Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2023 October 19

= October 19 =

Silverware
According to Australian dollar, sixpences, shillings and florins remain in circulation as five, ten and twenty cent coins. How far back do they go? A friend went there in 1969, so she missed both decimal changeovers. I went over in 1971, so I missed only one changeover. I remember seeing the old coins, and was surprised that people still referred to the ten twenty cent coin as "two bob."

Second question - what's the oldest dated coin anyone has received in change? I once received a shilling of George III dated 1820, and halfpence dated 1860 were, almost literally, "two a penny." 2A00:23C5:E103:3301:858E:55F9:EDE:D069 (talk) 18:23, 19 October 2023 (UTC)


 * I'm seeing some misunderstanding there about your first question. The previous currency of pounds, shillings and pence was replaced by dollars and cents on 14 February 1966. "Pre-decimal Australian coins remain legal tender for 10 cents per shilling" - but the old coins were progressively withdrawn from circulation as the new ones were distributed. There was a period from 1966 during which both sets were circulating and accepted, but I cannot remember the last time I ever saw a pre-decimal coin outside of a coin and stamp shop. It would have been no later than the late 1960s. So, it's not strictly true to say that "sixpences, shillings and florins remain in circulation as five, ten and twenty cent coins". As for calling the 10c coin "two bob": the 10c coin was set equivalent to the old shilling, which was often called "a/one bob", while the 20c coin was equivalent to 2 shillings, or "two bob". But again, it's been a long time since that terminology has been widely used. -- Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  18:49, 19 October 2023 (UTC)


 * Curious that both countries chose a Monday in the middle of February to do it.  South Africa did it in 1961 on the same day as Australia. 2A00:23C5:E103:3301:858E:55F9:EDE:D069 (talk) 19:00, 19 October 2023 (UTC)


 * So was a sixpence referred to as a "tanner" and a pound as a "quid", and before decimalisation was half a crown "half a dollar" and five shillings a "dollar" (which harks back to the nineteenth century exchange rate between U S dollars and sterling)? 2A00:23C5:E103:3301:858E:55F9:EDE:D069 (talk) 19:05, 19 October 2023 (UTC)
 * From Decimal Day (which covers the UK): "February had been chosen for Decimal Day because it was the quietest time of the year for the banks, shops and transport organisations". I think calling a crown a dollar (and hence half-crown as half a dollar) was only done by the elderly even before D-day.  Personally I don't ever recall hearing it used in real life, and when it occurred on The Archers I had to ask Dad to explain.  "Tanner" and "Bob" certainly continued well after D-day, and "Quid" is common today.  Again based purely on personal experience there are a few expressions which remain, usually amongst the older generation: "bent as a 7 bob note" for something illegal or dubious or "half-a-crown" for a score of 26 in darts. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 19:26, 19 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Contrariwise, I grew up in the 1950s–70s (I just remember using farthings, withdrawn in 1961) in a family with East London and Essex backgrounds, and up until decimalisation routinely heard my parents use "half a dollar", and myself used "tanner" and "bob". Lsd-based expressions lasted much longer, including "bent as a nine (not seven) bob note", and I remember in the late seventies having to explain to the small daughter of friends what we had meant by referring to the "one and nines" (cheap seats at the cinema). {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 5.68.252.202 (talk) 05:24, 20 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Farthings had a wren on them, and there was a "Wren Road" not far from where we lived in Oxford, close to the infamous Cutteslowe Walls.  Silver threepences were driven out by the twelve-sided brass variety.   I thought prices like "nine and eleven three" (9/11 3/4) or 9 s. 11 3/4 d. became obsolete in the 1930s - did they survive longer? 2A00:23C5:E103:3301:A401:F969:8C08:4F5B (talk) 11:16, 20 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Farthings certainly did. They stopped being legal tender at the end of 1960.--Phil Holmes (talk) 11:37, 20 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Sixpenny bits (2½ New Pence) continued in the UK until 1980. I recall shilling and two shilling coins (identical in size to 5p and 10p coins) also being used well after Decimalisation. Alansplodge (talk) 13:53, 20 October 2023 (UTC)
 * UK pre-decimal shillings and florins could potentially have continued in use until (1) the decimal coinage was downsized (5p in 1990, 10p in 1992), and (2) the old sizes (pre- and post-decimal) were demonetised (don't know when). -- Verbarson talkedits 16:45, 20 October 2023 (UTC)