Pounds, Shillings & Nonsense: Britain’s Ridiculous Old Money System

Pounds, Shillings & Nonsense: Britain’s Ridiculous Old Money System
(Part 2 of the “How Did Britain Survive?” series)

A short comic documentary about Britain’s spectacularly confusing old money.

Before decimalisation, Britain didn’t just have a quirky currency system…
it had an entire mathematical obstacle course disguised as money.

A pound wasn’t 100 pennies.
It was 240 pennies.
A shilling wasn’t 10p.
It was 12 pence.
And a guinea?
Well… that was a pound plus an extra shilling, mainly so posh people could feel fancier.

In this short documentary-style comedy, we explore:
• farthings (¼ of a penny — yes, really)
• ha’pennies
• thrupenny bits
• tanners
• bobs
• florins
• half-crowns
• crowns
• sovereigns
• guineas
• ten-bob notes
• and, of course… the groat

From Christmas puddings filled with sixpences to Hot Cross Buns priced at “one a penny, two a penny,” this was a system built entirely by tradition, confusion, and mild national suffering.

If you survived British money before 1971, you deserve a medal.
If you understand it… you’re now qualified to run the British economy in 1843.

Enjoy Part 2 — and stay tuned for Part 3:
“How the British Accidentally Invented Computers While Avoiding Maths.”

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