General Chat

Seems a silly question to ask but what does the d mean? Pounds, pence?

Pence

I thought it was shillings and I can only just remember them:) Heather

Thanks. Seems a very confusing system.

I was wrong then, pence it is. I learn something new everyday on here :) Heather

Dan, £ = Libra; s = solidus; d = denarius in Latin £ = Pounds sterling; s = shillings; d = pence 4 farthings = 2 halfpennies (ha'pennies) = 1 penny (plural - pence) 240 pence = 20 shillings = £1 12 pence = 1 shilling 1 guinea = £1.1s.0d 1 crown = 5 shillings; half-a-crown = 2s 6d Slang terms - a quid = £1, a bob = a shilling, a tanner = 6d (there was a sixpenny piece), three ha'pence short of a bob = not quite the shilling = not all there. Hope this helps. CB >|<

There was alse a Two Shilling Coin,Called a 'Florin'Twenty Four old pence. Hal.

Lee, If I remember right,on the one side there was a Cross,and on each side of it there was the emblems of England ,Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and in the centre was the Crown of England. Happy days,it was worth something then.It was my Pocket money every week.Hal.

I forgot about the 'threpp'ny bit' (or throop'ny bit, depending on where you came from) - a 12-sided small brass coin worth three pence. Paper money was very different as well. As well as pound notes and five pound notes, we had ten shilling notes which equate to a 50p coin now, as half of one pound. I can remember, as a child in the 1950s, my big brother was given a £5 note for his first Christmas bonus, after he started work. It was a very large piece of white paper and something rarely seen in our house, as it was worth quite a lot of money in those days. I used to get half-a-crown pocket money each week from my Dad, two shillings (a florin) from my Mum and sixpence from my brother, making 5 shillings in all, which was written as 5/- then. CB >|<

The florin was introduced decades ago, as the first stage of decimalisation, being one tenth of a pound. That was as far as it got! The half crown was never withdrawn and the new coinage to split the florin into ten was never introduced.

Sorry Brian You,re wrong,I,m not that young,Wish I were. Hal.

I've updated my message above. We're talking long, long ago, way before the EU and all that. 1849, in fact. Google 'florin'. Harold, you ARE too young: by about a century! Lol.

Was just discussing this at the weekend with a friend who wanted a complete set of pre decimal coins. We found him one on Monday and had a very nostalgic Monday evening! I used to get 6d pocket money per week, so some of you did pretty well I reckon! As a special treat when I visited my grandparents we went to the cinema 3d bus fare there and back, 3d for the film and 3d for sweets - a whole shilling each! School dinners were paid for in class on Monday mornings and were 2/-6d for the whole week! Much more fun! Daisy

the' throopeny bit' ie threepeny piece was called a Joey. And a Sixpence was called a tanner 7 shilling was called a Bob The old coinage was my era !!!. Shirley

Wasn't it difficult, getting to grips with the new money? I'd just got married and got my own home to run, so I was into budgeting in a big way, and the new money didn't help at all. Typical of me to pick the most inconvenient time! CB >|<

Chris Think we must be although I reckon my parents were a bit tight with the old pocket money so shall be asking for extra next time I see them! lol Daisy

My Mother didn't teach me the old money but I do remember getting a sixpence from the tooth fairy. I can also remember the duel pricing on products. (Well Golden Wonder cheese and onion crisps with the 6d crossed out and 2 1/2 p written underneath)

How about a simple addition for you young ones out there? With the info that you've been given here - how much is 3s 6d + 4s 7d + 17s 10d?? Toffee for those with the right answer.

Trish 25s 11d Lynne

In 1971, when decimalisation finally came in, I was seconded to the tax department for a few months. My main job was to convert all the investment schedules from LSD to decimal: after a few days I could convert any figure without reference to charts!