Pounds, shillings, and pence: a history of English coinage

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  • Опубликовано: 17 дек 2020
  • Try Acorn TV free for 30 days by going to acorn.tv and use promo code: 'lindybeige'.
    I talk for a bit the history of English coinage, and the problems of maintaining a good currency. Once or twice I might stray off topic, but I end with an explanation of why the system worked so well.
    Picture credits:
    40 librae weight
    Martinvl, CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
    Sceat K series, and others
    By Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. www.cngcoins.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
    William I penny, and Charles II crown
    The Portable Antiquities Scheme/ The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-SA 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
    Bust of Charlemagne
    By Beckstet - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
    Edward VI crown
    By CNG - www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?Coi..., CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
    Charles II guinea
    Gregory Edmund, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
    Support me on Patreon: / lindybeige
    Buy the music - the music played at the end of my videos is now available here: lindybeige.bandcamp.com/track...
    Buy tat (merch):
    outloudmerch.com/collections/...
    More videos here:
    All Lindybeige: • All Lindybeige
    Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.
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Комментарии • 6 тыс.

  • @lindybeige
    @lindybeige  3 года назад +2248

    ERRATA
    I woke up the following day after publishing this with an annoying thought buzzing in my head. Had I misread the AD&D Players' Handbook? I checked it, and saw that I had. Sorry Gary.
    The point of electrum was to be worth ten times the value of silver, not to be worth half that of gold, so 1ep=10sp would have been a useful and clear way to express the conversion rate. When writing out a list of values like this, it is worthwhile being consistent or comprehensive. Anyway, yes, if 1ep=10sp and 20sp=1gp, then it is true that 2ep=1gp. It would also help to use a bigger typeface.
    Also, I managed a worse error, which was to to assign the slang terms 'bob' and 'tanner' to the wrong coins. I know how this happened too. Partly it was reading an incorrect source, partly it was a failure of layout by me of my notes, and partly it was because I was brought up in a decimalised world which used pre-decimal coinage, so the coins familiar to me in my youth were the shilling, which was worth 5p (five NEW pence) and the florin, which was worth 10p, and said on it "two shillings". This meant that the 'bob' piece was worth 5p which is close to the 6d of the sixpence, which is why I conflated these two in my oxygen-starved head. A shilling was a 'bob' and a sixpence was a 'tanner'.
    Argh! A THIRD error has surfaced, and the video has yet to be up a full day! The chap in the 1913 bank says that a 1913 sovereign is 18 carat gold. Wrong. They were 22 carat gold. They were so valuable in this period that they used to weigh them all individually in the mints to check them.
    And yes, a FOURTH error: when I show the sub-multiples of 100, the graphic misses out the number four. I know exactly how this happened. When I checked the webpage from the new version of my website, from which the numbers were taken, I see that the formatting had been screwed up where my web-designer had put instead of , with the result that 5 and 4 came out as 54, which I had then corrected to 5.
    By Crikey - a FIFTH error! A diligent viewer has written in to point out a contradiction in my stated values of the sovereign. Further research now suggests that the Henry VII sovereign was originally valued at twenty shillings (today one is up for auction and they demand a £20,000 deposit just to get the right to bid, and the last one sold in 2013 for about $500,000).
    I really wish I could put on-screen corrections, as once I could. Please, RUclips, bring back that feature.

    • @pat8593
      @pat8593 3 года назад +56

      sound is a lot better this time.

    • @maga6403
      @maga6403 3 года назад +14

      Money

    • @stamfordly6463
      @stamfordly6463 3 года назад +123

      You've also omitted mentioning that auctioneer's commission on livestock, horses etc (and other things until recently) is 5% - so the purchaser would pay in guineas but the vendor would receive their payment in pounds with the auctioneer pocketing (pouching?) the extra shilling.

    • @nigelpayne1236
      @nigelpayne1236 3 года назад +42

      If you've never made a mistake, you've never made anything. Anyway, you're too young to have actually used pre-decimal currency and learn the vernacular first hand.

    • @seancassidy4812
      @seancassidy4812 3 года назад +49

      Do you think that the old money having a base of 12, had anything to do with the fact that there are 4 fingers with 3 joints on either hand, easily countable with the thumb? I'm only guessing here, but it could be useful if the majority of the population was relatively illiterate. I may be wide of the mark but, considering that body parts were used for measuring things, thumbs, hands, cubits and feet, etc,, well, it just got me thinking.

  • @sanderwissink5330
    @sanderwissink5330 3 года назад +2824

    Does anyone realise how incredibly hard it is to tell a great story, without stops, for one hour? No breaks, no interruptions, no autocue.......incredible. Lindy is a genius.

    • @kitdubhran2968
      @kitdubhran2968 3 года назад +97

      And keep it interesting

    • @CurmudgeonExtraordinaire
      @CurmudgeonExtraordinaire 3 года назад +81

      I'm thinking it requires a high concentration of caffeine... And maybe a bit of ADD in his case... :)

    • @nastybastardatlive
      @nastybastardatlive 3 года назад +31

      Guys do it under police grillings every day.

    • @keithlee7735
      @keithlee7735 3 года назад +49

      Agreed.
      Lloyd has excellent planning and writes prompts he follows - they seemed to be up and to the right of the camera as he looked towards us.

    • @BakerMikeRomeo
      @BakerMikeRomeo 3 года назад +29

      i agree, beige man good.

  • @beastoz
    @beastoz 2 года назад +363

    Australia went to decimal currency in 1966, after having used the British system since colonisation. My Grandmother (b.1901) til the day she died, still converted back and forth between the two systems in her head because it was what she was used to. It made shopping with her loads of fun for a child. I was 3 when we decimalised, but thanks to Grandma I can still calculate "the old money". Thanks for the extended history lesson.

    • @neilfranklin5644
      @neilfranklin5644 2 года назад +20

      Grand pa born a victorian 1895 would ask me in 1971 how many groats to a crown. Try that one.

    • @bleddynwolf8463
      @bleddynwolf8463 2 года назад +10

      my dad born in the 60's still remembers the old system, as well as the change to metric

    • @adoreslaurel
      @adoreslaurel 2 года назад +1

      @@johnaron9926 One dollar equals sixpence? I did not realise the American Dollar could cheaply be used as toilet paper in those days.

    • @mickvonbornemann3824
      @mickvonbornemann3824 2 года назад +2

      All the Australian decimal coins are actually based on the old values you know, well other than the bronze coins

    • @skymagenta8758
      @skymagenta8758 2 года назад

      good to know there are options. some day this year will be the Profits of Doom year. the rich will get richer.

  • @corazon1299
    @corazon1299 9 месяцев назад +6

    Quinea - 21 Shillings
    Sovereign - 20 Shillings
    Mark - 160p
    Noble - 80p
    Angel - 80p
    Crown - 5 Shillings
    Florin - 2 Shillings
    Shilling - 12p
    Testoon - 12p
    Sixpence / Tanner - 6p
    Groat - 4p
    Threepence - 3p
    Tuppence - 2p
    Ha’penny / Obol - 1/2p
    Farthing - 1/4p

  • @DarthMohawk
    @DarthMohawk 3 года назад +536

    Nowhere near as complicated as I thought : 59 Minute video

    • @TukikoTroy
      @TukikoTroy 3 года назад +26

      .... it's Lindy, so, yeah.

