Sorting through a load (and I mean load!) of ephemera at the moment, amassed over the last 50 years and came across this Private Eye from 1965......................
Funny pictures Page 93
I wonder if that's why W H Smith stopped selling it?
Fortunately there were other, less smug, retail outlets.
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 21st September 2019, 3:59 PMSorting through a load (and I mean load!) of ephemera at the moment, amassed over the last 50 years and came across this Private Eye from 1965......................
Blimey that is risque for 1965. I only know currency post decimalisation so what does 1/6 mean? Is it one crown and one sixpence? Or a ha'penny?
Did a price of number/number mean two coins were needed as in one and six?
Quote: Definitely Tarby @ 21st September 2019, 11:01 PMBlimey that is risque for 1965. I only know currency post decimalisation so what does 1/6 mean? Is it one crown and one sixpence? Or a ha'penny?
Did a price of number/number mean two coins were needed as in one and six?
Oh dear, it's so simple for me as I lived with it for a lot of my life and find it strange (no offence!! 
) that young people (yes, you're young to me ) don't understand it.
You read it as "One and six", which is one shilling and sixpence or 18 pence (12 pennies in one shilling) - 7½p in today's decimal currency. Properly, it should read 1/6d, but then of course we all knew what they meant.
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 22nd September 2019, 12:22 AM
You read it as it says "One and six", which is one shilling and sixpence or 18 pence (12 pennies in one shilling) - 7½p in today's decimal currency. Properly, it should read 1/6d, but then of course we all knew what they meant.
EDIT (later Sunday morning) :-
And while I have a spare few minutes, this is the money pre decimal..................
¼d = quarter of a penny, called the "farthing" and went out of circulation in 1969
½d = half penny, called the "ha'penny" (pronounced "haypnee") and also went out of circulation in 1969
The rest of the coins were phased out post decimal day in 1971, except for the shilling and florin, which were gradually phased out as the new 5p and 10p coins took over.
1d = one penny
3d = three pennies, called the "thrupenny bit" and was twelve-sided as the newer current pound coin is.
6d = six pennies, called the "tanner"
1/- = 12 pennies, called the "bob", and this carried on for awhile as a supplement to the decimal 5p
2/- = two shillings called "couple of bob" or less known as the "florin", and this carried on for a while as a supplement to the decimal 10p
2/6 = two shillings and sixpence called the "half a crown" or "half a dollar", which gets its name from the days when the crown (5/-) was in circulation and one US dollar was worth five shillings.
5/- = five shillings and called the "crown" but was not in circulation and only issued as a commemorative coin
10/- = ten shillings and called "ten bob" or "ten bob note" because this was paper money. ALSO called "half a knicker", which gave rise to many a musical hall joke viz............................
"I say, I say, why can't a lady with a wooden leg give change for a £1?"
"I don't know, why can't a lady with a wooden leg give change for a pound?"
"Cos she's only got half a knicker"
"I don't wish to know that, kindly leave the stage"
Went out of circulation in late 1970 and replaced by the 50p piece in preparation for the decimal currency in 1971.
£1 = 20 shillings, also paper money and called usually a "pound" or "quid" or less known as a "(k)nicker" - NOW WHY it was called a "(k)nicker" there is a lot of debate and you can find MANY explanations on'tinternet.
ALSO, it was usually used in the plural, i.e. you would say "Give us a quid" not "Give us a knicker" and vice versa you wouldn't say "Give us ten quid(s)", you would say "Give us ten knicker". (I stress the "usual" before anyone contradicts me!)
Life was complicated then.............
Then we had the £5 note and £10 note and the rarely seen (!) £20 note as we do today, but in paper of course.
And there you have it, but if you'll indulge me - I'd like to have a late rant (again)
NOW, most of the people in the money market (banks etc.) urged the government to base the new decimal coinage (15th February 1971 - my birthday so am never likely to forget it) on the 10/- (HELLO, ten shillings - 10 - decimal) BUT OH NO the faceless suits in government blundered ahead with basing it on the £1, resulting in much confusion with the elderly (and not so elderly!) with some retailers etc. taking advantage of this. And why?.....................
Well, we now had 100 pennies to the pound instead of 240, whereas IF they had based it on the 10/- (HELLO, ten shillings - 10 - decimal) we would have still had in effect 200 pennies to the pound, which was far nearer of course to the pre decimal coinage.** (See below).
