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Post by Ted Talks Stamps on Jan 3, 2023 16:22:00 GMT
Please excuse my Yankee ignorance, but, when British collectors talk about, say, a 6d (6 pence) value of a stamp set, do you say 6 “d” or 6 “p” ?
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Post by khj on Jan 3, 2023 19:26:41 GMT
First of all, ignore Scott. It depends on pre-decimal or post-decimal, with many BC countries making the unified change on Decimal Day (15Feb1971). Before the change (i.e., pre-decimal): 12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shillings = 1 pound After the change (i.e., decimal): 100 pence = 1 pound To distinguish between the "pence" change, the currency abbreviation on the stamps was changed from "d" (denarius) to "p" (pence). When referring to the currency word, we BC collectors still say pence or penny all the time. But when referring to the abbreviation, proper distinction between 2d and 2p is made. At least, that's how the BC collectors I work with (both American and British) use it. Note that several BC countries, especially in North America, made the change to decimal long before Decimal Day. I defer to the real Brits to confirm/correct/mock my reply. Now, why did I say ignore Scott? 1. Scott lists 1970 as start of currency change in GB country header, when it is clearly 1971. 2. Scott lists GB #2 as 2p (and annoyingly uses "p" for all the pre-decimal GB stamps), but all the BC collectors call the stamp the 2d blue or 2 penny blue Scott is useful, but really should be banned in some countries!
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cjoprey
New Member
Scanning stamps for my website...
Posts: 27
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Post by cjoprey on Jan 3, 2023 21:03:49 GMT
I agree with all of khj 's comments above - except for one... We tend to call the 2d blue the "tupenny blue" But confusingly a 2d coin was a "tuppence". A 3d coin was a "thrupence", and a half penny coin was a "ha'penny". Also, don't get me started on pre-decimal currencies. We had: - farthing: 1/4 penny - penny - shilling: 12 pence - also nicknamed a "bob" - florin: 2 shillings (24 pence) - pound: 20 shillings (240 pence) - there were also gold £1 coins which were called "sovereigns" - guinea: 1 pound 1 shilling - still used in horse racing to value horses and for the winnings After decimalisation, there were still shilling and florin coins, but they became the 5p and 10p values. That way there were still 20 shilling in a pound, but now it was 100 pence to the pound. Prices were listed as £ s'd - i.e. £5 6'3 would be "five pounds, six and three".
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cjoprey
New Member
Scanning stamps for my website...
Posts: 27
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Post by cjoprey on Jan 3, 2023 21:16:09 GMT
By the way, as was mentioned, the "d" stood for denarius which was of course Roman coinage. The "£" symbol is also Roman in origin as it stands for "libra pondo" (Latin for "a pound weight") and it was used as the coin was valued as a "tower pound" of sterling silver (350g amalgam of 92.5% silver and 7.5% of base metals).
"penny" and "shilling" come from Germanic rather than Latin, and "florin" literally was "of Florence" in Italy, where that coin was originally created. The "Guinea" is named such because the original British coins of that value were made from gold from Guinea in Africa.
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Post by khj on Jan 3, 2023 21:20:45 GMT
We tend to call the 2d blue the "tupenny blue" My penchant for laziness is showing. I'm too lazy to say tupenny so I say tudee instead! I end my posts with "k" because I'm too lazy to type my full initials (which I use because I'm too lazy to type my name). The farthing is rather interesting. One of the surcharges that I like is the 1901 Bermuda 1 farthing over 1 shilling overprint. Were they that desperate for 1 farthing stamps that they had to overprint the highest denomination stamp available?!? It wasn't until 5 years later that Bermuda would issue a 1 farthing (¼d) stamp. I do note that beforehand, Bermuda had a habit of surcharging only the high denomination 1 shilling stamps to lower value. I guess they had plenty of leftover 1 shilling stamps? Wife-was-right-when-she-called k lazy
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Post by Ted Talks Stamps on Jan 3, 2023 22:50:07 GMT
And here I thought I’d just get a 2-syllable answer. LOL Thanks, k ‘n c
(And, yes, I realize it should be ‘n’ to denote a missing letter on both sides of the n, but then it starts to look like I’m trying to type out some kind of keyboard art.)
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Post by khj on Jan 3, 2023 23:56:44 GMT
exo' (2 syllable) k
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Post by Ted Talks Stamps on Jan 4, 2023 0:47:15 GMT
exo' (2 syllable) k 'numi'
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Post by cddstamps on Jan 4, 2023 10:57:24 GMT
hahahahaha, as soon as I read first of all ignore scott. I said, I like this guy and yes Ted, 6d is one value and 6p is another value hahahah gotta love us..
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Post by Dave Sheridan on Feb 5, 2023 7:35:09 GMT
You will never find a true BC collector say 2sh 6p in a listing. It's 2/6d. The d for penny or pence is the "denari" in the Librae, solidus, denarii (LSD).
I love seeing old covers with someone's additions. At school we had to learn to add pounds, shillings and pence without a calculator. Not fun!
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