    • @ElijsDima
      @ElijsDima 3 года назад +18

      That's really short for Lindy's standards.

    • @henrylaskowski5945
      @henrylaskowski5945 3 года назад +24

      You new here?

    • @jordanwhitecar1982
      @jordanwhitecar1982 3 года назад +5

      Lindy takes us on little adventures. Where his brain goes no one knkws at the start but it's always fun.

    • @benholroyd5221
      @benholroyd5221 3 года назад +6

      He's keeping it interesting for the layman. So obviously not going to see a proper lindybeige length vid

  • @niels.brouwer
    @niels.brouwer 3 года назад +689

    "[Electrum] was deliberately mixed such that one electrum piece was worth 10 times the value of a silver piece".
    D&D handbook:
    1 gold coin = 20 silver coins
    1 gold coin = 2 electrum coins
    -> 1 electrum coin = 10 silver coins
    Well, then he did get it right after all, didn't he?

    • @TheRealInscrutable
      @TheRealInscrutable 3 года назад +115

      I came looking for this comment.

    • @thewingedporpoise
      @thewingedporpoise 3 года назад +5

      What DnD edition

    • @nicholasvandervelden450
      @nicholasvandervelden450 3 года назад +23

      @@thewingedporpoise AD&D (1978)

    • @thewingedporpoise
      @thewingedporpoise 3 года назад +27

      @@nicholasvandervelden450 I see, nowadays it's 5 silver to the electrum (to create an easy 10 copper to 1 silver, 10 silver to 1 gold, 10 gold to 1 platinum system that's easy to remember, and yet I still get asked how many copper is in a silver when I DM)

    • @herbiehusker1889
      @herbiehusker1889 3 года назад +4

      This is what I thought as well

  • @LostsTVandRadio
    @LostsTVandRadio 2 года назад +199

    I discovered that you can still legally write personal cheques in Guineas - which is rather nice for birthdays or anniversaries.
    You just have to include the equivalent decimal currency in the 'numbers box'
    Hence a cheque made out for Fifty Guineas would need to say £52.50 (which is of course 50 pounds plus 50 shillings).

    • @redrb26dett
      @redrb26dett 2 года назад +10

      The Guinea was got rid off in 1816 and changed to a sovereign(20 schillings or 240d pence)the upper class and the horsey set (mostly buying and selling horses at auction)still use it though as a traditional thing

    • @LostsTVandRadio
      @LostsTVandRadio 2 года назад +15

      @@redrb26dett Ah interesting. Prices quoted in Guineas were still commonly used for medium ticket items like coats and television sets when I was young. I don't really know why.

    • @redrb26dett
      @redrb26dett 2 года назад +5

      @@LostsTVandRadio expensive items bought mainly by upper and middle class they were a real luxury items for the working class but the sixty’s were a time of change some good some bad

    • @redrb26dett
      @redrb26dett 2 года назад +2

      @Eli OberoN Guinea was £1 they changed the name to sovereign when they reduced it’s value from 21 schilling to 20 schilling to stop confusion but the upper class still used it’s value to distance them for the working class in a act of snobbishness the Irish Guinea is the same value and used by the horsey set (the realm of the upper class as most high pedigree horses will cost the same as a Kensington home to buy,train and race then stud if it does well)

    • @Cheepchipsable
      @Cheepchipsable 2 года назад

      Would see Guineas refered to in Agatha Christie novels a lot.

  • @pkre707
    @pkre707 2 года назад +70

    I've been on a research binge on pre-decimal coinage. As an American, I find it fascinating. This is the best synopsis I've seen so far!

  • @gordslater
    @gordslater 3 года назад +602

    "so you make your own dies?" - "yes - that's hard part" - badum-tish
    ah, metalworker's humour never changes

    • @barkebaat
      @barkebaat 3 года назад +3

      heh

    • @dankatz5224
      @dankatz5224 3 года назад +53

      You might say it never tarnishes

    • @Adumb_
      @Adumb_ 3 года назад +26

      You know, I didn't catch that till now, that gave me a proper laugh.

    • @ussliberty109
      @ussliberty109 3 года назад +3

      I scrolled looking for this comment and was not disappointed.

    • @sevenproxies4255
      @sevenproxies4255 3 года назад +13

      You could say, they "Die Hard"
      ... I'll see myself out.

  • @JoshSees
    @JoshSees 3 года назад +769

    I'm fairly sure he just continues ranting when the camera is off

    • @cyberpotato63
      @cyberpotato63 3 года назад +8

      LOL

    • @scottjohnstone6204
      @scottjohnstone6204 3 года назад +22

      It's more a case of preparing the imaging equipment rather than the Beige.

    • @davidweihe6052
      @davidweihe6052 3 года назад +8

      More likely faints, and is given oxygen, like a young Meatloaf at several points in his concerts.

    • @ramblingrob4693
      @ramblingrob4693 3 года назад +5

      Lol. That's Brilliant. So Funny. clever answer. he only stops the video to eat etc then rant on about something else

    • @scottjohnstone6204
      @scottjohnstone6204 3 года назад +5

      @@ramblingrob4693 He has a feeding tube permanently installed , the same way as the waste tube because it's too distracting when he has the tube up his nose, he barely even notices this way! 😉😂

  • @sams3015
    @sams3015 8 месяцев назад +5

    I loved this video. I am Irish & my grandmother somehow manage to give the old LSD names to eurocent coins. She also complained she had to change money twice in her life

  • @jeg5gom
    @jeg5gom 2 года назад +3

    I keep coming back to watch this thing. NVM its great educational value, it's just HILARIOUS!! Great job...

  • @problame2249
    @problame2249 3 года назад +138

    Did not realize this was a hour when I clicked on it. Did not regret spending an hour watching it.

    • @JulieWallis1963
      @JulieWallis1963 3 года назад +4

      I can never regret any time spent with Lindybeige. He fascinates me.

  • @brainletmong6302
    @brainletmong6302 3 года назад +247

    "In fact ONE-THIRD of all numbers are divisible by THREE!"
    Classic Lindy

    • @TheBetterManInBlack
      @TheBetterManInBlack 3 года назад +4

      As was the Guinea. Divisible by 3, I mean.

    • @corydorastube
      @corydorastube 3 года назад +7

      Half of all numbers are divisible by two.

    • @WalkaCrookedLine
      @WalkaCrookedLine 3 года назад +4

      @@corydorastube All numbers are divisible by two if you try hard enough. Hence the existence of the half-crown piece.

    • @JarthenGreenmeadow
      @JarthenGreenmeadow 3 года назад +1

      @@WalkaCrookedLine Two and a half children...