The main and only LIMP argument was it seems tradition in that we'd always had "The Pound", but there was no reason why they couldn't have called the 10 bob a Pound. As I say, anyone IN the money game urged this, but oh no effin' bureaucrats got their way.
**For example, the 2/- piece was now worth only 10 pence, and the new 20p coin is 2/-? No, that's 4/-. May all sound a bit "storm in a tea cup" now but it made for a lot of unhappy and/or unscrupulous people.
There, feel better now.............now where's me eye mask and CD of "Crashing Waves on Seashore"..............
15th. February, 1971 to be exact. I remember it well for various other reasons.
Prices greater than one pound were usually written as pounds shillings and pence. £2-18-9 not as you might expect from above £2-18/9
~~~~~~~
You missed out that briefly after decimalization there was an oddity; a half-new-pence coin, basically to give the 200 coins per pound situation.
It didn't last long.
Interestingly, I think that the modern 5p coin now buys less than the half-new-penny did in 1971, therefor indicating that our 'copper' coins are not worth the effort of minting or spending.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NO, they were (IMO) right to base the currency on the POUND, (not 10 shillings) It would have caused even more confusion (and also mess on the currency markets) if the pound had suddenly dropped to half its value. We would have needed a new name such as Libra for the decimal base unit and lots of people would probably have wanted the name "dollar"
Quote: Briosaid @ 22nd September 2019, 11:24 AM15th. February, 1971 to be exact. I remember it well for various other reasons.
Is that not what I said..................................
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 22nd September 2019, 11:00 AMEDIT (later Sunday morning) ................decimal coinage (15th February 1971 - my birthday so am never likely to forget it)
Quote: billwill @ 22nd September 2019, 12:54 PMPrices greater than one pound were usually written as pounds shillings and pence. £2-18-9 not as you might expect from above £2-18/9
OK, but not to confuse things, I was referring to the small coinage up to £1
You missed out that briefly after decimalization there was an oddity; a half-new-pence coin, basically to give the 200 coins per pound situation.
Again, OK but I didn't want to get in to decimal coinage as the original OP was about pre decimal
It didn't last long.
The most useless coin The Mint ever brought out, but that never stops them blundering ahead
NO, they were (IMO) right to base the currency on the POUND, (not 10 shillings) It would have caused even more confusion (and also mess on the currency markets) if the pound had suddenly dropped to half its value. We would have needed a new name such as Libra for the decimal base unit and lots of people would probably have wanted the name "dollar"
Don't agree Bill (natch) and at the time, as I said, most of the people in the money world said it was wrong. Why would it have caused more confusion to the heaving masses? 10d = 10p etc. etc. What could be simpler? Why would they have wanted the name "dollar"?
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 22nd September 2019, 2:59 PMIs that not what I said..................................
Yes. Sorry, I skim read it.
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 22nd September 2019, 11:00 AMEDIT (later Sunday morning) :-
And while I have a spare few minutes, this is the money pre decimal..................
¼d = quarter of a penny, called the "farthing" and went out of circulation in 1969
½d = half penny, called the "ha'penny" (pronounced "haypnee") and also went out of circulation in 1969
The rest of the coins were phased out post decimal day in 1971, except for the shilling and florin, which were gradually phased out as the new 5p and 10p coins took over.
1d = one penny
3d = three pennies, called the "thrupenny bit" and was twelve-sided as the newer current pound coin is.
6d = six pennies, called the "tanner"
1/- = 12 pennies, called the "bob", and this carried on for awhile as a supplement to the decimal 5p
2/- = two shillings called "couple of bob" or less known as the "florin", and this carried on for a while as a supplement to the decimal 10p
2/6 = two shillings and sixpence called the "half a crown" or "half a dollar", which gets its name from the days when the crown (5/-) was in circulation and one US dollar was worth five shillings.
5/- = five shillings and called the "crown" but was not in circulation and only issued as a commemorative coin
10/- = ten shillings and called "ten bob" or "ten bob note" because this was paper money. ALSO called "half a knicker", which gave rise to many a musical hall joke viz............................
"I say, I say, why can't a lady with a wooden leg give change for a £1?"
"I don't know, why can't a lady with a wooden leg give change for a pound?"
