Money was different when I was a boy.
It really was different.
It actually changed when decimalisation was introduced in the UK on 15 February 1971. The old currency system of pounds, shillings, and pence was replaced by a decimal system where the pound was divided into 100 new pence.
New coins were introduced from that date, although some had been in circulation two to three years prior.
Ha’penny: A coin that was worth 1/2 of a penny.
There were times when I had a lot of these, often saved in a jam jar.
Penny: A coin that was worth 1 penny. It was also called a copper.
There was a time when I would regularly take beer bottles back to the local off-licence shop and be given a penny for each. The bottle returns were a valuable source of income for a young lad back then. Mind you, I think it is possible that quite a few adults were wondering why I was encouraging them to drink more.
Also, the name of Miss Moneypenny in the Bond films.
Thrupence: A coin that was worth 3 pence.
Known as a joey, but I don’t remember ever calling it that. A twelve-sided coin with character. Having some of these was a step up from the humble penny.
Tanner: A coin that was worth 6 pence.
The coin was small, silver, and shiny. From what I can remember, it was very easy to lose, especially if you had a hole in your pocket. I suppose that the modern-day equivalent would be the five-pence coin.
It was sometimes referred to as an “Elsie”, after a character named Elsie Tanner in the popular television soap, Coronation Street. Well, that’s what it was called in our house.
Bob: A coin that was worth 1 shilling.Now we are talking. Bob was one of my best mates back then.
There was bob-a-job week. This was a term used by the Boy Scouts, who, for offering their services, would be paid a shilling. I wasn’t in the Boy Scouts but would take advantage of it to earn some extra money. The money they raised usually went to charity.
The money I raised went on sweets, or to the local toy shop.
Florin: A coin worth 2 shillings or 2 bob.
As the saying goes, two Bobs are better than one (I may have made that one up).
Half-crown: A coin worth 2 and 1/2 shillings.
Sometimes called a half dollar. The good old half-crown. If your pocket money was being measured in crowns, you were on the up.
Crown: A coin worth 5 shillings or 5 bob. Sixty old pence.
This was a full dollar, and the origin of the name goes back to the Spanish dollar. If you were given a crown when you were a child, it was probably your birthday or Christmas.
Ten Bob Note: A banknote worth 10 shillings.
The old ten-bob note, long gone, but not forgotten. I was occasionally given one for doing chores around the home. I probably didn’t deserve it.
Quid: A banknote worth a pound. Often called a quid, or nicker.
Now we are getting into the big money. The only time I would see a note of any value was when my parents opened their wage packet at the end of the week, usually Friday.
5 Quid: A banknote worth 5 pounds. A fiver.
These were rare, even for my parents.
10 Quid: A banknote worth 10 pounds. A tenner.
The gold standard. You were probably rich if you had plenty of these.
20 Quid: A banknote worth 20 pounds. A score.
Not many of these were seen where I lived. So rare, they might be folklore.
50 Quid: A banknote worth 50 pounds.
The holy grail. And just like the Holy Grail, impossible to find.
One pound equals twenty shillings.
One shilling = twelve pence.
And there were two hundred and forty pence to a pound.
When we changed to decimalisation, the new system divided the pound into 100 new pence.
The new coins were, half pence, one pence, two pence, five pence, ten pence, twenty pence, fifty pence and finally, the one-pound coin.
I remember that the word pence was used instead of penny. Never found out why.
Of these, the half pence coin was taken out of circulation in the 1980s.
Inflation saw to that. In the end, it cost more to make the coin than it was worth.
It now probably costs more to make the one, two and five-pence coins. If you ask why, you will probably not get any answer from the Royal Mint. As to how much it costs to mint each coin, it is a closely guarded secret.
A pound in 1960, would be equal to £23.48 in 2024.
A pound in 1966, the last time England won the football World Cup, would be equal to £18.99 in 2024.
A pound in 1970, the year when the half crown ceased to be legal tender, would be equal to £15.78 in 2024.
Inflation is nothing new; it is always with us, eating away at the value of money. I remember that there was a lot of inflation in the nineteen seventies and eighties.
A cost of living crisis was a regular thing back then.
Does anything really change?
No comments:
Post a Comment