    • @gcewing
      @gcewing 3 года назад +1

      And one-third of all numbers is the same number of numbers as all numbers. So all numbers are divisible by three. QED.

  • @AndyKegel
    @AndyKegel 2 года назад +64

    Nail sizes in the US are denoted in "penny" to this day and use the 'd' abbreviation, as in a "10 penny" (10d) nail. Wikipedia reports:
    Penny sizes originally referred to the price for a hundred (100) or long hundred (120) nails in England in the 15th century: the larger the nail, the higher the cost per long hundred. The system remained in use in England into the 20th century,[citation needed] but is obsolete there today. Nails are still designated in penny sizes in the United States. [...] The d is an abbreviation for denarius, a Roman coin similar to a penny; this was the abbreviation for the monetary penny in the United Kingdom before decimalisation.

    • @mikenekosama4426
      @mikenekosama4426 2 года назад +3

      I remember getting UK stamps before decimalization, wondering what "d" meant.

    • @sirstephen9825
      @sirstephen9825 2 года назад +2

      Penny weights?

  • @williamrooth
    @williamrooth 2 года назад +40

    I just found this on RUclips! As an American coin collector, I had no idea what anything was in the English coinage system, but this video was entertaining and enlightening! Thank-you for putting this together, Sir! Beautifully executed. Your parents would be proud!

  • @lmiddleman
    @lmiddleman 3 года назад +404

    So when the romans left, then came the after-denari mints.

  • @willis32
    @willis32 3 года назад +505

    I just want to thank Lloyd for introducing me to LSD, this has changed my life. I think more people should advocate for LSD

    • @iododendron3416
      @iododendron3416 3 года назад +37

      Everyone should have some LSD.

    • @bl4cksp1d3r
      @bl4cksp1d3r 3 года назад +31

      The LSD is my favourite part of Britain's history :D

    • @samuraifool912
      @samuraifool912 3 года назад +8

      L.S.D. changed my life too.
      Yahoo..!!
      Kim in Oz.😎

    • @glynwelshkarelian3489
      @glynwelshkarelian3489 3 года назад +24

      I grew up with LSD and it were shit. Yes I knew exactly how many turrpences I would need to buy a 2/- Airfix Supermarine Spitfire IX (with decals and paint scheme for Johnny Johnson); but trying to answer questions about money, set by maths teachers that couldn't teach bases, makes me glad the sadists were restricted to base 10 after decimalisation.

    • @willis32
      @willis32 3 года назад +7

      @@glynwelshkarelian3489 Yeah it does seem like it lends itself more to complex financial calculations and accountancy than buying a chocolate bar. Being born in 99 I've no clue though.

  • @narmale
    @narmale 2 года назад +48

    the fact you can weigh old currency is amazingly wicked smart...
    Lindy... your ability to talk without seeming like your looking at a teleprompter is amazing... i really feel that your not, if you are, you do an amazing job of making it seemless
    if you dont, then thats even more amazing that your doing it all from memory
    thanks for the best of content
    now i really want a gold Guinea :P

    • @drcthru7672
      @drcthru7672 2 года назад

      I think it's pretty obvious he's reading.

    • @narmale
      @narmale 2 года назад +3

      @@drcthru7672 idk, if hes reading, hes doing a damn good job of adding natural inflections that most people lose due to not being able to read ahead of what they are saying

    • @UrskogTrolle
      @UrskogTrolle 2 года назад +5

      I heard somewhere (but don't quote me on it) that he's not even writing a script or anything. He just turns on the camera (after doing some research anyway)

    • @narmale
      @narmale 2 года назад +8

      @@UrskogTrolle i could belive it, the way he moves and talks, he clearly knows his subject matter VERY well.

    • @VerilyRude
      @VerilyRude 2 года назад +2

      Technically you can weigh anything with mass, you might be interested to find out that modern coins can also be weighed and on a related note, this is how vending machines work.

  • @ZebraOnlyPlays
    @ZebraOnlyPlays 2 года назад +17

    I want to be a teacher, specifically a history teacher. However, I decided to pursue nursing. However, it is this man who I aspire to be like if I ever do change my mind again. Storytelling is so much fun but also takes so much thought and skill. This man obviously has what it takes to inspire an entire generation.

  • @andrewmoir
    @andrewmoir 3 года назад +249

    'Julius Career pitched up at tea time on a weekend' is a reference to a joke in 'Asterix in Britain'?

    • @lindybeige
      @lindybeige  3 года назад +254

      Well spotted. 1 beige point.

    • @farrington4918
      @farrington4918 3 года назад +1

      Oh you just have to remind me of that movie

    • @sugarnads
      @sugarnads 3 года назад +3

      Oh i thought it was a goon show reference

    • @aussiebloke609
      @aussiebloke609 3 года назад +15

      @@farrington4918 There was a movie? I only remember the comic books when I was a kid.

    • @azh698
      @azh698 3 года назад +14

      @@aussiebloke609 Top marks! Keep on remembering the comic. Just the comic.

  • @robertward7382
    @robertward7382 3 года назад +259

    I got the Asterix in Britain reference! Attacking at tea time on a weekend is hardly the behaviour of a gentleman.

    • @johanrunfeldt7174
      @johanrunfeldt7174 3 года назад +21

      But it is the way to defeat the English. And fair play has no place in a struggle of life and death.

    • @5hiftyL1v3a
      @5hiftyL1v3a 3 года назад +8

      Yeah I was trying to figure out if it was an Asterix reference, or there was some kind of actual historical story to it.

    • @meandmyvelo6380
      @meandmyvelo6380 3 года назад +15

      And what’s more they trampled across our beautifully manicured lawns the cads.

    • @johnjohnon8767
      @johnjohnon8767 3 года назад +4

      Lesser then that, they come back and brings more friends and stays for more than a weekend.

    • @johnjohnon8767
      @johnjohnon8767 3 года назад +3

      @@meandmyvelo6380 I imagine our Native Americans feel the same about Europeans coming to their shores and inviting themselves to dinner perpetually and all that goes with it

  • @garysofko
    @garysofko 2 года назад

    My New Favorite Channel. Absolutely Brilliant.

  • @robertmatch6550
    @robertmatch6550 Год назад +3

    I got to visit London the Summer of '69 which was at the tag end of pence and shillings. I was highly numerate and thought it was loads of fun. Two years later I was back and now it was New Pence. Many small prices had not changed which meant they had gone UP 140% (240d=100NP).

    • @ARCtheCartoonMaster
      @ARCtheCartoonMaster 6 месяцев назад

      Wait… that’s how they did it? By keeping the penny the same, but lowering the pound?
      Dang, so that means I keep doing the math wrong whenever I calculate the inflation rates from pre 1972.

  • @docquanta6869
    @docquanta6869 3 года назад +296

    wait, you said 1 electrum piece is was made to be worth 10 silver pennies. Or half a gold penny. And the D&D book says 2 electrum pieces are worth a gold piece. Doesn't that mean they actually got that correct?

