Sixpence

[Viktoria]

Suey,there is a wonderful Hat museum in Stockport ,but the trade was probably almost defunct when you were there.
Almost every man wore  a felt trilby and women’s winter hats were felt too.
I can remember when for a woman to go to church without a hat was- well!
Viktoria.

[KGarrad]

Coppers - farthings, ha’pennies, pennies
Joey - 3d
Tanner 6d
Bob - 1s
Half a dollar - 2/6d
Dollar 5/-

Quid or a Nicker - one pound
Half a nicker - 10 Bob   
Fiver - 5 pounds
Tenner - ten pounds
Score - 20 pounds
Pony - 25 pounds
Monkey - 500 pounds
Grand 1000 pounds

The coinage terms were common in our house, as was the quid. The rest I learned from my East Ender husband.

In our house a farthing was known as a "robin"! (Actually it was a wren on the coin)

I swallowed a farthing when I was about 3 or 4; my brother panicked and was shouting "Kevin's swallowed a Robin!". 

[Viktoria]

There were two types of threepenny pieces, a small silver one and the brass/copper many sided one , that had the little Thrift flower on the reverse.
The shape a bit like a present day £1 coin.
A threepenny Meg .
The silver ones went into the Christmas pudding .
Viktoria.




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[Andrew Tarr]

The original 5 New Pence piece was the same size as a shilling and a 10 New Pence piece was the same size as a florin (2 shillings). Are the present coins smaller than original New Pence coins or just lighter? Or is it just me thinking everything is smaller now?  There was no new coin worth the same as an old sixpence.

We were decimalised in February 1971 - just over 50 years ago.  To begin with, the values which would be retained stayed the same to limit confusion - that was the shilling (5p) and the florin.  Anything smaller had no exact equivalent.  As the 'silver' coins were bulky, much later they shrank to the size we have now.  We had to accept the 7-sided 50p piece instead of ten-bob notes !

It always seemed silly to me that we had florins (2/-) as well as half-crowns (2/6), both huge coins which quickly wore holes in trouser pockets.  The reason was that florins were a Victorian attempt at decimalisation which went no further, but that coin persisted.

[Mowsehowse]

Coppers - farthings, ha’pennies, pennies
Joey - 3d
Tanner 6d
Bob - 1s
Half a dollar - 2/6d
Dollar 5/-

Quid or a Nicker - one pound
Half a nicker - 10 Bob   
Fiver - 5 pounds
Tenner - ten pounds
Score - 20 pounds
Pony - 25 pounds
Monkey - 500 pounds
Grand 1000 pounds

The coinage terms were common in our house, as was the quid. The rest I learned from my East Ender husband.

In our house a farthing was known as a "robin"! (Actually it was a wren on the coin)

I swallowed a farthing when I was about 3 or 4; my brother panicked and was shouting "Kevin's swallowed a Robin!". 

    Love that!!

Ref from Suey:
Half a dollar - 2/6d
Dollar 5/-

Surely 2/- was a "florin" and 2/6 was "half a crown" ??

[Viktoria]

Yes 2/6  was Half a Crown as I remember ,perhaps it was a regional thing.
Was my Dad the only one to call a threepenny piece a Meg?
Viktoria.

[KGarrad]

The 2/6d coin was a Half Crown - as it said on the coin itself
Commemorative Crown coins (5/-) were issued from time to time - I had one for Winston Churchill's funeral.

see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half_crown_(British_coin)

[Maiden Stone]

Ref from Suey:
Half a dollar - 2/6d
Dollar 5/-

Surely 2/- was a "florin" and 2/6 was "half a crown" ??

Suey gave a list of slang words for money. My elder brothers (teenagers) called a half-a-crown a dollar. £1 must have been worth 4 dollars once.

[Guy Etchells]

Ref from Suey:
Half a dollar - 2/6d
Dollar 5/-

Surely 2/- was a "florin" and 2/6 was "half a crown" ??

Suey gave a list of slang words for money. My elder brothers (teenagers) called a half-a-crown a dollar. £1 must have been worth 4 dollars once.

It was but many uninformed people assumed it was referring to the American dollar, whereas it was referring to the "Spanish Dollar". This goes way back in history to the Napoleonic Wars when Britain was short of gold & silver coins and imported Spanish dollars to make up the shortfall, even though they contained less silver.
Cheers
Guy