A guinea is not actually a pound, but a distinct British gold coin (introduced in 1663) valued at 21 shillings (£1.05 in modern decimal), originally sourced from gold in the Guinea region of West Africa. It became a "gentlemanly" term for luxury goods and fees, lingering after 1816 when the £1 coin replaced it.
However, since British currency was decimalised on 15 th February 1971, the Guinea has no longer been used as legal tender. Nevertheless, the term is still used in certain circles such as horse racing to describe values equivalent to one pound and one shilling, or £1.05 in modern currency.
It was considered a more gentlemanly amount than £1. You paid tradesmen, such as a carpenter, in pounds but gentlemen, such as an artist, in guineas. It was a tradition in the legal profession that a barrister was paid in guineas but kept only the pounds, giving his clerk the shillings (they were all men then).
The 'Bob' The term 'shilling' might be derived from a Roman coin called a solidus, or the old English term 'scield'. Eventually, it adopted the nickname 'bob', although quite why remains a mystery. There have been attempts to link its name to the famous politician Sir Robert Walpole.
As we found out then 'Nick' has a wide variety of meanings based on cheating, snatching, and stealing. Maybe, a one pound coin was viewed as an item of currency worth nicking and became known as a nicker.
The term "quid" for a British pound likely comes from Latin's "quid pro quo" (something for something/equal exchange), suggesting money as an equivalent, or potentially from Gaelic "mo chuid" (my share/possession), but its exact origin is uncertain, with other theories linking it to a paper mill or even tobacco, though the Latin link remains popular for its fitting meaning of exchange.
The term has since the early 1900s been used by bookmakers and horse-racing, where carpet refers to odds of three-to-one, and in car dealing, where it refers to an amount of £300. caser/case = five shillings (5/-), a crown coin.
Some attribute it to John Sigismund Tanner (1705–75), a former Chief Engraver of The Royal Mint who designed a sixpence during the reign of George II (r. 1727–60), whilst another theory is that the name comes from the Anglo-Romani word 'taw no' meaning 'small one'.
' It seems 'joey' was originally a slang term for the silver fourpence, which the radical politician Joseph Hume reintroduced in the 1830s, as he wanted more small change in circulation. This angered cab drivers because receiving the exact fare meant they couldn't pocket a tip.
MONKEY. Meaning: London slang for £500. Derived from the 500 Rupee banknote, which featured a monkey. EXPLANATION: While this London-centric slang is entirely British, it actually stems from 19th Century India.
A more plausible derivation is from the Old English word steorling (“coin with a star”), for small stars occur on some Norman pennies. In a monetary sense, the term sterling was formerly used to describe the standard weight or quality of English coinage.
The British pound is both the oldest and one of the most traded currencies in the world. It is currently the fourth most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the US dollar (USD), euro (EUR) and Japanese yen (JPY).
The name 'dollar' originates from the tolar which was the name of a 29-gram (1.0 oz) silver coin called the Joachimsthaler minted in 1519 in the western part of Bohemia (now the Czech Republic). The word thaler itself comes from the German word Thal, i.e. 'valley'.
The guinea would be in circulation from the reign of King Charles II to King George III, from 1663 – 1814, a total of 151 years. In The Great Recoinage of 1816, the guinea was replaced by the pound as the major unit of currency however long after the guinea ceased to circulate, it is still prominent in the world today.
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the use of the term as an insult against Italians is most likely an allusion to their darker complexion as compared to Anglo-Americans. The insult was to over-emphasize the darker complexion, and imply West African ancestry as the cause.
'Bob' was also used to refer to a set of changes rung on church bells, and this may have been the nickname's origin as the word 'shilling' has its origins in the proto-Germanic word 'skell' which means 'ring'.
"Dime" is based on the Latin word "decimus," meaning "one tenth." The French used the word "disme" in the 1500s when they came up with the idea of money divided into ten parts. In America, the spelling changed from "disme" to "dime." The designs of the early dimes showed a woman who symbolized liberty.
It's a transitional mint error — struck on leftover copper planchets when the Mint had already switched to zinc. What is the value of a 1982-D Small Date Copper penny? Depending on grade, examples have sold for $10,000 to $25,000+ at major auctions.
two bob (uncountable) (UK, Australia, obsolete) Two shillings; a florin. (Australia, slang) A 20-cent coin. (idiomatic, UK, Australia, often attributive) A trivially small value.
It is probably derived from the Scottish dialect word saxpence. Zac (also spelt zack) is first recorded in Australian English in the 1890s. Later it is also used to mean 'a trifling sum of money', as in the phrase not worth a zac.
Lolly: This weird name for money was originally short for lollipop. It entered British slang as a term for money in the mid-20th century. But no matter where you're from, most everyone agrees money is sweet. Loot: “Loot” is one of the old words for money we still use today.
(British, informal, from Cockney rhyming slang, used especially in negative constructions) A word; a brief chat. We've not heard a dicky-bird about anything relating to his birthday. (British, informal) A small thing.
nicker - a pound (£1). Not pluralised for a number of pounds, eg., 'It cost me twenty nicker..' From the early 1900s, London slang, precise origin unknown.
