19 pounds 19 shillings

[jennean]

I have a couple of copies of wills dated 1806 & 1813 and in each of them there has been 19 pounds and 19 shillings left to various friends and relatives.
Is this amount significant, does anyone know?

regards
Jennean

[jorose]

It sounds like they were trying to avoid hitting twenty pounds - probably the limit for some kind of tax (inheritance taxes?).  I don't know anything about the details of the tax system at the time, but there's usually a bar below which you can avoid paying anything...

[trish251]

It could relate to 19 guineas. A guinea was 21 shillings (I think).

Trish

[suttontrust]

I think the guineas idea is right.  A guinea was £1.1s, so the legacy is 19gns.

[Hackstaple]

You will  see a host of bequests of this sum in the period 1805 to 1853. A Legacy Duty had been introduced [originally as a measure to raise revenue to fight Napoleon] which provided that bequest of £20 or over were subject to a duty payable to the Crown. In 1853 that figure was increased to £100 and that  tax was the forerunner of Death Duties now called Estate Duty.
If you put "19 guineas" into your browser you will find many such bequests.
 

[jennean]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your replies and thanks for sharing your
knowledge.

Kind regards,
Jennean