£sd

Rochester

illustrates the conversion between pence and shillings and shillings and pounds.

£sd (occasionally written Lsd), spoken as "pounds, shillings and pence", is the popular name for the pre-decimal

(pence being the plural of penny).

Under this system, there were 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings, or 240 pence, in a pound. Although the standard ledger accounting system recorded only pounds, shillings and pence, actual minted coins could represent one, several or fractions of these units. The

(worth 21 shillings) was used. When dealing with items in dozens, multiplication and division are straightforward; for example, if a dozen eggs cost four shillings, then each egg was priced at fourpence. Basic addition, however, could be more difficult than using a decimal system.

Although the names originated from popular coins in the classical Roman Empire, their definitions and the ratios between them were introduced and imposed across Western Europe by the Emperor Charlemagne. King Offa of Mercia adopted the Frankish silver standard of librae, solidi and denarii into Britain in the late 8th century.^[2]

The £sd system was the standard across much of the European continent for over a thousand years, until the

on 1 January 1973.

Historically, similar systems based on

Origins

The classical Roman Empire originally used a decimal currency system based on the "as" whereby 1 denarius = 10 as. The silver denarius was the common circulation coin, but accounting was in sestercii. Later Roman Emperors undertook multiple coinage reforms, redefining weights and coins' relative values and introducing new coins and new accounting systems for them. Since most reforms were not even completed before the next one began, the late Roman Empire had a veritable mess of multiple overlapping systems of weights and currencies.

Around the 780s, the Frankish emperor Charlemagne cut through the mess by creating a new uniform system. He defined the "libra" as a new measure of weight equivalent to around 489.6 grams (substantially larger than the old Roman pound of 328.9g), and ordered 240 silver units known as denarii to be struck from the new Carolingian pound of pure silver, each denarius containing 22.5 grains of silver. To help accounting, Charlemagne also decreed that the pound was divisible into 20 solidii each of 12 denarii. Thus began the Carolingian monetary system (1l. = 20s. = 240d.).

The new coinage and accounting system was imposed uniformly across the vast

influence through much of the Middle Ages.

Charlemagne's new monetary system prevailed across much of Western Europe including France (where the units were known as the livre, sous and denier), Italy (lira, soldo and denaro), the Holy Roman Empire (pfund, schilling and pfennig) and in England (pound, shilling and penny). The English name pound is a Germanic adaptation of the Latin phrase libra pondo 'a pound weight'.^[4] On the Iberian peninsula, the Kingdom of Aragon adopted the Carolingian monetary system (Catalan: lliura, sou and diners), but those of Portugal and Castile (and subsequently Spain) retained the currency system inherited from al-Andalus.

During the early Middle Ages, only the denarius was issued as an actual coin; the libra and solidus were merely units of account. But over time, the silver resources were gradually exhausted and the coins became repeatedly debased by mediaeval monarchs, prompting the minting of larger coins from the 13th century. It also led to specification of currencies by mint of origin in contracts and accounting (e.g. a denier parisis, of the Paris mint, contained more actual silver than the very debased denier tournois of the Tours mint).

To facilitate larger transactions, gold coins began to be minted in western Europe around the same time. The French "franc", introduced in 1360, was the first coin anywhere to represent exactly £1 and the gold "sovereign", first minted in 1489, was the first English £1 coin.

Although the £sd system remained intact in ledger accounting, the variety of new coins of various multiples and qualities led to common expression of quantities in terms of number of coins (guineas, crowns, farthings, etc.) But they would all have to be converted into formal £sd units in accounts.

Decimalisation

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The £sd system continued in much of Western Europe for nearly a thousand years, until the "decimalisations" of the 18th and 19th centuries. Britain considered following the continental example. A parliamentary select committee was set up in 1821 to inquire into decimalisation, but ended up recommending retaining the £sd system. However, pressure groups were formed inside Britain advocating the adoption of decimalisation of the currency, and Parliament returned to the matter in the 1850s. Various decimalisation schemes were considered – the Pound-and-Mil scheme, the Farthing scheme, the Half-penny scheme, the Alb scheme, etc. – but all were determined to have deficiencies, and transition would be too difficult and expensive. The £sd system would be maintained in Britain until 1971.