    • @2lefThumbs
      @2lefThumbs 3 года назад +18

      That's how I heard it to, but haven't read the book so wondered if he'd misquoted (he confused the values of bob and tanner later for instance)

    • @blandedgear9704
      @blandedgear9704 3 года назад +17

      I came down here to comment this as well. It really annoyed me.

    • @thingsandstuffwithinmebrai5938
      @thingsandstuffwithinmebrai5938 3 года назад +21

      Blanded, same. Glad I'm not the only one lol
      2 elec's are one gold so that means it's a dime, or 10. Gary was on point

    • @wouterdevlieger1002
      @wouterdevlieger1002 3 года назад +6

      I wondered this too, and a google search tells me that d&d gold is worth ten silver, electrum is 1/2 gold or 5 silver. So the mistake is earlier in the video when he says they got the gold to silver ratio correct.. Although that book seems to have had some history. Maybe they've changed that since the book came out?

    • @canamrock
      @canamrock 3 года назад +25

      @@wouterdevlieger1002 Over the course of D&D editions, the gp/sp ratio was changed. The easier math of 10:1 won over the accuracy angle of old.

  • @ascotfive
    @ascotfive 3 года назад +126

    "Don't muck around with the currency, the penalties are harsh. You've been warned."

  • @raylampert1243
    @raylampert1243 2 года назад +18

    I love your content and this video! I even have it downloaded so I can hear you go on about pre-decimal English currency. As an American I always thought the whole thing was strange, but you really make the case for how convenient it was, especially when the Penny was what most people used on a daily basis, and the Pound was a large amount of money.

  • @Annur375
    @Annur375 2 года назад +3

    You are a great teacher! Your lecture was not only fascinating, it was also very entertaining. I had a wonderful time watching it and laughed many times. In addition, I learned why we sell eggs in dozens, something I wondered about in the past. Thank you for sharing your lecture and I will pick up the offer of Acorn TV. Best to you.

  • @cncgeneral
    @cncgeneral 3 года назад +69

    Me watching other RUclipsrs: "This is dragging on a bit. 10 minutes left! Only half way through, I have better things to do."
    Me watching Lindybeige: "Where did that hour go?"

  • @europademon
    @europademon 3 года назад +117

    Ah, reassuring time with Lloyd. Tea and crisps set. Proceed, good sir.

    • @allanlarmour7460
      @allanlarmour7460 3 года назад +5

      "Tea and Crisps" ? Really? You must live in Scotland?

    • @europademon
      @europademon 3 года назад +3

      @@allanlarmour7460 nope, America.

    • @Wraithing
      @Wraithing 3 года назад +1

      Ooh, thoughts of teatime! I'd go for the pikelets with real butter, but if the gout's playing up, then just a nice dry arrowroot biscuit.

    • @allanlarmour7460
      @allanlarmour7460 3 года назад +3

      @@europademon Really? That's unusual, tea and Crisps. You mean potato crisps right?
      Tea and toast is a thing, tea and scones is another thing and I guess tea and Crisps is a thing too, who knew!

    • @nathandurbin9260
      @nathandurbin9260 3 года назад +1

      @@allanlarmour7460 is tea and crisps Scottish? Haha

  • @umm-
    @umm- 2 года назад

    A fantastic video! Really interigueing and the jumper is peak fashion 10/10 will subscribe

  • @colinbaldwin3833
    @colinbaldwin3833 2 года назад

    I’ve only just discovered this channel and I’m already hooked.
    I’m 69 and remember posh shops displaying prices in guineas. (65gns)
    I also remember the owner of our local cycle shop following decimalisation working out the purchase tax (pre VAT) and adding it up in his head in £/s/d then looking at a conversion chart to decimal coinage.

  • @k0vert
    @k0vert 3 года назад +208

    "I deserve no credit for the quality of the coinage in medieval England."
    Sentences that could only make sense being uttered from Lindybeige for $9999 please

    • @craigmurphy1204
      @craigmurphy1204 3 года назад +6

      Someone needs to do an out of context compilation

    • @VladBokachev
      @VladBokachev 3 года назад +3

      @@craigmurphy1204 I believe there is one already

    • @craigmurphy1204
      @craigmurphy1204 3 года назад +1

      @@VladBokachev nice

    • @sumvs5992
      @sumvs5992 3 года назад +3

      Finally, a cash reward divisible by three!

    • @redrb26dett
      @redrb26dett 3 года назад +2

      A crown was also called a dollar and now we are out of Europe we should reverse decimalisation and ban metric and before people say no we can’t ask your wife if she fancy’s going to the pub for a pint or ask your children the speed limit in Britain so reversing decimalisation is no problem because it’s how we still count in imperial it only means children after learn two ways of counting fyi metric should be the same as foreign languages the child’s choice not forced

  • @wanderinghistorian
    @wanderinghistorian 3 года назад +180

    Normans: *Invade England*
    Normans: "This is fine. Carry on."

  • @user-kx6px3sf6g
    @user-kx6px3sf6g Месяц назад

    This is a wonderful video! His enthusiasm is great!!

  • @billpotter7162
    @billpotter7162 Год назад

    This is the most entertaining video about coinage I have ever seen!

  • @JulieWallis1963
    @JulieWallis1963 3 года назад +274

    I remember asking my mum, when I was quite young, maybe I was 7 or 8 “why do coins have these lines?” The milled edge, I was told it was help blind people. So for 50 odd years I’ve believed that but now I know the _real_ reason.

    • @beardedbjorn5520
      @beardedbjorn5520 3 года назад +38

      I was told the same thing. Though now I think they do use lines of different patterns to identify the value for the sight limited.

    • @brittakriep2938
      @brittakriep2938 3 года назад +32

      In case of ,Euro' coins it is really for blind persons.

    • @jubuttib
      @jubuttib 3 года назад +43

      The purpose has evolved over the years, just because they originally were there to prevent people cutting off bits and pieces of the coins doesn't mean that they aren't there to help the blind now. Looks like in 1947 they took silver out of UK coinage altogether, switching to cupronickel, at which point the material value of the coin wasn't related to the value the coin represented anyway, so cutting bits off of it wouldn't have helped anyone.

    • @bronzedivision
      @bronzedivision 2 года назад +17

      I had the weird experience of being told the correct version and the blind people urban legend at similar times at an early age. This lead to many years of trying to fathom what was going on... :/ Turns out adults were just pretending to know stuff the whole time I was a kid. A tradition I've carried on. :P

    • @timberwolf1575
      @timberwolf1575 2 года назад +4

      It gets even more interesting when you start dealing with coins that were designed to be cut. So your gold mark would have a recessed cross imprinted into the surface where you would cut the coin into halves or quarters if needed. IIRC, it's the kind of thing that crops up for 10-20 years and then disappears as people realize it actually isn't that good of an idea.

  • @JesseWrangell
    @JesseWrangell 3 года назад +86

    Everyone else on RUclips "Here's a special Christmas themed video"
    Lindy "British coins are pretty nifty, let me tell you!"

