Reading the Regency

Pounds, Shillings and Pence

Anyone living in the 19th century would have spent, earned and inherited money using a system that had been in use for hundreds of years, and yet is now unfamiliar to most British people, let alone the rest of the world.

The main units of currency were Pounds, Shillings, and Pence.

Pounds

"Mr. Bickerstaff, of St Mary Axe, returning to town late on Friday night from Woodford, was robbed of 35l. by a highwayman, who was well mounted on a brown horse, and wore a crape over his face."
[The Times, 12th August 1805]

The traditional symbol for the pound is "£", which was derived from the letter "L". This came from the word Libra, the Latin word for pound. During the 19th century it was common to see an upper or lowercase "L" in books and newspapers to indicate pounds.

One hundred pounds might be written as: £100, L100, 100l or 100/-/- , the latter indicating one hundred pounds, zero shillings and zero pence.

One pound was equal to twenty shillings. It was also worth the same as 240 pence.

There were no pound coins in circulation during the Regency period, until 1817 when the gold Sovereign was introduced. It was named after the English Gold Sovereign, last minted in 1604.

In 1801, when Ireland became part of the United Kingdom, they already had their own Irish pound, which was worth slightly less than an English pound. Thirteen Irish pounds were equal to twelve English pounds, until 1826 when the English pound was introduced in Ireland.

Shillings

"Poverty certainly has not contracted her mind: I really believe, if she had only a shilling in the world, she would be very likely to give away sixpence of it."
[Chapter 10, Emma, by Jane Austen]

The traditional symbol for shilling was a lowercase "s". This was short for Solidus, which was the Latin word for shilling.

Twenty shillings were equal to one pound. One shilling could be divided into twelve pence.

Fifteen shillings could be written as: 15s or 15/- , the latter indicating fifteen shillings and zero pence.

The shilling was a small silver coin with the image of the king's head on the reverse. It was commonly known as a bob (singular or plural) so you might have one bob (one shilling) or five bob (five shillings) in your pocket.

There were other coins worth more than one shilling but less than a pound:

Crown - a heavy silver coin, worth five shillings; unpopular, due to its weight.
Half Crown - a silver coin, worth two shillings and sixpence.
Half Sovereign - a gold coin, introduced in 1817, worth ten shillings or 120 pence.

In Regency slang, a shilling was also called a borde or a hog, while a crown was a bull or bullseye.

"Suppose old Hartley was to propose for Miss Portman--there would be a denouement! and cut his daughter off with a shilling! Nothing's impossible, you know."
[Belinda, by Maria Edgeworth]

To cut someone off with a shilling meant to disinherit them. If a child was omitted from their father's will, the will could be legally challenged on the basis that the child had been forgotten, or left out accidentally. By leaving someone a shilling it showed that their disinheritance had been intended, and a legal challenge would likely be unsuccessful.

If a young man enlisted in the British Army or Navy, he was said to have taken the King's shilling. The "King's Shilling" referred to the payment given to new recruits.