As countries of the British Empire became independent, some abandoned the £sd system quickly, while others retained it almost as long as the UK itself. The United States of America was among the first to drop the £sd system and adopt a decimal currency in 1792, 10 years after independence from the British Empire, but retains many other aspects of the

as the only major country to continue to maintain the £sd system.

All countries and territories that formerly used the £sd system have now

.

In places where £sd was used, there were several approaches to decimalisation:

• The pound remained the base unit (in Malta, using the Maltese name "lira"), but was subdivided into new fractional units of 1⁄100 of a pound. The new fractional unit (called the "new penny" in the UK and
  mil
  ", worth slightly less than a farthing (0.24 old pence).
• A new base unit (often called the "dollar") was created equal to ten shillings (half a pound), and subdivided into 100 fractional units, with one fractional unit (usually called the "cent") equal to 1⁄10 of a shilling or 1.2 old pence. This was the approach adopted in South Africa (as the Rand), Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Fiji and many other countries.
• A new base unit called the "dollar" was created at parity with the United States dollar. This was done in Canada in 1858 and in many places in the West Indies in the 19th and 20th centuries. In Bermuda in 1970, as the pound was fixed at US$2.40, this made the new Bermudian dollar equal to exactly 100 old pence, with the new cent equal to one old penny.
• Some countries have adopted alternative approaches, such as
  Bahamas, which adopted a new base unit equal to seven shillings, with a fractional unit equal to 0.84 old pence, and The Gambia
  , which created a new base unit equal to four shillings, with a fractional unit equal to 0.48 old pence.

New unit	×	Old unit	Year
South African rand	0.5 (10/–)	South African pound	1961
Sierra Leonean leone	0.5 (10/–)	British West African pound	1964
Ghanaian cedi	0.4167 (100d.)	Ghanaian pound	1965
Australian dollar	0.5 (10/–)	Australian pound	1966
Bahamian dollar	0.35 (7/–)	Bahamian pound	1966
New Zealand dollar	0.5 (10/–)	New Zealand pound	1967
Western Samoan tala	0.5 (10/–)	Western Samoan pound	1967
Tongan paʻanga	0.5 (10/–)	Tongan pound	1967
Zambian kwacha	0.5 (10/–)	Zambian pound	1968
Jamaican dollar	0.5 (10/–)	Jamaican pound	1969
Fijian dollar	0.5 (10/–)	Fijian pound	1969
Rhodesian dollar	0.5 (10/–)	Rhodesian pound	1970
Bermudian dollar	0.4167 (100d. = US$1)	Bermudian pound	1970
Gambian dalasi	0.2 (4/–)	Gambian pound	1971
Malawian kwacha	0.5 (10/–)	Malawian pound	1971
Irish pound	1	Irish pound	1971
Pound stg.	1	Pound stg.	1971
Maltese lira	1	Maltese pound	1972
Nigerian naira	0.5 (10/–)	Nigerian pound	1973
This table is not exhaustive.

The following table shows the conversion of common denominations of coins of the £sd systems.

Coin	Amount	New £p (e.g. UK)	New $c (e.g. NZ)
Halfpenny	1⁄2d.	5⁄24p ≈ 0.2083p	5⁄12c ≈ 0.4167c
Penny	1d.	5⁄12p ≈ 0.4167p	5⁄6c ≈ 0.8333c
Threepence	3d.	1+1⁄4p	2+1⁄2c
Sixpence	6d.	2+1⁄2p	5c
Shilling	1/–	5p	10c
Florin	2/–	10p	20c
Half crown	2/6	12+1⁄2p	25c

The following coins were not in common circulation in the UK at the time of decimalisation, though the ten shilling note and the pound note were.

