Money
Here in the UK, we have used a decimal system of currency since 1971. Before that, things were far less logical due to the ad hoc development of the previous system (influenced by foreign trade). I grew up with the pre-decimal system, so it holds no terrors for me, but I imagine to most foreign visitors—whose home currencies were frequently decimal—it must have been very confusing: twelve pence to a shilling, twenty shillings to a pound. What's a guinea? A farthing? A half-crown? How much is three-ha'pence? And that was just standard nomenclature.
As that earlier system diminished and disappeared, much colourful terminology departed with it, though some remains with original or amended meaning.
In connection with all of this is the development of various forms of slang, the best-known being London rhyming slang (often referred to as "Cockney" rhyming slang, after the traditionally cheery inhabitants of the East End of London. More accurately, its use is widespread throughout London and, through cultural appropriation, beyond). Popular television programmes (notably Steptoe and Son, The Sweeney, Minder, Only Fools and Horses and certain broadcast stand-up comedians) have, over time, ensured its understanding, adoption and development in the wider UK.
Other forms of slang also come into play, notably Polari (sometimes Palari). Where rhyming slang might have been traditionally used by London cabbies, dockers (dock workers), totters ("rag and bone men", ie mobile street traders in junk/scrap metal etc), hawkers (peddlers), touts (gougers), spivs (black marketeers), used car dealers, market porters and street market traders, Polari might traditionally have been used additionally by fairground folk (carneys, roustabouts), theatricals and (most famously, in broadcast comedy of the 1950s, via the characters Julian and Sandy from BBC radio's Round the Horne) the gay community. There is some crossover in slang forms.
I'm going off-topic somewhat.
Money. General expressions thereof:
"Bread" is in worldwide use. Outside the UK, this might or might not derive from the baked commodity being "the stuff/staff of life," an essential means of survival.
In the UK its origin lies in rhyming slang: "bread and honey" = money. Parenthetically, while I'm on the subject of baked comestibles, the expression "use your loaf" (suggesting that an individual should apply further thought) derives from "loaf of bread", meaning head. Rhyming slang usually omits the rhyming, second component that connects the expression to its meaning. Obviously, this is a useful ploy for engaging in criminal or other secretive activity, providing those who are meant to be excluded don't know the code, and those who are meant to be included do know it. As a non-monetary example, the humorous (or sexist, depending on PoV) use of "trouble" to denote a female spouse: "trouble and strife" = wife.
Famous personalities, living or dead, are often the foundation for rhyming slang, where "Gregory" means neck (from actor Gregory Peck), "Ruby" means curry (from singer Ruby Murray) and, coming back to money, "Ayrton" represents ten pounds sterling (from racing driver Ayrton Senna, which rhymes with "tenner", a colloquial expression for a ten pound note). Another rhyming slang expression for £10 is a "Tony" (from erstwhile politician Tony Benn). A favourite of mine involves a celebrated name but doesn't rhyme in itself. It's based on a homonym: "Pavarotti", who, of course, was a famous tenor (tenner).
In addition to bread, though less common, there is "beezum", a corruption of "bees 'n'", itself an abbreviation of bees and honey. Another—extended—variant is "poppy", contracted from poppy red, which, of course, rhymes with bread. A further rhyming example is "bangers", from bangers and mash (a common British dish of sausages and mashed potato), meaning cash.
As we're successfully back on the subject, I'll mention "Godiva" (from Lady Godiva, a famously naked equestrian from historic Coventry) represents five pounds, since it rhymes with "fiver", a colloquial expression for a five pound note. A brilliant extension of this is "commodore", meaning £15. Why? Because the Commodores had a hit with their song Three Times a Lady, and three times a Lady Godiva (£5) is £15. There was a time when a commodore would have bought you three Commodores' albums, but that's ancient history. Also representing five pounds is "sky-diver", which isn't abbreviated to "sky" as it might be confused with "skyrocket", slang for pocket. So you might well be feeling flush (having sufficient funds) because you have a Godiva in your skyrocket.
Other, non-rhyming, slang for money includes dosh, wedge, wad and wonga—the latter appropriated as a company name by an extortionate payday lender who I happily believe are now out of business. Well-known even outside of the north of England—its origin and where I heard it as a commonplace—is the word "brass", a general term for money. It's often heard in northern expressions like "where there's muck, there's brass". I suppose it has its origins in acknowledging the visual similarity between gold and the much cheaper shiny yellow metal, but who knows? In northern England, this would be pronounced "brass", in the received pronunciation of the south it is often elongatedly pronounced "brahss".