"Cos she's only got half a knicker"
"I don't wish to know that, kindly leave the stage"
Went out of circulation in late 1970 and replaced by the 50p piece in preparation for the decimal currency in 1971.£1 = 20 shillings, also paper money and called usually a "pound" or "quid" or less known as a "(k)nicker" - NOW WHY it was called a "(k)nicker" there is a lot of debate and you can find MANY explanations on'tinternet.
ALSO, it was usually used in the plural, i.e. you would say "Give us a quid" not "Give us a knicker" and vice versa you wouldn't say "Give us ten quid(s)", you would say "Give us ten knicker". (I stress the "usual" before anyone contradicts me!)
Life was complicated then.............Then we had the £5 note and £10 note and the rarely seen (!) £20 note as we do today, but in paper of course.
And there you have it, but if you'll indulge me - I'd like to have a late rant (again)
NOW, most of the people in the money market (banks etc.) urged the government to base the new decimal coinage (15th February 1971 - my birthday so am never likely to forget it) on the 10/- (HELLO, ten shillings - 10 - decimal) BUT OH NO the faceless suits in government blundered ahead with basing it on the £1, resulting in much confusion with the elderly (and not so elderly!) with some retailers etc. taking advantage of this. And why?.....................
Well, we now had 100 pennies to the pound instead of 240, whereas IF they had based it on the 10/- (HELLO, ten shillings - 10 - decimal) we would have still had in effect 200 pennies to the pound, which was far nearer of course to the pre decimal coinage.** (See below).
The main and only LIMP argument was it seems tradition in that we'd always had "The Pound", but there was no reason why they couldn't have called the 10 bob a Pound. As I say, anyone IN the money game urged this, but oh no effin' bureaucrats got their way.**For example, the 2/- piece was now worth only 10 pence, and the new 20p coin is 2/-? No, that's 4/-. May all sound a bit "storm in a tea cup" now but it made for a lot of unhappy and/or unscrupulous people.
There, feel better now.............now where's me eye mask and CD of "Crashing Waves on Seashore"..............
Cheers for the info Herc and that was a damn interesting read with a cuppa Also a great reference point for the avid pub quizzer so worth a re-read or two. When I was at college we were rehearsing a play and the word ha'penny featured a lot but none of us knew how it was pronounced so we were all saying it like it's written - ha penny. Eventually the tutor couldn't take it anymore and told us all we were being muppets and it's pronounced haypnee.
Quote: Definitely Tarby @ 22nd September 2019, 4:57 PMCheers for the info Herc and that was a damn interesting read with a cuppa
Cheeky beggar - how were you to know?
Anyway, to certain things..........................
Glad you like it Tarbs - made it all worthwhile.
As you might use that info. in quizzes, there was one other coin, that was just before even my time and that was the predecessor to the 12-sided thrupenny bit (3d) and that was the round silver thrupence, which was sometimes called a "Joey" or "Silver Joey". Prior to around 1944/45, as with all the silver coins of that time they were actually 50% silver AND prior to 1920 they were nearly pure silver and people had then to decide to keep them for their possible rarity OR melt them down for the metal.
Like I said, life was complicated then.
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 22nd September 2019, 5:25 PMCheeky beggar - how were you to know?
Anyway, to certain things..........................
Glad you like it Tarbs - made it all worthwhile.
As you might use that info. in quizzes, there was one other coin, that was just before even my time and that was the predecessor to the 12-sided thrupenny bit (3d) and that was the round silver thrupence, which was sometimes called a "Joey" or "Silver Joey". Prior to around 1944/45, as with all the silver coins of that time they were actually 50% silver AND prior to 1920 they were nearly pure silver and people had then to decide to keep them for their possible rarity OR melt them down for the metal.
Like I said, life was complicated then.
I used to have a silver thuppenny with Queen Victoria on it. I must trawl about and see if I can find it - it might be worth something.
Quote: Briosaid @ 22nd September 2019, 5:57 PMI used to have a silver thuppenny with Queen Victoria on it. I must trawl about and see if I can find it - it might be worth something.
I wouldn't book those world cruise tickets yet
Funnily enough, we have just cleared out my wifes aged aunties house.
She, sadly has moved to a respite home suffering from advanced dementia. and is unlikely to ever return.
Stowed away were lots of heavy cash bags. Each had a different pre-decimal coin in them (hundreds of them)
Threepenny bits, half crowns and pennies etc.
A quick search on't net and the threepenny bits aren't even worth 3p each.
THis treasure trove will not be on the news.