The Old Currency - Do you remember it?

halevan · 26-02-2003, 17:31

How many member's remember the pound's shilling's and pence that we used to have. There were 240 old pennies to a pound, 12 to one shilling, one half penny, two farthing's to one halfpenny, we could buy an ice cream cornet for one old halfpenny. We had a ten shilling note, a pound note, four halfcrown's to one pound.

When I was in my teen's, I could have a good night out and still have some change left when I got home, all for half a crown. There was a five pound note which was very large and white if we had one one of those we were like millionaire's.

A married man's wage was about thirty shilling's, £1.50 in today's money. The rent for a council house was alway's one fifth of your income, no one had a telephone or a fridge they were luxury item's. No one had wall to wall carpeting, we were so poor we had to put overcoats on the bed to try and keep warm in winter.

Michael_W · 26-02-2003, 20:47

I remember halevan, I was about ten when we went decimal, but I remember getting a 'ten bob note' (50p today) on my birthdays. You forgot to mention the 'threpenny bit' and the 'sixpence'. Do you remember the now obsolete decimal 1/2 pence, what a piddly little waste of a coin that was !

halevan · 26-02-2003, 20:56

Yes that's right Michael, and now we have the decimal and the price rise that went with it.

We are now going to change again, I suppose with another price rise when we go into the Euro. What a mess, will they never be satisfied???

Lickszz · 23-06-2003, 21:43

Quote:

Originally posted by Michael_W
I remember halevan, I was about ten when we went decimal, but I remember getting a 'ten bob note' (50p today) on my birthdays. You forgot to mention the 'threpenny bit' and the 'sixpence'. Do you remember the now obsolete decimal 1/2 pence, what a piddly little waste of a coin that was !

Yes, as far as old coins/currency go the oldest one I can remember is actually the 1/2 pence, followed by the pound note.

Phanerothyme · 24-06-2003, 10:22

Bio-survival Tickets.

Tony Ruscoe · 24-06-2003, 10:30

Quote:

Originally posted by Lickszz
Yes, as far as old coins/currency go the oldest one I can remember is actually the 1/2 pence, followed by the pound note.

Yep, I remember those tiny 1/2 pence pieces.

Don't forget that some of the old five and ten pence pieces we used to have were actually shillings! (They just made them the same size.)

I remember the pound coin being released - it was so exciting for me (as a child who collected coins and notes)!

Andy · 24-06-2003, 20:00

Does anyone remember £2 coins from the first time around? They released them, but they never really caught on.

Then a few years ago they tried again.

John · 24-06-2003, 20:28

...and what about the silver 2 1/2p?

its about the same size of the new 5p

and the 50 pence got smaller but same shape.

Andy · 24-06-2003, 21:28

Working in a bank, it's odd to see that people still have old notes and coins kicking about which they bring in from time to time to exchange.

We see quite a lot of the old £1 notes, and recently I've seen a few of the old brown £50s. I wonder where people have kept them for all thses years?

max · 25-06-2003, 07:15

Quote:

Originally posted by Andy
Working in a bank, it's odd to see that people still have old notes and coins kicking about which they bring in from time to time to exchange.

We see quite a lot of the old £1 notes, and recently I've seen a few of the old brown £50s. I wonder where people have kept them for all thses years?

Andy, I've recently stumbled across a jar of sixpences. Is there any point in bringing them into your bank?

Tony Ruscoe · 25-06-2003, 09:09

Quote:

Originally posted by Andy
Does anyone remember £2 coins from the first time around? They released them, but they never really caught on.

Then a few years ago they tried again.

I remember these as I have most of them. These were only commemorative coins, released on special occassions like the Commonwealth Games, etc... just like the £5 pound coins that you can currently get - if anyone's ever seen them!

Andy · 25-06-2003, 17:59

Quote:

Originally posted by maxt
Andy, I've recently stumbled across a jar of sixpences. Is there any point in bringing them into your bank?

No, we can't change them, I'm afraid.

Save them for nostalgia value!

summer1955 · 23-08-2005, 06:51

i remember when decimal first came in 1971 i was working at a post office but on the side that sold sweets tobacco toys and houshold goods

cheepest fags were park drive tipped 5 for 5 new pence
a lot of old people just gave you some money and asked you to take out what it was or asked you what was the old price

DragonofAna · 23-08-2005, 07:13

Forgive me in my old years for being so forgetful but surely there were more than 4 half crowns to a pound? I seem to recall a half crown being 2 and 6 which whould make it 30 pennies and 4 of them is only 120 - not 240.

Perhaps my memory being silly? Ee by eck what you couldn't get for a ten bob note in those days. And they weren't your piddling little notes either - they actually felt like money, like you had something worthwhile in your pocket.

And who has forgotten the old silver thruppeny bit?

Jeze! We are so old

Dragon

Saxon · 23-08-2005, 07:22

Quote:

Originally posted by Dragon
Forgive me in my old years for being so forgetful but surely there were more than 4 half crowns to a pound? I seem to recall a half crown being 2 and 6 which whould make it 30 pennies and 4 of them is only 120 - not 240.

Perhaps my memory being silly? Ee by eck what you couldn't get for a ten bob note in those days. And they weren't your piddling little notes either - they actually felt like money, like you had something worthwhile in your pocket.

And who has forgotten the old silver thruppeny bit?

Jeze! We are so old

Dragon

Yep - 8 half crowns to the £

Saxon · 23-08-2005, 07:24

By the way, I collect coins and have some of the following which I doubt anyone here will ever have used.

Third of a farthing
Groat
Half sovereign
Sovereign
Double florin

LordChaverly · 23-08-2005, 08:40

I doubt very much also if anyone here has used the groat, since it has not been in circulation in the UK since the mid-nineteenth century (although a Maundy groat was issued in 1922 for use in Maundy ceremonies only) and the groat was used in British Guiana until the late nineteenth century.

I like the name though, so perhaps someone could launch a 'bring back the groat' campaign.

Grissom · 23-08-2005, 09:06

Don't remember too much except for the half pennies

It's freaky having seen this thread - just been reading about the Royal Mint competition to come up with new designs for the 1,2,5,10,20 and 50 p coins that havent changed much since they came out [most are late 1960s pre-decimalisation designs]

http://www.royalmint.gov.uk/RoyalMin...ompetition.asp

There is 30,000 quid up for grabs. Hope they don't pay the prize money in old pound notes !

Greybeard · 23-08-2005, 10:03

Quote:

Originally posted by Dragon

Perhaps my memory being silly? Ee by eck what you couldn't get for a ten bob note in those days. And they weren't your piddling little notes either - they actually felt like money, like you had something worthwhile in your pocket.

And who has forgotten the old silver thruppeny bit?

I had forgotten the silver thruppeny bit. They weren't very common after the war as most of them were withdrawn because of the high silver content. We used to save the few we came across to put in the Christmas pudding.

For a ten bob note you could get well oiled when beer was a shilling a pint

Max-I'd check through those sixpences, - I've an idea that any with a date up to 1926 had a high silver content. Saxon might know for sure.

scout · 23-08-2005, 10:49

My mum gave me an old silver threepenny bit to 'walk' on (put it in my shoe) as a sign of wealth and prosperity. I don't know about the wealth but I'm still here!