    • @tortron
      @tortron 3 года назад +2

      AHH but that's where you are wrong. There's often some coins baked in the Christmas pud.

  • @0x0ism
    @0x0ism Год назад +5

    American here; American bad at math here to be more specific. That being said, this is really cool to learn about and the sub-multiples of an even numbered currency base seems more, idk, sophisticated than the prime one. Very cool to learn about alongside some of the history of British coinage!

  • @jdd321
    @jdd321 9 месяцев назад

    Brilliant video, Lindybeige!
    I sat down with my dad one evening and mapped out all of the conversions of shillings, bobs, thrpny bits, crowns etc and it probably too more than an hour!

  • @nothankyouYouTube420
    @nothankyouYouTube420 3 года назад +408

    Me " oh I really am rather bored"
    YT " wanna hear this bloke prattle on about money from the past in a different country on the other side of the world "
    Me " well, yes actually"

    • @andyhughes5885
      @andyhughes5885 3 года назад +10

      That Country on the other side of the world is here. I`m in Scotland and i was raised on the currency. It sounds complicated but, it was fairly easy to use, the problems began when it changed over to decimalisation.

    • @reighzhor1058
      @reighzhor1058 3 года назад +1

      My sentiments exactly! LOL

    • @johnsalt19
      @johnsalt19 3 года назад +3

      Actually austrailia used the same currency as here in the uk until decimalisation

    • @andyhughes5885
      @andyhughes5885 3 года назад

      @@johnsalt19 Really ? I didn`t know that. I always thought Australia used the Dollar. You learn something new everyday.

    • @tonywilliams8481
      @tonywilliams8481 3 года назад +2

      @@andyhughes5885 yeah mate we were pounds shillings and pence till around 1966 i think

  • @gillessteeleneuve8969
    @gillessteeleneuve8969 3 года назад +58

    Guineas: Auction houses charge in guineas, and pay the owner in pounds, keeping the shillings (5%).

    • @dcarbs2979
      @dcarbs2979 3 года назад +2

      They charge a fair bit more than 5% these days!

    • @basilefff
      @basilefff 3 года назад +6

      Interesting, but that is a bit less, then 5% rate. It's 1/21 or approximately 4.76%

    • @sonofnone116
      @sonofnone116 3 года назад +1

      @@basilefff which rounded up is 5% for ease of use.

    • @matthewfish6113
      @matthewfish6113 3 года назад +2

      I can remember the cries of " greedy ba $?@€ds " when the livestock markets started charging more than 5% commission.

    • @basilefff
      @basilefff 3 года назад

      @@sonofnone116 that's true. I'm just nitpicking :)

  • @frockabyebabyshabbychic2611
    @frockabyebabyshabbychic2611 8 месяцев назад

    Loved this! Easy to watch, easy to understand and …. Fun!!

  • @norriswilkins1845
    @norriswilkins1845 2 года назад

    I haven't listened to one of your videos for a while. This reminds me why; listening to you exhausts me.

  • @jacobprice2579
    @jacobprice2579 3 года назад +116

    Lindybeige: posts a history of British coins.
    Me (a finance nerd): 2020 IS REDEEMED!

    • @iraholden3606
      @iraholden3606 3 года назад +1

      I would rather be crucified than study currency again, hoping this video does redeem 2020.
      Also have you heard of the great acceleration? Basically a bunch of graphs saying 2020 is the new normal and it's all downhill from here unless we can have a mode of production that does not necessitate compound interest growth for mere survival

    • @nautilus1872
      @nautilus1872 3 года назад

      History of English coins.

    • @jacobprice2579
      @jacobprice2579 3 года назад

      @@iraholden3606 yes but there’s always doomsayers so I try not to pay it much mind.

    • @iraholden3606
      @iraholden3606 3 года назад

      @@jacobprice2579 You sound like your head is buried in the sand. Ofc the media sensationalise everything, that doesn't mean that everything is going to be alright forever, our species has faced apocalypse before and survived and we can do it again, we can also fail and get wiped out, all I'm saying is hope for the best and plan for the worst.
      People complaining about how supposedly uniquely bad 2020 was are just procrastinating the inevitable, things are going to get much worse but if we plan for it we can ensure that things will get better, if we instead close our eyes and scream lalala things will only get even worse and may never improve.

  • @kenbrown2808
    @kenbrown2808 3 года назад +118

    "if you cut bits off our coins, we will cut bits off you"

    • @markfergerson2145
      @markfergerson2145 3 года назад +4

      Didn't the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork say that?

    • @kenbrown2808
      @kenbrown2808 3 года назад

      @@markfergerson2145 not sure.

    • @d4n4nable
      @d4n4nable 3 года назад +2

      Fair rule.

    • @consubandon
      @consubandon 3 года назад

      'TIS BUT A SCRATCH! Hey, whatya doin' with that' knife, Mate? I meant "ON THE COIN"! Back off! OW! MY BALLS!

  • @mot6021
    @mot6021 2 года назад

    Thank you for the explanation ,i have always wondered about English coinage .

  • @phillipkrzeminski5003
    @phillipkrzeminski5003 2 года назад

    The Ad had me cracking up, haha. Way to be the one RUclipsr who can get me to sit through an ad for laughs. ;) Great and informative video, as always.

  • @bernardi5919
    @bernardi5919 3 года назад +152

    44:42 In 1984, there's a passage where Winston goes into a bar and meets an old man, who complains about the beer being served in half-litres and litres. Apparently, a half-litre was too little and a full litre made him want to pee.

    • @abc68130
      @abc68130 3 года назад +19

      ...despite the fact a pint is actually just a tiny bit more than half a liter.

    • @bernardi5919
      @bernardi5919 3 года назад +9

      @@abc68130 It's actually a tiny bit less which makes it weirder

    • @abc68130
      @abc68130 3 года назад +28

      @@bernardi5919 a US pint is a little less, but an imperial pint is a bit more.

    • @xsquirr3l
      @xsquirr3l 3 года назад +11

      @@abc68130 And therefore better

    • @rossbuchanan7632
      @rossbuchanan7632 3 года назад +6

      @@abc68130 A pint is 13.8% bigger than half a litre. There are 568ml(wtf?) to a pint, and believe me, if you are used to pints, you know the difference. Unfortunately, many of the decent ales are now sold in 500ml bottles, which is confusing, unsatisfying and the reason I tend to drink too much

  • @danielstapler4315
    @danielstapler4315 3 года назад +57

    16:20 Seems fair, they were cutting bits of the coins so he cut bits off them.

  • @carriebrimble3335
    @carriebrimble3335 2 года назад

    So glad I found this video, so interesting and you are a brilliant presenter so I am now a subscribers looking forward to learning more!

  • @DarthBop
    @DarthBop 11 месяцев назад

    Love the soft cover Player's Handbook. It looks well loved.

  • @paulg3336
    @paulg3336 3 года назад +114

    Dr: "That will be ten guineas for the pox treatment."
    Patient: "Would you like it in fowl or pigs?"

