Comments on: The British Monetary System, Demystified http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/07/29/the-british-monetary-system-demystified/ personal finance that makes cents Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:21:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: tahrey http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/07/29/the-british-monetary-system-demystified/#comment-97761 tahrey Mon, 17 Sep 2007 02:04:14 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/07/29/the-british-monetary-system-demystified/#comment-97761 or in other words 1 dickensian farthing = 1 dollar at 2007 exchange rates, should that make the sums more meaningful to anyone! also, my kingdom for an edit button! or in other words 1 dickensian farthing = 1 dollar at 2007 exchange rates, should that make the sums more meaningful to anyone!

also, my kingdom for an edit button!

]]> By: tahrey http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/07/29/the-british-monetary-system-demystified/#comment-97760 tahrey Mon, 17 Sep 2007 02:02:08 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/07/29/the-british-monetary-system-demystified/#comment-97760 (a quick calculation shows that the half farthing, at first sight a tiny worthless coin, would buy at least 26p of similar-value goods in the modern world, taking the famous £20-a-year dickens quote as a basis and comparing it to a roughly £10,000 minimum wage in 2007... so it may still have been a comparitively coarse measure, but I'll bet things were somewhat more expensive all round at the time, with few luxuries for the lower classes and the primary concern being to earn enough to stay adequately - let alone comfortably - fed, clothed and housed) (a quick calculation shows that the half farthing, at first sight a tiny worthless coin, would buy at least 26p of similar-value goods in the modern world, taking the famous £20-a-year dickens quote as a basis and comparing it to a roughly £10,000 minimum wage in 2007… so it may still have been a comparitively coarse measure, but I’ll bet things were somewhat more expensive all round at the time, with few luxuries for the lower classes and the primary concern being to earn enough to stay adequately - let alone comfortably - fed, clothed and housed)

]]> By: tahrey http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/07/29/the-british-monetary-system-demystified/#comment-97759 tahrey Mon, 17 Sep 2007 01:57:24 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/07/29/the-british-monetary-system-demystified/#comment-97759 You missed a slight trick there in showing how shillings compared to pence - i.e. 12d to the s (no, i have no idea why it was abbreviated 'd'... can only assume its some french/latin holdover such as pounds using 'lb' for weight and the L-like £ for money). 4 farthings = 1 pence 12 pence = 1 shilling (48 farthings) 20 shillings = 1 pound (240 pence, 960 farthings) 1 pound 1 shilling = 1 guinea It was nothing if not flexible, and has similarities in various ways to binary and the base-60 organisation of time (with a common root in 12, and divisions/factors of it). A lot of old counting systems were divided this way rather than decimally as it made simple divisions by 2, 3, 4, (5,) 6, etc a whole lot easier, and though the multiplication mathematics may seem tricky at first, its a piece of cake when you memorise a few times-tables (same as binary :)) Not sure why the weights and measures system is organised differently though! Something that cost you a pound (or a shilling) for a pound weight would be difficult to pay for with a certain number of shillings (or pence) if you only wanted an ounce (1/16th)... and no word on if there was ever a larger measure of currency than the pound - admittedly a huge sum at the time (1 victorian pound = about £500 today) e.g. the stone :) Many of the coinage conventions and slang words carried over for quite a while following decimalisation in the 70s, where things were rationalised for familiarity somewhat, using the 20s = £1 approach, such that an unofficial shilling was now 5p not 12d. I've come variously into contact with some old coins recieved accidentally in change, and e.g. the old half penny is a good match for a modern 2p, florins for (old, large) 10p's, shillings for 5p's, so on and so forth... these have seemingly only gone out of use in the last 10-15 years, probably because they were being hung onto by people of my grandmother's age and older. Strangely, though the 1 + 2p are the only surviving 'copper' coins, matching the old scheme, a 50p (eg half sovereign) is silver, not gold, and a pound coin is considerably weightier than the old sovereigns, possibly due to not being made out of gold, but mostly a tin alloy plated with gilt. You missed a slight trick there in showing how shillings compared to pence - i.e. 12d to the s (no, i have no idea why it was abbreviated ‘d’… can only assume its some french/latin holdover such as pounds using ‘lb’ for weight and the L-like £ for money).

4 farthings = 1 pence
12 pence = 1 shilling (48 farthings)
20 shillings = 1 pound (240 pence, 960 farthings)
1 pound 1 shilling = 1 guinea

It was nothing if not flexible, and has similarities in various ways to binary and the base-60 organisation of time (with a common root in 12, and divisions/factors of it). A lot of old counting systems were divided this way rather than decimally as it made simple divisions by 2, 3, 4, (5,) 6, etc a whole lot easier, and though the multiplication mathematics may seem tricky at first, its a piece of cake when you memorise a few times-tables (same as binary :))

Not sure why the weights and measures system is organised differently though! Something that cost you a pound (or a shilling) for a pound weight would be difficult to pay for with a certain number of shillings (or pence) if you only wanted an ounce (1/16th)… and no word on if there was ever a larger measure of currency than the pound - admittedly a huge sum at the time (1 victorian pound = about £500 today) e.g. the stone :)

Many of the coinage conventions and slang words carried over for quite a while following decimalisation in the 70s, where things were rationalised for familiarity somewhat, using the 20s = £1 approach, such that an unofficial shilling was now 5p not 12d. I’ve come variously into contact with some old coins recieved accidentally in change, and e.g. the old half penny is a good match for a modern 2p, florins for (old, large) 10p’s, shillings for 5p’s, so on and so forth… these have seemingly only gone out of use in the last 10-15 years, probably because they were being hung onto by people of my grandmother’s age and older.

Strangely, though the 1 + 2p are the only surviving ‘copper’ coins, matching the old scheme, a 50p (eg half sovereign) is silver, not gold, and a pound coin is considerably weightier than the old sovereigns, possibly due to not being made out of gold, but mostly a tin alloy plated with gilt.

]]> By: JenK http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/07/29/the-british-monetary-system-demystified/#comment-87262 JenK Wed, 23 May 2007 23:14:23 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/07/29/the-british-monetary-system-demystified/#comment-87262 More on the Guinea here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_%28British_coin%29 It was the first gold coin, and the Pound Sovereign officially "replaced" it in the nineteenth century. More on the Guinea here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_%28British_coin%29

It was the first gold coin, and the Pound Sovereign officially “replaced” it in the nineteenth century.

]]> By: Get Rich Slowly » Thank You for Supporting Blogathon! http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/07/29/the-british-monetary-system-demystified/#comment-4493 Get Rich Slowly » Thank You for Supporting Blogathon! Sun, 30 Jul 2006 13:06:04 +0000 http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/07/29/the-british-monetary-system-demystified/#comment-4493 [...] The British monetary system, demystified, in which I provide a chart to explain the old system of pounds, groats, and farthings. [...] [...] The British monetary system, demystified, in which I provide a chart to explain the old system of pounds, groats, and farthings. [...]

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