Common name	Amount	New £p (e.g. UK)	New $c (e.g. NZ)
Crown	5/–	25p	50c
Half sovereign	10/–	50p	$1
Sovereign	£1	£1	$2

The farthing, at 1⁄4 penny, was never converted, as it ceased to be legal tender a decade prior to decimalisation. In 1971, a new penny would have been worth 9.6 farthings (making a farthing slightly more than 0.1 new pence). Similarly, the old halfpenny and the half-crown were not converted in the UK either, having been withdrawn previously.

Pre-decimal coins and banknotes

In the UK, larger denomination notes (£5, £10, £20, £50, £100, £200, £500, and £1,000) printed from the 18th century to 1943 were called "white notes" because they were printed on lightweight white paper (on one side only) in black ink.^[5]

United Kingdom pre-decimal banknotes are no longer legal tender, but are exchangeable for their face value (regardless of the possible greater worth if sold or auctioned) if they are taken directly (or posted) to the Bank of England.^[6] The last £sd coins to cease being legal tender in the UK after Decimal Day were the sixpence (withdrawn 1980), the shilling (withdrawn 1991) and the florin (withdrawn 1993). Commemorative crowns minted post decimalisation (worth either 25p or £5) are still legal tender, but are rarely, if ever, spent.

The last £sd banknote to cease to be legal tender anywhere was the Isle of Man ten shilling note, which ceased to be legal tender there in 2013.^[7]

Computing

Computers and calculators sold pre-decimalisation – mostly in the 1960s – occasionally came with special support for the £sd system in the form of a fixed-point currency datatype. The IBM 1401 is one such machine; on Sterling models with £sd support, it had a switch for selecting between IBM and BSI data layouts of £sd on its auxiliary console (see image). The ICT 1301 and the PL/I language^[8] also had £sd support.

Writing conventions and pronunciations

There were several ways to represent amounts of money in writing and speech, with no formal convention; for example:

• £2/3/6 (two pounds, three shillings and sixpence), spoken, unless there was cause to be punctilious, "two pound(s), three and six". Whether "pound" or "pounds" was used depended upon the speaker, varying with class, region and context.
• 1/– (one shilling), colloquially "a bob"; the slash sign derives from the older style of a long s for "solidus", which is also one name for the sign itself; the '–' is used in place of '0', meaning "zero pence").^[9][10]
• 11d. (elevenpence)
• 1+1⁄2d (a penny halfpenny, three halfpence). As spoken, the lf in halfpenny and halfpence was always silent; they were pronounced "hayp'ny" /ˈheɪpni/^[11] and "haypence" /ˈheɪpəns/^[11][12] – hence the occasional spellings ha'penny and ha'pence).
• 3d (three pence), with reference to the above, this became thruppence, commonly referred to as a "threepenny bit".
• 6d (six pence) known as a "tanner" or half a shilling.
• 2/– (two shillings, or one
  florin
  , colloquially "two-bob bit")
• 2/6 (two shillings and six pence, usually said as "two and six" or a "half-crown"; the value could also be spoken as "half a crown", but the coin was always a half-crown)
• 4/3 ("four and threepence", the latter word pronounced "thruppence" /ˈθrʌpəns/, "threppence" /ˈθrɛpəns/, "throopence" with -oo- as in "foot" /ˈθrʊpəns/, or "four-and-three")
• 5/– (five shillings, one crown, "five bob", a dollar)^[13][14]
• £1/1/- A Guinea Historically an amount paid for settlement of legal disputes, but currently still the wager on the winner of a horse race.
• £1/10/– (one pound, ten shillings; one pound ten, "thirty bob")
• £1/19/11+3⁄4 (one pound, nineteen shillings and elevenpence three farthings: a psychological price, one farthing under £2)
• £14/8/2 (fourteen pounds, eight shillings and twopence – pronounced "tuppence" /ˈtʌpəns/ – in columns of figures. Commonly read "fourteen pound(s) eight and two")

Halfpennies and farthings (quarter of a penny) were represented by the appropriate symbol (1⁄4 for farthing, 1⁄2 for halfpenny, or 3⁄4 for three farthings) after the whole pence.

