UK Monetary Slang

Discussion in 'World Coins' started by Randy Abercrombie, Dec 5, 2021.

  1. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    Watching the Beatles documentary the other week and it occurred to me that I wasn’t able to relate to some of the UK monetary slang….. Here in the US we have a myriad of terms referring to our cash, buck, greenback, etc……… When I am hearing someone from the UK ask for a “quid” or “shilling” or a “crown”…. Are these in relation to an amount of cash?
     
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  3. John Conduitt

    John Conduitt Well-Known Member

    Quid = pound
    Quids in = will benefit financially
    Nicker = pound
    Shilling = an old coin worth 12 pence (1/20 pound)
    Crown = an old coin worth 1/4 pound
    Farthing = an old coin worth 1/4 penny
    Ha'penny = an old coin worth 1/2 penny
    Tuppence = two pence (also slang for a part of the female anatomy)
    Thrupenny bit = an old coin worth 3 pence
    Groat = an old coin worth 4 pence
    Coppers = 1 and 2 penny coins
    Shrapnel = loose change
    Fiver = £5
    Tenner = £10
    Score = betting term for £20
    Pony = betting term for £25
    Ton = £100
    Monkey = £500
    Grand = £1000
    Dosh = cash
    Mulah = cash
    Readies = cash
    Spend a penny = go to the bathroom

    Not a monetary term, but you don't want to know what Randy means...
     
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2021
  4. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    Thank you!
     
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  5. expat

    expat Remember you are unique, just like everyone else Supporter

    The word shilling comes from Old English "Scilling", a monetary term meaning twentieth of a pound, from the Proto-Germanic root skiljaną meaning 'to separate, split, divide', from (s)kelH- meaning 'to cut, split.

    The crown, originally known as the "crown of the double rose", was an English coin introduced as part of King Henry VIII's monetary reform of 1526, with a value of five shillings.

    Quid probably goes back to when transactions were carried out through bartering instead of money. From Latin Quid pro Quo (Something for something). Chewing tobacco were a popular bartering item and were known as quid of tobacco
     
  6. scottishmoney

    scottishmoney Buh bye

    Tanner = 6d or sixpence
    bob = 12d or a shilling
    twa bob =24d or two shillings or florin

    In Scotland a farthing was a bodle, a halfpenny was a bawbee.
     
  7. john65999

    john65999 Well-Known Member

    you forgot:
    LIFT...ELEVATOR
    KNOCK YOU UP SOMETIME....CALL ON THE TELEPHONE
    CAN I BUM A FAG? MAY I BORROW A CIGARETTE

    BACK WHEN I WORKED AT CALDORS ONE OF MY CLERKS WASS FROM ENGLAND WE USED TO HANG OUT AFTER WORK GO TO DINNER AND SUCH, JUST A FRIEND, AS HAD A GIRLDFRIEND AT THE TIME, SHE TAUGHT ME A FEW SLANG WORDS...GOOD TIMES..
     
  8. RogerC

    RogerC Well-Known Member

    Thanks all. Great stuff I've always wanted to know.
     
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  9. manny9655

    manny9655 Well-Known Member

    You forgot one: "Obol" = halfpenny
     
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  10. Mr.Q

    Mr.Q Well-Known Member

    Seams Elton John has some money talk of this own when asking Nas X for help paying for his food on TV... Learn something every day huh! Enjoyed the post, thank you.
     
  11. Joshua Lemons

    Joshua Lemons Well-Known Member Supporter

    I personally own a 1/3 farthing. I know there were also half and quarter farthings. Of course this was a hundred years or more before the Beatles, but I've always wondered what in the world such a small amount would buy. Have any clue?
     
  12. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Third of a farthing was for use in Malta, I believe.
    A lot of these weird denominations were to match up to some local denomination.
    According to the Wikipedia entry, 1 farthing = 3 grani, so 1/3 farthing is 1 grano.

    Most people were very poor back then, so even small denominations probably saw quite a bit of use. The pound was worth about 4.5 dollars in the late 1700s. (I don't know the early 1800's exchange rate off the top of my head). So a UK penny was about 2 cents US, and a farthing was about 1/2 cent. 1/3 farthing would have been about 1/6th cent, which was quite small, but after inflation probably worth more than a US cent is worth today...
     
  13. Joshua Lemons

    Joshua Lemons Well-Known Member Supporter

    Ok, I own a MS 64 1913 issue and I knew it was for use in Malta, but now it makes total sense it was minted to match a local denomination.
     
  14. scottishmoney

    scottishmoney Buh bye

    The quarter and half farthings were minted for use in Ceylon.
     
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  15. manny9655

    manny9655 Well-Known Member

    Question: Were British coins intended for use in other parts of the Empire legal tender in Britain?
     
  16. onecenter

    onecenter Member

    Absolute gold!
     
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  17. scottishmoney

    scottishmoney Buh bye

    The half farthings were legal tender in Britain but the 1/4 and 1/3 farthings were not. Even a half farthing had very little purchasing power.
     
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  18. talerman

    talerman Well-Known Member

    Be careful. Knock someone up means getting her pregnant.
     
  19. Siberian Man

    Siberian Man Senior Member

    Great thread! Really!! Great!!!
     
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  20. tenbobbit

    tenbobbit Well-Known Member

    The most important has not yet been mentioned :confused:
    What's my name ? ;);):p
     
  21. Siberian Man

    Siberian Man Senior Member

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