Table of Contents
What was a Bob in old money?
shilling
A shilling was often called a ‘bob’. “It cost me four bob.” A penny was often called a ‘copper’ after the metal it was minted from.
Where does the word Bob come from?
The noun, meaning ‘the act of moving up and down’ dates back to the mid-16th century, and comes from the verb. Bob, the noun meaning short hair, dates back to the late 17th century, though it was used much earlier (mid-16th century) with the sense ‘a horse’s tail cut short.
What does Bob mean in Britain?
Definition of bob (Entry 6 of 7) slang, British. : shilling.
Where did the term two Bob come from?
If you call someone a flaming galah you are calling them a fool. A two bob watch is a cheap and crappy watch, literally, one that only cost two bob. This phrase comes from the time when hat-makers worked with mercury, mercury poisoning causing brain disorders.
How much was 15 bob a week?
“Bob” was a nickname for the British shilling coin which was equal to twelve pence or 1/20 of a pound sterling silver. Bob Cratchit’s pay was 15 shillings (bob) a week or three pence (“thruppence”) per hour for 60 hours per week. Scrooge uses the pun of “15 bobs” as a play on Cratchit’s first name.
Who is the most famous bob?
Bob Marley is the most famous person named Bob.
Why was it called a ten bob note?
The Bank of England 10s note, colloquially known as the 10 bob note or just the 10 bob was a banknote of the pound sterling. Ten shillings in pre-decimal money (written 10s or 10/-) was equivalent to half of one pound.
What was 2 bob?
(Australia, slang) A 20-cent coin. (idiomatic, UK, Australia) A trivially small value; often used attributively.
What would a shilling be worth today?
A pound was worth twenty shillings and each shilling was worth a dozen pennies. Today, a shilling from Churchill’s England has the purchasing equivalent of 5 pence in the decimal currency system.
Was a shilling a lot of money?
The pound was the same pound we use today. We still have a penny, but the old one was larger and worth a lot less. The shilling is no longer UK currency….Old money v new money coins.
| Coin | Value | Closest decimal coin |
|---|---|---|
| Shilling | 5p | Five new pence |
| Two shillings | 10p | Ten new pence |
| Half crown | 12.5p | Ten new pence |
How much is two bobs worth?
Two bob is two shillings, which were not exactly worthless back in the day, and the origin of the phrase is in rhyming slang, with ‘two bob bit’ being the polite rhyme.
Why is a Bob called a Bob?
Historically, bob was slang for a British shilling (12 old pence, pre-decimalisation, and 20 shillings to a pound). No plural version; it was ‘thirty bob’ not ‘thirty bobs.’ Usage of ‘bob’ for shilling dates to the late 1700s, but the origins of the nickname are unclear.
What was the original name of the shilling?
It was first minted in the reign of Henry VII as the testoon, and became known as the shilling from the Old English scilling, sometime in the mid-sixteenth century, circulating until 1990. The word bob was sometimes used for a monetary value of several shillings, e.g.
What is the value of a shilling?
From early Anglo-Saxon times the shilling was a unit of account, that is to say, a value used in calculations which had no corresponding coin. Its value became established as equivalent to 12 pence and there were 20 shillings to the pound.
What was the value of a shilling before decimalisation?
British pre-decimalisation coin. The shilling (1/-) was a coin worth one twentieth of a pound sterling, or twelve pence.