  • @bramblefu
    @bramblefu 3 года назад +178

    "Just shipping coins back and forth, and no actual goods are changing hands. This is no way to run an economy!"
    dude, keep it down! are you trying to get killed?

    • @williancruz9657
      @williancruz9657 3 года назад +45

      He literally just described the stock market lmao

    • @ussliberty109
      @ussliberty109 3 года назад +27

      I would love to watch Lindy do a lecture on the history of banking and usury through the ancient, midieval, and modern eras. Something something nine shillings and one pence.

    • @robtoe10
      @robtoe10 3 года назад +12

      Haha FOREX market go brrrr

    • @TheTeddyIsALiar
      @TheTeddyIsALiar 3 года назад +10

      @@williancruz9657 Even more on the nose for the currency exchange markets.

    • @JSFMD
      @JSFMD 3 года назад +6

      24:30 "This is madness" = This is arbitrage

  • @billmmckelvie5188
    @billmmckelvie5188 2 года назад +2

    Another good thing about the 240 pence pound and the British Imperial weights & measures was the mental agility that people acquired. We worked with units of base 16 ounces to a pound & base 14 pounds to a stone, for weight, as well as base 12 for currency .Also with currency calculations we worked on 3 column mathematics.
    Then we worked in base 20 for fluid ounces that made up one pint and base 8 for pints into imperial gallons. Finally we worked on base 12 for calculating inches into feet and base 3 for converting feet to yards then 1760 for yards (5280 feet) to a statute mile!
    Regarding errors, the bank teller at Beamish mistook a shilling (1s) for a florin (2s) when comparing the weights of a half crown that equalled the florin and sixpence.

  • @minnixmusic
    @minnixmusic Год назад +3

    Mark A. Flynn in his book "the Labyrinth" describes how the American $ sign comes from the Spanish dollar sign, which has two lines, and it stands for the two trees in the garden of Eden with the snake in it. And that the symbol came from the idea that after the fall, we all have to work for our money. I don't know if that's true, but always thought it made a lot of sense.

  • @nonamernobrainer846
    @nonamernobrainer846 3 года назад +97

    Lloyd: "It's nowhere near as complicated as I thought"
    Video: 59 minutes long

  • @WUZLE
    @WUZLE 3 года назад +54

    Only Lindybeige's soothing voice could get me to watch an hour long video on a coinage I will never use.

  • @loganisanerd5566
    @loganisanerd5566 Год назад +1

    Just hit the electrum bit at 18:00 , and time is once again a flat circle, as I came to this video to find inspiration for coinage in my D&D game. Amazing!

  • @jamesmitchell7707
    @jamesmitchell7707 2 года назад +7

    As an American who does a lot of sewing, I also recognized the convenience of 240. A yard is three feet, or 36 inches, which is really easy to divide up into halves, quarters, and thirds. Also no one complains that 360 degrees on a compass is weird or primitive. Can you imagine if we used a system of 100 for that? It would be bonkers.

    • @sfs2040
      @sfs2040 Год назад +1

      We just use a system pi for circles when necessary

  • @calamusgladiofortior2814
    @calamusgladiofortior2814 3 года назад +121

    Lloyd's comment about the ease of dividing 240 was especially important in the medieval period, given that Arabic numerals weren't in widespread use in Europe until the late 15th century. Having a number you can easily divide in your head, and that usually equals a whole number with no remainder, makes Roman numerals less of a pain in the behind.

    • @iroll
      @iroll 2 года назад +16

      Number systems that don't use base 10 are common throughout history, which is why we have 360 degree circles and 12 hour clocks of 60 minutes. Because we have embraced the arabic base 10 numeral system, decimalized money and measurement make sense. But really, what makes the decimalized metric system 'good' has less to do with the choice of base 10 and more to do with the rational relationships between the different things that are being measured. And it's interesting to me that 'decimalization' is such potent flamebait on the internet, when the use of hexadecimal, duodecimal, binary, etc are all pretty commonplace and hardly ever even considered.

    • @vidard9863
      @vidard9863 2 года назад +5

      the " 240 system " was vastly easier for both calculating in the head and for visual measurements as you can more or less visually see multiple low base relationships base ten is really only convenient because we have ten fingers, calculators, and reliable measuring devices.

    • @iroll
      @iroll 2 года назад +6

      @@vidard9863 ... except that you also have 24 knuckles on your fingers (not inc thumbs, which you can use as placekeepers), calculators can have additional keys and additional numerals can be inserted (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F in hex... F+1 = 10 using our standard arabic-based place value system), and measuring precision isn't tied to the numeric base (0.01 in decimal is a larger number than 0.01 in hex, but physical methods for measuring them are no different). In the end, it is the historic adoption of the arabic base 10 system and associated mathematics by the europeans, for its innovative concepts of zero and place value, that is the reason we use base 10. The europeans embraced and extended arabic mathematics and propagated it when they dominated world politics. That base 10 is our standard is a completely historical, and not fundamentally mathematical, result.

    • @vidard9863
      @vidard9863 2 года назад +2

      @@iroll read my post again. you do not measure anything with math or a calculator. you measure with things like rulers. you can take a foot long stick and judge three inches much easier and more accurately than 30 cm on a meter stick because 1/4 is easier to guess than 30%. if you have a pound of grain and a simple scale, you can break it down to 1 ounce units accurately. not so if you want to break kilos into 10ths or 100ths with only a simple balance.
      further you might want to look into why the Arabic system uses base 10, or zeros.... sometimes there are reasons behind the reasons.
      edit: on re reading my post, the relevance of calculators is that numbers like 1/3 don't have to be resolved to 33.33333...% in your head so adding 2/3, 1/3, 5/9 and 4/9 is not unreasonably difficult to do in base ten rather than simple fractuons.

    • @legendaryleukemia
      @legendaryleukemia 2 года назад

      -ke

  • @favesongslist
    @favesongslist 3 года назад +67

    Great video, I was just 13 when decimalisation happened, yet I had no problems with 240d to the pound and use of Shillings etc, The big thing I still miss is 'checking your change' for old coins, I had a 1704 penny once.

    • @JulieWallis1963
      @JulieWallis1963 2 года назад +6

      We must be _similar_ age. I think I was 10. I remember having Victorian pennies, I also remember those big old pennies being as big as my palm, but I was a slightly built child.

    • @favesongslist
      @favesongslist 2 года назад +5

      @@JulieWallis1963 The small(Young Vic) and big bun(old Vic) 1d coins :)
      When I was 6 someone gave me a half crown that felt almost as big as my palm, that was a lot of money to me as for a Ha'penny(half an old Penny) I remember running up to the corner shop and could by 2 fruit sweets. (that's 960 sweets for a pound)

    • @georginacox7292
      @georginacox7292 2 года назад

      I have some pre decimal coins sixpence wartime pennies Queen Victorian penny etc

    • @favesongslist
      @favesongslist 2 года назад

      @@georginacox7292 Its fun looking at the dates. Beginning to get a bit more interesting now with the current 'New Pence' that date back to 1971 some coins dates are more rare than others especially the half New Pence that was only minted between 1971-1984 then demonetised and withdrawn in December 1984.

