Victorian Coinage

“Several discs of metal – old coins apparently – such as I hold here …”

– The Adventure of The Musgrave Ritual (MUSG)

For the student of Victoriana one of the most confusing aspects to be sorted out is the money of that era. What is a guinea?  How does a sovereign relate to a pound? And just what the heck is a florin?

The terminology of Victorian coinage turns up not only in Sherlock Holmes stories, but in Dickens, Trollope, Thackeray, Hardy, and others. So a good knowledge of this subject is highly useful. Below, you will find a list of Victorian Age coins, their abbreviations, and their relative values to one another. The reader will see that it is not as complicated as one might think.

Farthing = ¼ d (d is always the abbreviation for pence)

Ha’penny = ½ d

Tuppence = 2d

Thruppence = 3d

Groat = 4d

Sixpence = 6d

12 pence (12d) = 1 shilling (1s)

20 shillings = 1 pound (£1)

Florin = 2s or one-tenth of a pound

Double Florin = 4s or one-fifth of a pound

Half-Crown = 2s/6d or one-eighth of a pound

Crown = 5s or one-fourth of a pound

Half Sovereign (always a gold coin) = one-half of a pound

Sovereign (always a gold coin) = one pound

Double Sovereign (always a gold coin) = two pounds

During the Victorian Age the pound sterling was worth about $5 US. This meant that the shilling, which was 1/20 of a pound, was worth about 25 cents. The shilling was, indeed, about the size of a US quarter. The double florin would have been worth about $1 US. The crown would have been worth about $1.25.  The rest of the coin values in US terms can thus be easily worked out.

The guinea was a British gold coin which circulated from the early 17^th century to the early 19^th century. It was worth £1/1s, or 21 shillings.  This coin was long out of circulation by mid-Victorian times. But nevertheless during Victoria’s reign professional men such as doctors, lawyers, architects etc. quoted their fees in guineas. Gambling was often done in guineas as well. This effectively made prices 5% higher. So a fee or a bet of 100 pounds was equal to 2,000 shillings, while a fee of 100 guineas was equal to 2100 shillings, or 105 pounds.

This article was originally published in the December 2009 issue of Prescott’s Press, #54.

The 33rd Garrideb, Alexian A. Gregory, has the longest investiture name of all TFG members – Grey archways and mullioned windows and all the venerable wreckage of a feudal keep. A Sherlockian since 1984, Al collects foreign editions of The Hound of The Baskervilles, among other Sherlockian items. In addition to memberships in the Baker Street Irregulars, Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes and the John H Watson Society, Al is active in several other scions in the New York and New Jersey areas.