Not to be confused with the above, two London rhyming slang expressions might appear to be associated, but they aren't. "Brassic" is a corruption of borassic, a shortening of the term borassic lint (a wound dressing) that rhymes with "skint", a slang term for being penniless. Skint itself is a corruption of the word skinned, which makes sense in the context of having lost everything. "Brass" in rhyming slang has nothing to do with money or its lack but is a derogatory term for a woman of bad reputation and derives either from brass flute or brass nail/rail. I don't know whether it's influential on the adjective "brassy", for something cheap and showy.
British banknotes often acquire a nickname associated with the worthy individual printed on the reverse (it's always the monarch on the front, but of course the recently expired HMQ will soon be superseded by HMK). When they went into circulation with Charles Darwin on the reverse, a £10 note was often referred to as a "Darwin".
"Coppers" is the term for small denomination coins, originally minted in copper but latterly in bronze. It still applies and often generally refers to triflingly small amounts of money, eg "it's only worth coppers".
"Silver" referred to larger denomination coins originally minted in silver but latterly in cupronickel. It still applies.
All loose change, ie coins, are referred to as "smash" or "shrapnel" for, I think, obvious reasons.
Though literally out of circulation, or their values are changed because of decimalisation, here are a few colloquial terms for various denominations of coin or note:
"Tanner" was the most common name for a pre-decimal sixpence, a small "silver" coin. Obviously worth six pence (6d), there were two to a shilling and forty to a pound sterling. Surviving decimalisation in 1971, they continued in circulation until 1980 with a post-decimalisation value of 2½ pence (2½p. The pre-decimalisation shorthand expression for pence was "d" from the Latin "denarius"; the post-decimalisation expression is "p" for "pence"). Also known as a "sprat" or a "joey" (though this latter term has been applied to a number of coins), the tanner was additionally referred to as a "kick", so, if an item cost two shillings and sixpence (2s 6d or 2/6d), it cost two-and-a-kick. I think Australians knew their sixpence as a "zack".
Two-and-a-kick, by the way, was the value of the pre-decimal half-crown, withdrawn in 1970. There were eight to £1. The half-crown was also known as a half-dollar, since the crown (then five shillings in value) was often referred to as a dollar, and that for two reasons. Firstly, when the union with Scotland came about in the early 18th Century, the equivalent Scottish coin was their dollar (they also had placks, bodles, bawbees and ryals, but let's not complicate things). Secondly, when the term was in most popular use, in the early 20th Century, the exchange rate of US/UK currency put the equivalent value of the crown at approximately $1 US.
Crowns are still minted but I'm not sure if they're legal tender, being produced for commemorative purposes and now valued at a more substantial £5. In its earlier incarnation, the crown was also known as an "Oxford" (from Oxford scholar = dollar).
A shilling was always known as a "bob", worth twelve pence (12d), with twenty to £1. The coin survived decimalisation as the five pence piece (5p) and contemporary versions are smaller than the old shilling piece. The term bob survives in phrases like "he's worth a bob or two", suggesting the affluence of the subject. "A couple of bob" can mean, depending on context, a smaller or—slightly ironically—a larger sum of money ("it's only worth a couple of bob"/"he's not short of a couple of bob").
Between the shilling and the half-crown was the two-shilling (2s or 2/-) piece, often referred to semi-officially as a florin. After the changeover it became the ten pence (10p) coin. In both guises there were/are ten to £1.
The thruppenny bit went when the "new" coinage arrived. More correctly, I suppose, it was the three-penny bit (3d), with four to a shilling and 80 to £1. At the time of my parents' wedding the coin was round and "silver" and there was, for luck, one in each of my mother's shoes on the day.
Later, it became the only non-circular coin in circulation until the early, just pre-decimalisation introduction of the fifty pence (50p) piece, the latter worth ten shillings (10s or 10/-) pre-1971, with two to £1.
12-sided (I think), the thruppenny bit was composed of nickel/brass and was the only yellow coin then in use. The coin now gone, it's still possible to hear it referred to in the plural as rather sexist rhyming slang.
The pound became a yellow nickel/brass coin in 1984, replacing the previous banknote. Being alarmingly easy to forge, the coin has been updated to a coin with a nickel/brass outer ring and a nickel-plated inner planchet. Old nicknames remain attached to the pound. I do not know the origin, but a pound is still referred to as a "bar" (so fifty pence [50p], or the earlier equivalent of ten shillings [10s or 10/-], is referred to as "half a bar"), but the use is less than it was pre-1971. The term "oncer" is obvious. Everyone knows "quid", though there are different opinions on its origin: a quid was also a measure of tobacco, and that might have some connection. It's always used in the singular (ie five quid, not five quids). "Saucepan lid" is, apparently, the rhyming slang.
