Nostalgia or was things actually better then.

I got a brass three penny bit. Made the mistake one Friday and held my hand out in anticipation and got b****r all after that.

 

At work, I keep an eye on payments, and the company must lose hundreds in new keyboards when I spot WHAT 200 000.00 going out until I find it's actually Hungarian Forints.

Admittedly, it was very foreign for a Finn to visit London in the early 80s when things didn't yet fall under decimal system. Most exotic! My British educated Teenager has no clue of how much 10cm might be, and her grasp of an inch is similarly vague (judging by my latest haircut), but I blame that on the educational system rather than the measures or units.

 

Decimalisation started in February, 1971 @Selleri.

 

Shillings continued to be legal tender with a value of 5 new pence until 31 December 1990 Mr Google and Wiki tell me.

In early 80s there was a quite nice mix of baffling prices for a person used to Finnish Markkas, roughly 1/5 of the German one.

 

Yes, the old coins were legal tender until they were replaced but they were all spent in decimal values.

 

Selling guineas and paying out in pounds was how auctioneers used to get there commission.

4 farthings to a penny, gone before I was born; two halfpennies to a penny, Decimilisation did for them: three pennies to a threepenny bit. 6 pennies to a sixpence or tanner. 4 three penny bits or 2 tanners to a shilling.

 

Didn't know that about auctioneers.

 

I was lucky, I was born in 1970, so all decimal for me, no matter how many bobs make a dillion its all greek to me, how you all getting on with contactless?
I had an lady of the late retirment age in recently, who didnt trust contactless as it was a bit Paul Daniels, then spent the next 10 mins trying to remember her pin number.

 

How it was...