On Wed, Jan 29, 2003 at 03:31:58AM -0600, will trillich wrote: > On Tue, Jan 28, 2003 at 04:13:56PM +0000, Pigeon wrote: > > 1 pound = 240 (old) pennies > > 1 pound = 100 new pennies > > Quid = pound (slang) > > Pence = alternative form of Pennies > > Shilling = 12 old pennies = 5 new pennies > > Half-crown = 2/6 (2 shillings and 6 pence), 30 old pennies, 12.5 new > > pennies > > Bob = shilling (slang) > > Hapenny = half-penny (elision) > > Thruppenny bit = 3 (old) penny coin > > so (old) 1 pound/quid was 20 shillings/bobs, each of which was > 12 pence/pennies, for a total of 240 pence/d; a crown would have > been 4bob+12d (60d, or 1/4quid, also 15 thrupenny).
You wouldn't tend to say "x bob and ..."; "x shillings and y pence" was usually pronounced "x and y" or "x and ypence", so a crown would have been "four and twelvepence", except that 12d == 1s, so a crown was actually five shillings. "Quid" tends not to be used with fractions. "Five quid", yes; "1/4 quid", no. Oh, and neither "bob" nor "quid" normally takes an "s" in the plural. > and the new system has much less romance: > > 1? = 100p, woo hoo (no bob?) I think I might have heard "bob" still used for 5p, but I wouldn't swear to it. The term's sometimes still used by older people to refer to an unspecified small amount of money. I don't fall into that category, though; I just about remember ha'pennies before they were abolished in 1984. -- Colin Watson [[EMAIL PROTECTED]] -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
