When I looked back, I realized I had got as far as thruppence in my accounting. Hardly anywhere at all, you might say.
Some of the siliver coins used during the Regency:Sixpence = six pennies
shillings = 12 pennies make a shilling
half crown = two shillings and six pence - pictured here
crown = five shillings
There were also dollars issued during this period worth five shillings. These were struck from captured Spanish American dollars, and even some French ecus and United States dollars. They were counter-marked and issued as an emergency currency. And so the word dollar meaning five shillings entered English slang in 1804 even though crowns disappeared as a unit of currency.
There were guineas and half guineas, worth Twenty one shillings and ten shillings and six pence respectively. These were coins made in gold as you can see. This picture is of a George III guinea.
- In some fancy shops items were still priced in guineas not so very long ago. You would think the price was in pounds and then when you checked it is a shilling per pound more. Very sneaky. But posh. Oh, and there were no actual guineas to be had at that time.
Then there were the sovereigns and half sovereigns.
In 1816, the basis of English money changed from the value of silver to the value of gold. We adopted the Gold Standard. The Guinea was withdrawn and the basic monetary unit became the pound, which was represented by the Sovereign coin worth twenty shillings and the half sovereign worth ten shillings. Finally.
Sovereigns alas are also no more, first replaced with the pound and the ten bob not (ten shillings) and then we did away with shilling altogether. Sovereigns have been occasionally minted for special occasions. And they are still valued as jewelry, as bangles or pendants and my husband has a half-sovereign set in a signet ring.
Okay, so that is the basics, though there could be much more. Now we can get to the interesting stuff, like how much did things cost and slang terms for sums of money in the Regency.
Until next time, Happy Rambles.
Hi Michele,
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit late in reading your posts on money, but I've found them to be enormously helpful.
I'd love to learn more about your research resources. I tend to get overwhelmed by the number of books to select from.
Your blog is extraordinarily helpful to me.
Take care, Tracey
Tracy, great question. I couldn't agree more about trying to find the right books.
ReplyDeleteI find that books fall into categories,
one would be general flavor: books that give you a good grasp of what the era was like, from fashions, life, occupations, living conditions, politics.
Such books as: THE AGE OF ELEGANCE 1812-1822
Sir Arthur Bryant
OUR TEMPESTUOUS DAY
Carrolly Erickson
THAT SUNNY DOME: A Portrait of Regency Britain
Donald A. Low
LIFE IN REGENCY ENGLAND
R.J. White
The Writers Guide to Everyday life in Regency and Victorian England- Hughes
There are a great many of them and they are the best place to start.
Then of course there are the more academic books. I would say these are needed if you have something specific you need to access for your story. You will find references to them in the more general books as footnotes
And finally books which focus on things like carriages, or fashion, or individuals, Beau Brummel, Prince George, or other topics in depth. I have to agree that it is confusing. I have far too many books, but I do use the library for research of the more detailed kind. Owning the more general books is fun.
One problem is that so many of the great books are out of print, but a good university library can help you out there.
Finally, if you join the Beaumonde Chapter of RWA, you will find lists of these books on their websites, all reviewed by members so you know exactly what they contain.
Hope that helps.