Funny Money Trivia Quiz

Answer: 240

Initially weighing 20 - 22.5 grains of pure silver, the weight of the penny was standardised to one two hundred and fortieth of a Tower pound and later, in 1528, to one two hundred and fortieth of a Troy pound. Both the Tower and Troy pounds were measures used to weigh precious metals. A monetary pound weighed one Tower/Troy pound.

Answer: the Roman denarius

The denarius was a small silver coin and was the most common Roman coin in circulation. As well as being the abbreviation for the old British penny "d" was the symbol for the French coin the denier, whose name was derived from denarius. The dinar which was (and still is) used by some Arabic nations also has its origins in the denarius.

The drachma was the major unit of Greek currency both in Ancient Greece and in more modern times. It was replaced by the Euro in 2002.

The dupondius was another Roman coin worth an eighth of a denarius.

Answer: 10p

The florin was the former two shilling piece. In 1847 the idea of decimalisation was first mooted in Parliament and as a result it was decided to mint a coin worth a tenth of a pound. The name florin was decided upon as other European countries had similar weight coins with a similar name.

The plans for decimalisation were then withdrawn for 120 years but the florin continued to be circulated. In 1968 the first new 10p coins were minted being the same size, weight and composition as the florin.

The old florin coins continued to be legal tender until 1993 after the new, smaller 10p piece had been introduced the previous year.

Answer: six pence

The sixpenny coin was minted from 1547 right up until 1970. It was a small silver coin. "It is probably best known by those of us who don't remember pre-decimal currency as the coin that you looked for in the Christmas pudding, although some people still baked a threepenny bit into their puddings."

Player mjmeggie remembers that sixpence pieces were often made into rings: both she and her sister had one. After a quick internet search it would seem that the origins of this go back to the mid-sixteenth century! In those days the majority of people were too poor to be able to afford a wedding ring so the groom would have a silver sixpence (the lowest denomination coin containing silver) melted down and made into a wedding band. This led to the hope that there would be an increase in the couple's wealth and fortunes. Later this tradition changed to the bride having a sixpence in her left shoe on her wedding day. My thanks to the (non-British!) Lancaster Bridal site for this information.

Answer: wren

The farthing was worth a quarter of a penny and was in circulation from the 13th century until 1960. Traditionally the monarch's profile appeared on the obverse and "Britannia" on the reverse. It was the Edward VIII farthing in 1936 (which was designed but never minted due to Edward's abdication) that first featured the wren.

Answer: crown

The crown was introduced into the British monetary system in 1526 under King Henry VIII's monetary reform. It was originally gold but later was minted in silver. The last was produced in 1981.

Answer: 21

The 1663 guinea has the claim to fame of being the first British machine-struck coin. It was originally valued at twenty shillings, but over the years the value fluctuated. At the beginning of the reign of George I it was worth 21 shillings and sixpence and so its value was set at 21 shillings.

It's interesting to note that "guinea" was not the original official name of the coin. Much of the gold that the coins were made from was mined in Guinea and so that, along with the picture of the elephant which appeared on the coin, gave it its name.

Answer: Maundy money

The groat was a silver coin worth four pennies. Its origins are with the French coin the "gros tournois" which was called "groot" in the Netherlands. It was after this coin had circulated in England that the first British groats were minted under King Edward I. The groat was taken out of circulation in 1862 but some continued to be used in Scotland into the twentieth century.

Some groat coins are minted every year as part of the Maundy Money which is given out by the monarch. Coins are valued at 1p, 2p, 3p and 4p. The number of pence given to each recipient is equal to the monarch's age as is the number of male and female recipients. Thus in 2009 as Queen Elizabeth is 83 years of age 83 men and 83 women received 83p each. The coins are legal tender so can be spent if the recipient wishes.

Answer: copper-nickel mix

In 1947 the production of coins containing silver was stopped. They were replaced with those made from 75% copper and 25% nickel. Most earlier coins containing silver were removed from circulation quite quickly.

Answer: 15 February 1971

The decimalisation of sterling was first mooted in Parliament in 1824 but little progress was made for over 100 years! In 1960, following the successful decimalisation of currency in South Africa, the Committee of the Inquiry on Decimal Currency was set up and made its report in 1963. In 1966 it was announced that the proposals made in the report were going to be adopted and the decimal currency act was passed in July 1967. The Decimal Currency Board was created to help the process go smoothly.

It was expected that the changeover period would last several months but shopkeepers found it difficult to physically accommodate the two sets of coins in their tills. As a result the old coinage disappeared from circulation more quickly as it was banked to get it out of the way.

Many older people found it difficult to make the transition between the two systems hence the phrase "how much is that in old money?" This is still used today by people struggling to understand any new system.