Remember going to the local shop and getting some wonderfully shiny coins in change.....

 

[A380]

I was three when we went decimal so no. There was a second hand book shop run by mad bloke in Watford that still charged in old money till the mid 8os. His shop was basically a massive pile of cooks in trestle tables, but he could find any item of stock. Then say two and six, or whatever.

My mum still goes on about ‘4o shilling loaves of bread!’ and she’s not at all backward looking apart from that.

 

[two sheds]

I was three when we went decimal so no. There was a second hand book shop run by mad bloke in Watford that still charged in old money till the mid 8os. His shop was basically a massive pile of cooks in trestle tables, but he could find any item of stick. Then say two and six, or whatever.

My mum still goes on about ‘4o shilling loaves of bread!’ and she’s not at all backward looking apart from that.

"Backward looking?" "BACKWARD LOOKING?"

She's a traditionalist, a lover of our heritage, a history buff.

 

[pseudonarcissus]

I remember paying the coal man with a new 50p coin, which was very exciting.
In the launderette I used in Barrow in the mid ‘80s, the machine that dispensed a cup of soap powder had a sign saying “insert two florins”, that’s probably the last time I was conscious of old money.

ETA: I’m 53 1/2

 

[isvicthere?]

There was a theatre-pub in Islington that for years after decimilisation insisted on pricing up their pints in £sd. I was in there in the 80s to watch a comedy act and it was a pain in the arse trying to re-learn all the stuff I'd spent years unlearning from when I was a nipper. Fortunately the bar staff helped me count it up. It was a quaint gimmick at the time and I'm sure they made such silliness illegal not long after. Let's face it, when you're half cut, it was a nightmare to work out that shit and made it wide open to getting ripped off. Fucking Islington eh

I know the place. They were still doing the "old money till" thing in the mid-'90s.

 

[Serge Forward]

I suddenly realised, I still occasionally call 50p "ten bob"

 

[Spymaster]

The bob/shilling thing confused me terribly. I knew as a kid that 5p coins had “one shilling” on them, and that 5p was a “bob” and a “bob” was also a shilling. So I couldn’t get my head around why there were 12 pennies in a shilling and not 5.

 

[brogdale]

The bob/shilling thing confused me terribly. I knew as a kid that 5p coins had “one shilling” on them, and that 5p was a “bob” and a “bob” was also a shilling. So I couldn’t get my head around why there were 12 pennies in a shilling and not 5.

Those of us starting school in the mid 60's were, for a while, taught the duel systems of money & measurements.
I blame my ensuing confusion with Maths on this muddling mash-up.

 

[pseudonarcissus]

The bob/shilling thing confused me terribly. I knew as a kid that 5p coins had “one shilling” on them, and that 5p was a “bob” and a “bob” was also a shilling. So I couldn’t get my head around why there were 12 pennies in a shilling and not 5.

Ana sixpences, how the hell did they stay in circulation so long? A 2.5p coin, for goodness sake

 

[existentialist]

Ana sixpences, how the hell did they stay in circulation so long? A 2.5p coin, for goodness sake

There was an outcry about the humble tanner. I was dimly aware of the fuss, but didn't understand it at age 7 - I mean who wouldn't want SHINY NEW MONEY? I was quite naive, then

 

[Serge Forward]

And once the tanner was gone, what the fuck were you meant to put in your Christmas pud?

 

[danny la rouge]

Ana sixpences, how the hell did they stay in circulation so long? A 2.5p coin, for goodness sake

I used to bring a sixpence to school to pay for the school milk. Many tabloid newspapers were 2 and 1/2p. A packet of Quavers was 2 and 1/2p. It was a useful coin. Things did cost 2 and 1/2p.

 

[brogdale]

I used to bring a sixpence to school to pay for the school milk. Many tabloid newspapers were 2 and 1/2p. A packet of Quavers was 2 and 1/2p. It was a useful coin. Things did cost 2 and 1/2p.

Paying for school milk.

