The decimal system of currency divides one pound (£) into 100 pence (p). This was never a physical amount of money represented by a coin, but was a common amount used for accounting purposes.īritain changed its currency on 15th February 1971. One pound and one shilling (21 shillings), or 'guinea'Ī 'mark' was worth two-thirds of a pound, or 13s 4d. One pound, or 'sovereign', commonly called a 'quid' This coin was in circulation until 1662, and was revived briefly in the mid-nineteenth century The word was often pronounced 'thrupny', or 'thruppence' The coin was sometimes referred to as a 'threepenny bit'. The word often appears in print as 'ha'penny' Up to the seventeenth century, it was common for monetary amounts to be written out using lower case Roman numerals: In the second example, the dash represents no pennies: Shillings on their own could be written as follows. Shillings and pence could be written as follows:
Marked money full#
There were various ways in which monetary amounts were written out.Īmounts in full pounds, shillings and pence could be written in many different ways, and with or without the final 'd': The word 'farthing' is an old English word meaning 'a fourth-thing'. The abbreviation 'ob' was used for halfpennies.įarthings were abbreviated to 'qua', short for 'quandrans', or a quarter of a penny. This is because the Latin word for this coin was 'denarius'.Ī still smaller Roman coin was an 'obulus'. Pennies were, confusingly, abbreviated to 'd'. The 's' stands for 'sesterius' or 'solidos', coins used by the Romans. Shillings were usually abbreviated to 's'. The £ sign developed from a very elaborate capital 'L'. Both come from the Latin word 'libra', meaning 'pound'.
The sign for a pound was either the abbreviation 'li', or the £ sign.
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