    • @DEROUGET
      @DEROUGET Год назад

      I was 13 then too. Just got my pension now! Yes, it was easy as you got to know the system and coins at a young age. Strange to think that in 1971 (pre Feb) you often got coins in your pocket way over 100 years old. I was a coin collector then so it was fun going through my mum’s purse. Although it was rare, I once got a George 4th half crown over 150 years old in her change. Theoretically, one could spend coins of over 200 years in age as you say! If nothing else it states how incredibly stable British currency was!

  • @darren25061965
    @darren25061965 2 года назад +2

    WOW, the most interesting lesson I have ever had on old English coinage, History, Maths and Humour at the same time. Loved it.

    • @tokul76
      @tokul76 2 года назад

      Do not take it as history lesson as he missed infidel queen who started the work on fixing currency after Henry VIII

  • @oneghost1257
    @oneghost1257 Год назад

    I've watched this video like four times. Because this man's enthusiasm is infectious, and... I'm a huge nerd for antique coins.

  • @peterdavy6110
    @peterdavy6110 3 года назад +88

    Oh yes, and a ha' penny is an inch in diameter - useful when working out distance on a 1" OS map.

  • @Evirthewarrior
    @Evirthewarrior 3 года назад +61

    amazing how dedicated he was to the imaginary coin, he even put it down.

  • @gregkral4467
    @gregkral4467 2 года назад

    This was fascinating, great job.

  • @phyllishamilton165
    @phyllishamilton165 2 года назад

    What a great delivery, Lindybeige! I love your slightly manic style!

  • @samflynn4985
    @samflynn4985 3 года назад +31

    Another 1 hour Lindybeige video? It really is Christmas!

  • @MaterialMenteNo
    @MaterialMenteNo 3 года назад +159

    Romans don't yell "Oi!", they yell AO

  • @c4feg4r44
    @c4feg4r44 9 месяцев назад +2

    i love how you places the invisible coin on an invisible table in the intro.

  • @TheSparkle45
    @TheSparkle45 2 года назад

    This was a well articulated and interesting video. Many thanks for sharing your knowledge, I learned considerably from this.

  • @timothywilson1690
    @timothywilson1690 3 года назад +29

    Lloyd would make a good school teacher. He is so enthusiastic when he explains stuff he makes you want to listen to him. He reminds me of my favorite professor from college.

  • @northeastohioed7239
    @northeastohioed7239 3 года назад +41

    Well, thank you for that wonderful presentation! As an American, that system was always a bit of a mystery to me, but your quite exhaustive explanation was quite enlightening.
    Although I doubt I could explain it to others, it has given me a real appreciation for the wisdom encapsulated in that system.
    Additionally, your various tangential excursions alongside this topic have added so much more texture and color to a topic that has the potential of being dry and boring to a life-threatening level. I recall a one hour lecture on heraldry that lasted decades.
    Thank you again for that wonderful presentation.

  • @SimmonsThomas.
    @SimmonsThomas. 4 месяца назад

    This video is absolutely amazing. Thank you!

  • @howardjohnson2138
    @howardjohnson2138 2 года назад

    I love your presentation. Thank you

  • @ravenslaves
    @ravenslaves 3 года назад +62

    I went on a Pound, Shilling and Pence trip in Golden Gate Park once.
    The trees were melting and a rock was telling me about time travel.

    • @sparrots1
      @sparrots1 3 года назад

      We must be of a similar age. I did that in early '70s and got talked into a tai chi group. So hard to not giggle. Loved that town then. I sure didn't realize I had taken old English coinage tho... Wild people, those British! Lol

    • @ravenslaves
      @ravenslaves 3 года назад

      @@sparrots1 Heh heh, a bit later for me. But something tells me the experiences were pretty ...familiar.
      The Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park were not for the weak of mind with a head full of ...Pounds, Shillings and Pence.
      The stuffed hippo was watching my every move and an ancient groper fish that probably hadn't moved in decades, tried to eat my face.
      All in all, good times!

    • @suicidesitter6527
      @suicidesitter6527 3 года назад +1

      Seeing Lucy in the sky with diamonds!

  • @wanderinghistorian
    @wanderinghistorian 3 года назад +47

    Lindybeige. "Now I first learned of Electrum..."
    Me. "Please say D&D..."
    Lindybeige. "From Dungeons and Dragons!"
    Me. "Yay!"

    • @davidbrennan660
      @davidbrennan660 3 года назад

      Britain was a lot hairy Celt wide boys with Electrum torcs to Romans.

    • @magnumargenti9249
      @magnumargenti9249 3 года назад

      OMG! That's exactly what I was thinking, too.

    • @SplendidFellow
      @SplendidFellow 3 года назад +1

      And the Dungeons and Dragons guide is in fact historically correct, and he confirms it, but he dares to question Gary's basic mathematical ability??? 20 silver = 1 gold, 1 electrum = 10 silver, 2 electrum = 1 gold!

  • @markstott6689
    @markstott6689 2 года назад

    That hour flew by. I was thoroughly entranced and entertained. Thank you.

  • @garyevans6021
    @garyevans6021 2 года назад +1

    This was an outstanding video. Entertainment meets edification - my sweet spot.

  • @LAMGFGC
    @LAMGFGC 3 года назад +145

    I just realized the the word we use for money "Dinheiro" in portuguese comes from Denarii i've naver made the connection until i heard you pronouce it.

    • @IONATVS
      @IONATVS 3 года назад +21

      whereas the English word “money” comes from the Temple of Juno Moneta, which is where the Roman Republic & Empire kept its Mint. And the generic Roman word for money, “pecunia” is believed to derive from “pecus,” meaning cattle.

    • @LAMGFGC
      @LAMGFGC 3 года назад +10

      @@IONATVS We still use pecunia as a legal jargon relative to money .

    • @robertfitzjohn4755
      @robertfitzjohn4755 3 года назад +4

      @@LAMGFGC And "impecunious" means "having little or no money".

    • @yelsmlaugh
      @yelsmlaugh 3 года назад

      Denarii is the plural of denarius,

    • @slavenarkaimovski3897
      @slavenarkaimovski3897 3 года назад +2

      The word Dinar may comes from the mountin of Dinara,its the mountin from the balkan.

  • @timcarpenter2441
    @timcarpenter2441 3 года назад +24

    Guineas vs Pounds also allowed for negotiation: someone offers pounds, counter offer same number but in guineas.

  • @daviddechamplain5718
    @daviddechamplain5718 Год назад +2

    After the 240 pence discussion, I want to see Lindy do a video on why we should use a base-12 number system.

  • @shibolinemress8913
    @shibolinemress8913 2 года назад

    Excellent work, and so fun!

  • @Caderynwolf
    @Caderynwolf 3 года назад +26

    Awww Lindy! You called us sophisticated, you're my new favourite Englander.

