Who Remembers ‘Guineas’?

The farthing - with a dear little bird on it (a wren?) was lovely- but not as glamorous as a guinea!

Yes, the little bird on the farthing. I could see it in my minds eye as soon as I had posted. Thank you for mentioning it Not Spaghetti

And there was a ship on the old halfpenny and a portcullis on the threepenny bit I think.

Guineas were a sneaky way of making things sound cheaper than they were.
9 guineas was £9 & 9 shillings.

Until about 30 years ago I had to pay the Church of Scotland a guinea a year for the use of the well water which flows through my garden.
I enjoyed the visit to 121 George St to pay 10/6 every 6 months.

When the Manse next door was sold we were told we no longer had to pay.
Holy water?

I cant remember the guinea.
Just about remember the Farthing.
But i do remember the Half a crown coin.
( Was there a Crown Coin??)
Also the threepenny bit and halfpenny.

There may have once been a crown coin but even before my time. 😉

Just done some research Grammaretto, there was a Crown Coin Minted until 1965, worth 5 schillings.
1/2 a crown 2/6pence.
I still remember doing £ s d in maths before decimilisation.
I got in a right tizz with myself during a maths lesson, day before money changed.
I didnt think id ever understand it😬

Well there you go Northernsoul thanks for that. I don't remember it but it was the 1960s and as we know, if you can remember the 60s you weren't there. 🤣

My dad bought me my horse for £1,760 guineas - my mum was outraged - she could have had a kitchen.

I have a farthing. They were still talked about when I was a little one.

I remember buying sweets which were a farthing each but in reality we only ever bought 4 for a penny!
I don't recall a farthing in my change.
I do remember a George 1V sixpence but it burned a hole in my pocket and was spent.

Most things especially clothes and shoes were priced at a farthing under the next pound. £2.19s11d three farthings.
Instead of £3 which Woukd have been more honest.
Much the same as £2.99 p I suppose.

I wonder what the age cut off would be for remembering Guineas. Most of us born in 40s and 50s would remember, surely.

I too remember (and still have) Golden Guinea LPs. When they had been out for a while they would be sold off for 10/6 from a stall at Waterloo Station and I would sometimes pick one up on my way into work in the early 70s. I also remember taking a farthing into school and buying a Blackjack or Fruit Salad farthing chew from the tuck shop. The richer kids bought the 2d Boat Race. Posh shops still priced in Guineas but for us lesser mortals they priced at just under the £ or 10/- to make it look cheaper, just as they do today with £4.99 (under a Fiver!!).

Such a cute Wren on the farthing coin.

I was born in the 1940s just but grew up in NZ. The coins were slightly different there and they changed to dollars after I left.

My father left school at 14 and went to work in a bank . His first salary was a Guinea and his mother kept it for him,which surprised me as she was determined he would work to support her a widow and his sister. I have it and it is dated 1914 and isinglass mint condition. I’m not sure who to pass it on to .

Claremont

I wonder what the age cut off would be for remembering Guineas. Most of us born in 40s and 50s would remember, surely.

It was no longer legal tender when we changed to decimalisation in 1971.

Northernsoulnanna

Just done some research Grammaretto, there was a Crown Coin Minted until 1965, worth 5 schillings.
1/2 a crown 2/6pence.
I still remember doing £ s d in maths before decimilisation.
I got in a right tizz with myself during a maths lesson, day before money changed.
I didnt think id ever understand it😬

The first crown coin was minted in 1551.
I had a crown coin minted for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Maths or more likely Arithmetic, was a challenge, calculating long hand all the Imperial weights, measures and currency we were expected to master it by 10 yrs old.
At high school Algebra, Logarithms and Triginometry, none of which I have ever used, 10 yrs later Decimalization and calculators make it mostly obsolete.

There was a London restaurant called The Guinea and the Piggy where you paid £1 1s and ate as much as you wanted. Or you could pay half a Guinea and be half a piggy.

Born in 1937, I clearly remember guineas. But I think it associated it with posh people only. Not sure. When I started work in 1953 I was paid in pounds, - £2 a week.

I remember my Welsh Aunts being incredulous when they saw my mother's totally unsuitable for a holiday on the farm clothes .
For me ,a holiday without having to wear dresses and tutus was sheer bliss .
They sat in the kitchen drinking tea and they were saying that all my mother's clothes were paid for in guineas from London shops .
It continued to be a major topic of conversation in the Post Office ,pub and in shops .
Looking back ,many dress shops sold dresses for guineas ,because it was "posh ."
They employed aggressive women who called you Modom and wouldn't let you out of the shop until you bought something.

I take it your Welsh Aunts were on your father's side of the family Esmay 😃

You'd think !
My parents were born in West London .
The Welsh relatives were my Grandmother's .
My mother spent a few month there as a child and didn't like it and holidays spent in Wales didn't appeal to her .
I loved it .
My elder daughter prefers country life and my second daughter is exactly like Grandma .