Cardall's Corner - February 2011 - “Money Matters”

The 40th Anniversary of ‘decimalisation’ is on 14th February 2011. From the 16th century until 1971, £1 was worth 20 shillings (20s) and one shilling was worth 12 pence (12d), the “d” coming from the Latin denarius, a coin used in Roman times. Older residents will remember the confusion when overnight a pound became worth 100p not 240d.

The symbol “p” was used to distinguish new pennies from old. The first decimal coins (5p and 10p) had appeared in 1968. Then 50p coins replaced ten shilling notes. The half new penny (½p), new penny (1p), and two new pence (2p) coins arrived in 1971 - the word ‘new’ being dropped in 1982. In 1983 the £1 coin replaced the £1 banknote, and other changes include the introduction of 20p and £2 coins, and further redesigns in 2008.

In mediaeval times, Southam minted ‘tokens’ at the Old Mint which were accepted by local traders in exchange for goods. During the Civil War, King Charles reputedly used Southam’s Mint to make coins to pay his soldiers. In 1992, the landlord of the Old Mint, Geoff Wright, commissioned a replica Southam Token to commemorate the 350th Anniversary of the Battle of Southam. We have one of these replicas in Southam’s Cardall Collection.

Southam’s Cardall Collection contains artefacts and documents relating to the history of Southam and surrounding area. Contact: The Friends of the Cardall Collection, The Old Labour Exchange, 2/4 Warwick Road, Southam, CV47 0HN, (email: cardallcollection@hotmail.co.uk)


This article has been kindly written by Robert Cardall

> Return to articles