>>Yeah, in UK a shilling used to be nicknamed "bob", as in "could you lend me 10 bob?" (50p) or,
>>in typical British understatement "he's worth a few bob" (That guy is rich).
>
>Ah, thanks for the translation. :-)
>
>'Bob had but fifteen “Bob” a-week himself; he pocketed on Saturdays but fifteen copies of his Christian name; and yet the Ghost of Christmas Present blessed his four-roomed house!'

The above would be 75p

>
>So, would this be 31p a week?
>
>'Bob Cratchit told them how he had a situation in his eye for Master Peter, which would bring in, if obtained, full five-and-sixpence weekly.'

No, actually 27.5p, short for 5 shillings and sixpence (as 6d was half a "bob" - 12d to the shilling - and there are 5p to the 1s, this would be 5.5 * 5p). For a few years after decimalisation, we had a 0.5p coin (= 1.2d) to lessen the blow (as 1p = 2.4d), and the "silver sixpence" was retained as a 2.5p coin.

A weird offshoot of decimalisation was that the old expressions went. e.g. 2d was pronounced "tuppence" but, after change over, people said "two pence" or "two pee". As above, 2.5d was "tuppence-ha'penny" but 2.5p became "two and a half pee" And the worst, to my grammatical mind, was that people referred to the new penny, 1p, as "one pence" (I had to be dragged away from them for fear of doing them harm! < g >).