"Sov", meaning pound, is slang still in use, especially in London, and derives from "sovereign", a historical gold coin originally worth £1. Sovereigns are still minted in gold as coins for investment. A brilliant, uncirculated 2019 gold sovereign purchased from the Royal Mint would actually cost £450.
"Nicker", or "knicker", remains common slang, but probably only with Boomers or older folk. Again, it refers to the pound, and again I don't know the etymology. Yet again, it remains singular with multiple quantities: "I expect that'll cost four-or-five knicker", for example. For dubious humour's sake, when the value is £2, someone might refer to "a pair of knickers" since, otherwise unconnected, knickers is also the British slang word for (especially women's) briefs.
Expressions for larger sums share common, more modern, terms with the rest of the world, possibly an indicator of England's working poor and its underclass—the originators and likeliest users of slang—historically not often coming into contact with large sums of money.
An amusing, relatively modern, bit of slang alluding to a medium-sized sum of £50 is a "McGarrett" (Five-O, a reference to the TV cop show).
More obscure and much older is "pony", which denotes £25, still very much in use in London—though context has to be carefully considered as pony is also rhyming slang for something of extremely poor quality (pony and trap [you can guess the rest], as in "that fake watch you sold me in the pub was a right load of pony").
Similarly obscure and zoological is "monkey", which denotes the tidy sum of £500. The story is that English soldiery and minor bureaucrats serving in India originated the term, based on the appearance of those simian creatures on the 500 rupee Indian banknotes.
Polari (or palari), I have to confess, I find hilarious. This is mainly because of the association with the aforementioned radio show. As a child, it went over my head almost entirely. It was just so ostentatious and incomprehensible that it made me laugh. These years later, I understand the innuendo, while its cheerfully baroque wit is just as funny. More pertinent to this particular story, is the expression "handbag" (purse), denoting money, and its derivatives "nanti handbag" (no money) and "national handbag" a witty reference to state benefits.
I used to knock about with a group of photographers when I worked in the capital. Being mainly Londoners and a little older than I, they knew the rhyming slang and—though we're all straight—polari, too. A shoot with them was always enjoyable work, and a constituent of that was their ability to reduce me to helpless laughter by the use of the most absurd slang expressions. I hope to see them later this month at a now-annual get-together of our old photographic and design studio personnel.
The earlier reference to being skint reminds me of one last expression from common parlance: to be "potless", ie without money. The origin is the alliterative expression "he doesn't have a pot to (urinate) in".
Notes for insomniac numismatists
Pre-decimal coins in circulation in 1958, the year I was born:
Farthing, 1/960th of a pound (£1) sterling (48 farthings to a shilling). Withdrawn from circulation in 1960.
Half penny, 1/480th of £1 (24 ha'pennies to a shilling).
The price of some small goods for sale might have been 1½d, referred to as a penny-ha'penny or more usually three-ha'pence. The ha'penny was withdrawn from circulation in 1969 but is still referenced in the expression "ha'porth": a ha'penny's, or half-penny's worth of whatever commodity, suggesting a small amount. Best known in the old saw "don't spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar", which speaks for itself. Also used in phrases like "he hasn't a ha'porth of common sense", or (especially in the north) "he's a daft ha'porth" a mild, almost affectionate expression of exasperation with someone's (often a small child's) foolishness.
One penny, 1/240th of £1 (12 pennies/pence to a shilling). Withdrawn from circulation in 1971.
As a child I could have gone to a sweet shop/candy store and bought a penn'orth (ie a pennyworth, or a penny's worth) of loose sweets, decanted from jar to paper bag. "Tuppence" (two pence) occurs in the expression "I don't give a tuppenny damn", where it connotes the low value of the damn not given. The expression "tuppenny-ha'penny" (from 2½d: two-pence-ha'penny), also suggesting near worthlessness, is conversationally still in use (as in "does he still work for that tuppenny-ha'penny company?").
Three pence, 1/80th of £1 (thruppence/threppence. Four thruppenny/threppenny bits to a shilling). Withdrawn from circulation in 1971.
Four pence (a groat), 1/60th of £1 (three of these to a shilling when latterly in use—last minted for general circulation in 1856).
This coin was lo-o-o-ng out of common circulation when I was born but I mention it as it was still—indeed is yet—ceremonially dispensed by the monarch, with other specially minted coins, to deserving pensioners. The distribution—as Maundy Money—is made on Thursday of Holy Week, before Easter each year, now with decimal values. Pre-decimal Maundy money retains the numerical face value, so a 4d coin could be spent as its post-decimal 4p equivalent. These coins are legal tender but their higher value as collectors' items tends to mean they aren't seen in circulation or spent.
Six pence or Sixpence, 1/40th of £1 (two tanners to a shilling). Withdrawn from circulation (as 2½p) in 1980.
