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� = 20 shillings (sh)
sh = one shilling of 12 pennies (d)
d = one penny or two half-pennies or four farthings
So, in other words, there were 240 pennies in one pound. And every schoolchild in Britain could recite their twelve-times table without hesitation!
Very conveniently, for those such as banks who handled coins in bulk, the weight of the pre-decimal coins bore exact relationships with each other:
two sixpences weighed the same as one shilling;
four sixpences weighed the same as one florin (two shillings);
five sixpences weighed the same as one half-crown.
Bronze coins were useful measures of weight and length.
The diameter of the halfpenny was almost exactly one inch, while five pennies placed side-by-side provided a reasonably accurate six-inch measure.
Three pennies or five halfpennies weighed one ounce.
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| Crown Copyright Royal Mint |
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