A convention frequently used in retail pricing was to list prices over one pound all in shillings, rather than in pounds and shillings; for example, £4-18-0 would be written as 98/– (£4.90 in decimal currency). This is still seen in shilling categories of Scottish beer, such as 90/– beer.

Sometimes, prices of luxury goods and furniture were expressed by merchants in

.

Colloquial terms

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Coin	Pronounced	Slang (UK)	Slang (other)	Notes
ha'penny bit (value: quarter penny and half a penny)	ˈfɑːðɪŋ, /ˈheɪpni/	"Mag" (slang for "chattering")		UK: Originally made from copper and made a ringing noise when dropped. The game of "penny pitching" (bouncing pennies against a wall to see how far they would rebound on to the pavement) was called "mag flying".
Threepenny bit (value: three pence)	Thrupney bit or threpney bit	Joey (also see Fourpence)	Australia: trey (also spelt tray), or a trey bit, from the French "trois" meaning three.[19] South Africa[20] and Southern Rhodesia: tickey.[21]	UK: When the new threepence coin replaced the fourpence coin in circulation in 1845, it took over its nickname. The coin was silver or silver alloy from 1845 to 1937 and a 12-sided bronze coin from 1937 to 1971.
Fourpenny bit (value: four pence)	ˈfɔːp(ə)ni	Joey		UK: Also known as "groat", from the mediaeval four-penny silver coin of the same name. "Joey" was from the first name of Joseph Hume, the Radical Member of Parliament who championed its reintroduction.
Sixpenny bit (value: six pence)	ˈsɪksp(ə)ns	Tanner, tester, testoon	Australia: zack	UK: "Tanner" was derived from the Romany word tano, meaning "small", because it was smaller than a shilling. Tester and testoon derived from the French coin teston.
Shilling	ˈʃɪlɪŋ	Bob or "thin 'un"	Australia: bob, deener	UK: "Thin 'un" because it was thinner than a sovereign coin.[22] Australia: "deener" is likely to have derived from the Latin "dinar" or "denarius".
Two-shilling piece, florin		Two bob, two-shilling bit, two-bob bit	Australia: two bob	UK: Perhaps an early attempt at decimalisation, being £+1⁄10).
Half a crown or half crown (value: two shillings and sixpence)				An equivalent coin was not issued in the 1971 decimal currency range since there was no need for a 12+1⁄2 New Pence coin.
Crown or five-shilling piece (value: five shillings)		Dollar[13][14]
Ten-shilling note		Ten bob (note), half a bar	Australia: ten bob	UK: First printed in 1914 by the Treasury during World War I to conserve silver. These early Treasury notes (especially the 1st and 2nd Series from 1914 to 1917) were nicknamed "Bradburys", from the prominent stylised signature of Sir John Bradbury, Permanent Secretary to the Treasury.[23]
Pound		Both coins and notes: quid, nicker. Coins: "sov", "thick 'un". Notes: bar, sheet, note.	Australia: quid, fiddly-did	"Quid" may have originated in the Latin phrase quid pro quo. UK: "Thick 'un" because it was thicker than a shilling. Australia: Fiddly-did was derived from word association (fiddly → fid → quid).[19]

In popular culture

The currency of knuts, sickles and galleons in the Harry Potter books is a parody of the £sd system, with 29 knuts to a sickle and 17 sickles to a galleon. It serves as the currency of the Wizarding World, while pounds are still used by Muggles, the non-magical people.^[24][25]

The score of 26 at darts (one dart in each of the top three spaces) was sometimes called "half-a-crown" as late as the 1990s, though this did start to confuse the younger players. 26 is also referred to as "Breakfast", since 2/6 or half a crown was the standard cost for breakfast pre-decimalisation.

See also

• Coins of the pound sterling – British current and historic coinage
• Irish pound – Currency of Ireland before 2002
• Decimal time – Representation of the time of day using decimally related units

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to £sd.

• "Pounds, Shillings and Pence". The Royal Mint Museum. Retrieved 16 February 2021.