 

[Dr. Furface]

There was a theatre-pub in Islington that for years after decimilisation insisted on pricing up their pints in £sd. I was in there in the 80s to watch a comedy act and it was a pain in the arse trying to re-learn all the stuff I'd spent years unlearning from when I was a nipper. Fortunately the bar staff helped me count it up. It was a quaint gimmick at the time and I'm sure they made such silliness illegal not long after. Let's face it, when you're half cut, it was a nightmare to work out that shit and made it wide open to getting ripped off. Fucking Islington eh

I remember it well, it was the famous Kings Head. They used to have this antique till that rang the price up in old money and you then tried to figure out what the fuck you owed - though like you say, the bar staff would often do it for you, otherwise it could take forever. Must've been a pain in the arse to work there. It wasn't a regular haunt of mine but I think they were still doing it into the 90's.

 

[isvicthere?]

I suddenly realised, I still occasionally call 50p "ten bob"

I know someone (born 1956) who still refers to something of low quality as "two bob."

 

[isvicthere?]

Those of us starting school in the mid 60's were, for a while, taught the duel systems of money & measurements.
I blame my ensuing confusion with Maths on this muddling mash-up.

In about 1965-6, when l first did sums in the old money, l got them all wrong, because l incorrectly calculated shillings as a unit of 10. Was l ever ahead of the curve!

 

[og ogilby]

The old coins are still handy to help describe when you are shitting yourself.

My arse was going sixpence half a crown.

 

[Spymaster]

I know someone (born 1956) who still refers to something of low quality as "two bob."

That's pretty common now around here even with folk my age who grew up in the 70s/80s.

"I wouldn't give you 2 bob for it" means that whatever you're offering is shit, or "he drives a 2 bob motor".

 

[isvicthere?]

That's pretty common now around here even with folk my age who grew up in the 70s/80s.

"I wouldn't give you 2 bob for it" means that whatever you're offering is shit.

Also, I was surprised, teaching in East London in the ´90s, when a kid (born early ´80s) dismissed a gay person in the public eye as "bent as a nine bob note," a phrase he apparently had picked up from his grandfather.

 

[Espresso]

I know I say "Not got a shilling" when I am skint. Seeing as I was only a toddler when they did away with old money, I am fairly sure that I have never, ever had a shilling.
Suppose it must just be the vernacular in my family.

 

[andysays]

Also, I was surprised, teaching in East London in the ´90s, when a kid (born early ´80s) dismissed a gay person in the public eye as "bent as a nine bob note," a phrase he apparently had picked up from his grandfather.

That expression doesn't just refer to 'bent' in that sense, it also (and I suspect originally) meant fake or false.

And I like that the expression remains in use long after the thing it refers to is obsolete.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Also, I was surprised, teaching in East London in the ´90s, when a kid (born early ´80s) dismissed a gay person in the public eye as "bent as a nine bob note," a phrase he apparently had picked up from his grandfather.

And, of course, we have a long-term urb called 'nine bob note'.

 

[Serge Forward]

Or as my dad used to say when I'd done or said something daft, "you're not a full shilling."

 

[two sheds]

And once the tanner was gone, what the fuck were you meant to put in your Christmas pud?

A piece of broken glass would have a similar effect on your teeth.

 

[Spymaster]

I know I say "Not got a shilling" when I am skint. Seeing as I was only a toddler when they did away with old money, I am fairly sure that I have never, ever had a shilling.
Suppose it must just be the vernacular in my family.

Strangely, Americans often refer to pennies rather than cents in their speech. Phrases like "not a penny more, not a penny less", "every penny counts", "penny pinching" and similar, are very much in common usage in the U.S. despite the fact that they haven't had pennies in their currency since 1793.

 

[two sheds]

A mate when I worked in the Netherlands was criticized on the quality of a piece of his artwork that he'd had to rush through and said "Well what do you expect for ten bob?"

 

[Doodler]

Remember seeing some French and Italian coins for the first time and comparing them with the hefty pre-decimal British coins. I had a boyish nationalistic feeling that Britain must be better than those countries because their coins were smaller than ours. Also, one of the French coins in particular was made out of some dull grey metal that weighed almost nothing. I hadn't been to France but felt it must be pretty bad there if that was the best they could do.

 

[isvicthere?]

That's pretty common now around here even with folk my age who grew up in the 70s/80s.

"I wouldn't give you 2 bob for it" means that whatever you're offering is shit, or "he drives a 2 bob motor".

Also, a footballer with Cruyff-ian or Georgie Best-ian movement can still be said to "turn on a sixpence."