One shilling, 1/20th of £1 (a bob). Withdrawn from circulation in 1990 (as 5p), replaced with smaller 5p coin.
Two shillings, 1/10th of £1 (two bob, a florin). Withdrawn from circulation (as 10p) in 1992, replaced with smaller 10p coin.
Half-crown, 1/8th of £1 (there were two-and-a-half shillings in this "half-dollar"). Withdrawn from circulation in 1969.
Crown, 1/4 of £1 (there were five shillings in this "dollar"). Now minted as commemorative collectibles with a revised value of £5.
Coins introduced or in circulation at the time of decimalisation (1971):
½p; 1p; 2p; 2½p (old 6d); 5p (old 1/-); 10p (old 2/-); 25p (old 5/-); and 50p.
£2 coins were introduced in 1998.
£5 coins were introduced in 1990 and, while legal tender, are minted as commemorative/collectible items and are largely uncirculated.
The ½p coin was tiny, ridiculous, immediately worthless and held in national contempt. It became the focus of a boisterous-yet-ironic yard game at my secondary school. At the sound of one of these mites being thrown, impromptu, to the ground or against a wall, a horde of youths would immediately pile onto the coin, as in a game of rugby, fighting to obtain possession as though it was a thing of enormous worth. Many a school uniform was ruined in the pursuit (uniform is the default standard of dress at most British schools). In one instance, during a history lesson, such a coin pinged off the wall at the front of class as our teacher chalked up details of the Franco-Prussian War on the blackboard (or it might have been Mundulla's 1870 Education Act, but who remembers?). A solitary student, skidding swiftly down the aisle between two rows of desks on his stomach, came to rest at the teacher's dais triumphantly holding the copper token aloft in the prone position. Above him, the pedagogue looked down in bemusement. You had to be there (and 13 years old), I guess.
Pre-decimal notes (bills) in circulation in 1958:
Ten shillings, 1/2 of £1 (ten-bob-note). Withdrawn from circulation in 1970, replaced with 50p decimal coin.
One pound (a quid). Withdrawn from circulation in 1988, replaced with £1 coin. The two-part £1 coin was introduced in 2017.
To be "quids in" is to be flush with money, especially through a recent windfall or gain.
Five pounds (five quid). In circulation, a polymer note since 2016.
Ten pounds (ten quid). In circulation, a polymer note since 2017.
At the time of my arrival in 1958 there were no notes of higher denomination than £10, though £20 notes were re-introduced in 1970 and £50 notes re-introduced in 1981, which tells of inflation if nothing else.
Currently, there are no higher value notes in England than £50. All banknotes of £100 or higher value were withdrawn during WWII in an attempt to prevent forgery.
After WWII, English banknotes were differentiated by both colour and size: 10/- russet; £1 green; £5 blue; £10 ochre; £20 purple; £50 red. This coding has remained through various changes in design over time. The size of note increases with its value. Older notes had HMQ on the front and Britannia on the reverse. From 1970 notes incorporate notable persons on the reverse.
Banknotes in Scotland are printed by the three largest Scottish clearing banks. They, too, now print polymer rather than paper bills (although the Royal Bank of Scotland may still have a paper £1 note in circulation). Their designs are different (even from one another, providing three designs each of five, ten, twenty, fifty and £100 notes north of the border). While they can be accepted as payment in the rest of the UK, they are not strictly "legal tender", so there is no obligation to accept them in payment or in change.
Though there is no £100 note in general circulation from the Bank of England, I believe they are printed in small numbers for God knows what reason.
"Copper" (later bronze) coins in the UK are now actually made of copper-jacketed steel.
"Silver" (later cupro-nickel) coins of 5p and 10p value are now made of nickel-plated steel, though 20p and 50p coins remain cupro-nickel. The multi-sided 50p coin was reduced in size from 1997 and a bi-metallic £2 coin (of similar construction to the current £1 coin) was also introduced in 1997. The inner planchet of the £1 coin is nickel-plated steel, while its now-12-sided outer is nickel-brass; the inner planchet of the £2 coin is cupro-nickel, its circular outer disc is also nickel-brass.
Having previously scorned the former halfpenny coin introduced with decimalisation for its ludicrously small size, I discover there was some sort of rationale for it: each of the 2p,1p and ½p coins had relative weights corresponding to their value, so a penny was half the weight of a tuppenny coin and a decimal ha'penny was half the weight of a penny. To have made the ha'penny a sensible size would have meant a disproportionately large 2p coin that would also have been uneconomical to mint and circulate. There's still no denying that decimal ha'pennies were ridiculous, though. Contemporary 5p coins are now preposterously small and held in equal contempt.