  • @Loo0Lzz
    @Loo0Lzz 3 года назад +97

    "I doubt many people called him that to his face... and lived"
    lol

    • @ChiefFalque
      @ChiefFalque 3 года назад +6

      That was such a good delivery

    • @dukenukem8381
      @dukenukem8381 3 года назад

      try calling me silly

    • @andrewegan7011
      @andrewegan7011 3 года назад +3

      Love the way he snarls when mentioning the euro.

    • @kennethflorek8532
      @kennethflorek8532 3 года назад

      Really, not many that saw his face lived. Safer to have never seen the man.

  • @noka1979
    @noka1979 2 года назад

    This blew my mind, a great and fascinating insight into money

  • @1crazypj
    @1crazypj 2 года назад

    This was such a good video, I just watched it again.

  • @ElijsDima
    @ElijsDima 3 года назад +33

    A dollar doesn't subdivide into 100 units, it subdivides into three units: .23, .50 and .99; those are the only ones you'll ever see on pricetags.

    • @TheAlexSGT
      @TheAlexSGT 3 года назад +3

      @@WreckItRolfe It's all .99 or at least everything I've seen. Majority of things in stores are x.99 as well although tax mucks this up.

    • @marcusostgard5957
      @marcusostgard5957 3 года назад +3

      Wait, .23? Why?

    • @PinballBob1
      @PinballBob1 3 года назад +3

      @@marcusostgard5957 That was a typo. He meant $.25

    • @pabloapostar7275
      @pabloapostar7275 3 года назад +2

      @@WreckItRolfe Large stores that had to hire non-family members to take customers' cash would set prices at .95 so tallies would not wind up "on the dollar", thereby forcing the clerk to open the cash drawer to get the change (and deposit the customers' bills while the customer supervises). If the clerk wasn't forced to make change, the clerk could pocket the customers' bills.
      Later it was found out that Americans would see a price of 5.99 and not round up to 6. They would actually think/remember/calculate using 5.

  • @Hellspooned2
    @Hellspooned2 3 года назад +89

    "Not as complicated as you thought"
    ~Makes an hour long video to explain it~

    • @mungulor
      @mungulor 3 года назад +6

      To be fair though... it wasn't confusing

    • @godfreyofbouillon966
      @godfreyofbouillon966 3 года назад

      Do you consider hour long video complicated?

  • @MuzhiLi
    @MuzhiLi 2 года назад

    This video is absolutely the best of understanding British coin history, Thank you!

  • @alanspooner3612
    @alanspooner3612 2 года назад +5

    I just stumbled on this. A fascinating story from a very knowledgeable, intelligent and engaging young man. Loved it.

  • @frederickstabell3796
    @frederickstabell3796 3 года назад +14

    Lloyd’s righteous anger at decimal systems’ inability to divide by 3 is a wonder to behold

    • @petersone6172
      @petersone6172 3 года назад +2

      If you haven’t already, I suggest you look at Al Murray’s routine “Why it’s called Great Britain” he starts talking about metric vs imperial about halfway through the video.

    • @Nicholas_Schaeffer
      @Nicholas_Schaeffer 3 года назад +1

      @@petersone6172 We need to go on a righteous Crusade to restore anti decimalization to the world, death to metrical systems!!

  • @gramursowanfaborden5820
    @gramursowanfaborden5820 3 года назад +210

    "if you're English- British i should say, sorry, Scotland and Wales"
    the proud Cornishman weeps.

    • @solicitr666
      @solicitr666 3 года назад +24

      Well, blame it on King Egbert of Wessex.

    • @trevw8086
      @trevw8086 3 года назад

      how very dare you

    • @gramursowanfaborden5820
      @gramursowanfaborden5820 3 года назад +13

      @@solicitr666 i have and i will again.

    • @pentelegomenon1175
      @pentelegomenon1175 3 года назад +3

      The Cornish are portrayed as major troublemakers in the Historia Regum Britanniae, what's that about?

    • @trevw8086
      @trevw8086 3 года назад +1

      @@gramursowanfaborden5820 argh where's my twix i buried on Island Wight aye
      And may i recommend a fine rum

  • @johnnail532
    @johnnail532 2 года назад

    Great video- cool sweater too. I used to have a similar one and was one of my favorites

  • @magyarbrit5631
    @magyarbrit5631 2 года назад +14

    I was brought up with pounds shillings and pence, having been raised in a grocery shop. It was second nature and no hardship. However, after decimalisation, it took some years for me to become free from the temptation to convert decimal to old money in my head to compare whether a product was cheap or expensive.

    • @risenshine2783
      @risenshine2783 2 года назад +4

      Oh yes I remember rightly feeling hard done to when a quarter of sweets became 100grams as that was slightly less sweets for the same amount of money

  • @Michael-Philip
    @Michael-Philip 3 года назад +67

    The word " dime" comes from "disme" meaning one tenth.

    • @NathanDudani
      @NathanDudani 2 года назад +1

      The more you know

    • @_KaiTheGamer_
      @_KaiTheGamer_ 2 года назад +1

      Huh.

    • @alanfbrookes9771
      @alanfbrookes9771 2 года назад

      This is a discussion about British currency.

    • @effexon
      @effexon 2 года назад +1

      Umm so all civilization in britain is founded by romans? First infrastucture, first economy... This is interesting period.

    • @jeremias-serus
      @jeremias-serus 2 года назад

      @@effexon Yes.

  • @martinzihlmann822
    @martinzihlmann822 3 года назад +55

    so in Victorian times everything was priced at 239 pence.

    • @Simonsvids
      @Simonsvids 3 года назад +17

      I still have a matchbox toy car in it's original box I bought as a child. The price sticker says 19'/11'', so yes you are right!

    • @jrd33
      @jrd33 3 года назад +3

      Or 19/11 (nineteen shillings and eleven pence).

    • @Simonsvids
      @Simonsvids 3 года назад

      @@jrd33 Yes sorry - drunk again on the keyboard thinking feet and inches!

    • @cyberiankorninger1025
      @cyberiankorninger1025 3 года назад +4

      @@Simonsvids The Brits did 19 11 as Revenge for 1776

    • @michaelf7093
      @michaelf7093 3 года назад +7

      Interestingly, he touches on this. While American merchants will often price something at, say "$1.99" to make it seem cheaper than it is, it was once commonplace for the British ones to say something like "only a guinea". Makes it look posh, and nets the vendor an extra shilling.

  • @alwoolridge6377
    @alwoolridge6377 2 года назад +16

    The dollar is an S because it comes from spanish coinage. The "spanish dollar" ("real de a 8", in Spain) was widely accepted and used in the colonies and later officialized in the USA, until it was ilegalized in 1857. It was preferred to the british coinage because of its availability during the independence war and of course the aversion to everything british. The "S" is the band that go around each of the Pillars of Hercules that appear in Spain's coat of arms, and that is also present in every spanish coin until the euro came. The vertical bar (2 in the original symbol) is the pillar(s) itself.

  • @wisteela
    @wisteela 2 года назад

    Very informative, and I like your style. I love that with the D&D connection.