Shillings And Pence

Aug. 10th, 2010 11:26 pm
lupestripe: (Default)
[personal profile] lupestripe
Buying a cheese softie today from Greggs (mature cheddar and just the right amount of spread so it oozes out slightly when you take a bite - heaven), I received a 1960 shilling as my change. I paid £1 and the softie cost 90p so the service lady clearly thought it was a 10 pence piece even though it is of different size, weight, design and metal content. On the back, it has a very youthful portrait of Queen Elizabeth too as she was a mere eight years into her reign at that point.

I was delighted - in 1960 the shilling was worth 5p but today, it could be worth even more than that. A nice slice of history with a nice slice of bread and cheese :-)
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Date: 2010-08-11 04:09 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] plushlover.livejournal.com
It's probably made from silver, too, isn't it? Our 'silver' coinage was still real silver until 1965.

Date: 2010-08-11 03:50 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] snowtiger-uk.livejournal.com
Our "silver" coins were pure silver up to and I think including 1947, after that they were an alloy.

Date: 2010-08-11 05:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lupestripe.livejournal.com
The history of silver and alloy is an interesting one - I studied the history regarding 17th century currency.

Date: 2010-08-11 05:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lupestripe.livejournal.com
I am not too sure to be honest, could probably research it though. I only know about 17th century coins.

Date: 2010-08-11 06:40 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] plushlover.livejournal.com
Oooh! I have a silver groat of Henry VI! That's 15th century, but it's close! Lots of the Hanoverian Georges' coins, too. Nothing precisely 17th century English, though, come to think of it. ^^

Date: 2010-08-11 09:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lupestripe.livejournal.com
Do you collect coins? I have been interested in starting for a while, just never really tried.

Date: 2010-08-11 10:12 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] plushlover.livejournal.com
I used to collect coins when I was a kid. Picked up a lot of British coins during my trips there in '67 and '69, before decimalisation. It was amazing how common really old coins were in circulation back then. In the very first shop I went to on my very first trip, I got a 1901 penny in change. A beautiful, deep chocolate-coloured copper with Victoria's grandmotherly portrait on the front, and in really excellent condition. I couldn't believe it! You'd never find that old a coin in circulation in America. But that was only the beginning. I started a Roman coin collection while I was there, too. (Or rather, my mother started one for me.;) Still got most of those same coins today, I'm pleased to say! ^^

Date: 2010-08-11 11:32 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lupestripe.livejournal.com
Sounds very interesting indeed - because we adopted the new currency in 1971, it's very rare to find older coins now. However, the design of our coins was overhauled in 2008 so there is a chance that in a few years time, the 1971-2008 ones will become rare. I guess decimalisation was known in '69 - did you save coins deliberately because of that?

Date: 2010-08-11 11:47 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] plushlover.livejournal.com
Definitely! I thought the change was a shame though. The old £/s/d money was so interesting! The multi-sided 3d. coin was especially fascinating to me. I always wanted a 1937 Edward VIII one of those! (I think that used to be Britain's rarest coin at one point.) Anyway, my oldest English coin is a silver penny of Henry III. I have a silver penny of Edward III, too. And a 1st century silver Roman denarius excavated at Bath! True treasures!

Date: 2010-08-11 11:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lupestripe.livejournal.com
It does make maths tremendously complicated though - it was a crazy system on which to base the currency really. The 3d coin does look rather funky. Your older coins sound very interesting, how did you get those?

Date: 2010-08-12 02:22 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] plushlover.livejournal.com
The nice old stuff my mum bought for me at Spink & Sons in London. The denarius I bought with 11/- of my own spending money at the gift store at the Roman baths at Bath. ^^

Date: 2010-08-12 11:05 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lupestripe.livejournal.com
I have never been to Bath, I keep meaning to go but it's quite a distance from where I live. There are a lot of old coin shops in York, where I used to live, perhaps I should check them out :)

Date: 2010-08-12 11:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] plushlover.livejournal.com
You live in Yorkshire? My home town is Skipton. ^^

Date: 2010-08-12 12:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lupestripe.livejournal.com
Yep, I live in Pudsey. Skipton is a nice place, I visited there a few months ago. Excellent on a sunny day (and it has a fantastic wine and whisky shop). I thought you were American.

Date: 2010-08-12 06:48 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] plushlover.livejournal.com
*nods* I'm a yank alright. But my mum was raised in Burnley, and her family moved back and forth between Lanks. and Yorks. after she went back to the US, and finally settled in Skipton. So that was always our 'base of operations' every time we visited the UK. Here's an old post about one of my favourite places there...

http://plushlover.livejournal.com/163377.html

Date: 2010-08-12 11:42 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lupestripe.livejournal.com
A very nice account, thanks for sharing. I have never been in Skipton Castle before, just walked by it along the river. She settled in Yorkshire, always the best county :P

What's your favourite part of the UK?

Date: 2010-08-13 12:14 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] plushlover.livejournal.com
The West Highlands of Scotland. Absolutely. ^^

Date: 2010-08-13 12:26 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lupestripe.livejournal.com
Haven't been up there for a long time - must visit again (particularly as half of my family is Scottish).
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