Medieval methods... (was Re: Got a question....PDP? VAX?) - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

17 Mar 1999

So... for those of us who haven't traveled in the UK (yet), how does it work
post-1971?

-----Original Message-----
From: Philip.Belben(a)pgen.com &lt;Philip.Belben(a)pgen.com&gt;
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
&lt;classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu&gt;
Date: Wednesday, March 17, 1999 8:04 AM
Subject: Re: Medieval methods... (was Re: Got a question....PDP? VAX?)

...

  I gather the machine had some sort of support for
doing arithmetic on
 pre-decimalized currency, does anyone here know what that looked like?
 It wasn't explained very well in the book. 

I don't know how the currency was handled on Leo, but as a reference for our
...
 American friends I shall say a few words on British
currency prior to 1971.

The basic unit was the pound.  The symbol was the same as nowadays, viz. a
scripty capital L with two horizontal bars through it (though often only one bar
...
 is written, for speed)  On e-mail I generally use an
ordinary L for pound (L
...
 stands for Livre (french = pound))

King Offa (?9th century) fixed the value of a penny at 1/240 of a pound. Later
...
 the shilling was fixed at 12 pence.  (Pence is the
plural of penny, in case you
...
 hadn't worked it out.  "Pennies" is a
word coined much more recently (pun
intended))

So L1 = 20 s.  (s stands for solidus (lat. = a silver coin of some sort) or sou
...
 (Fr. = a coin worth not a lot))

1 s. = 12 d.  (d stands for denarius (lat. = penny) or denier (fr. = penny))
...

Halfpence (pronounced ha'pence) were in use until 1969 (and re-introduced with
...
 decimalisation in 1971).
Farthings (1/4 d) were in use at least until the mid 1940s, and may have been
...
 required for Leo.

So to computerise the currency you probably need:

A field for whole pounds
A field for shillings (up to 19 with a carry at 20)
A field for pence (up to 11 with a carry at 12)
A field for farthings or ha'pence (up to the obvious numbers thereof)

It would not likely be possible to ignore the fractions of pence, since even as
...
 late as the 1950s 1/2 d had a reasonable purchasing
power, perhaps equivalent to
...
 one US dime today.

Also, just as they do today, vendors loved prices ending ...nineteen shillings
...
 and elevenpence ha'penny.

Philip.