Old money

[Davran]

Those who hanker after the days of £ s d should get a copy of the 1818 Parson & Bradshaw Directory for Staffordshire. I've just discovered the currency section - what fun! There are coins from many countries with their equivalent in British money. As well as different coins in parts of Italy there was different money in Bombay and Bengal. There are all sorts of coins from Budgrooks, Pagodas and Batzens to the Turkish Caragrouch (100 Aspers) equivalent to 5s English. I'm going to nominate the Caragrouch as the currency of the Grumpy Old Men! However, what surprised me most was that the value of the American dollar varied in different parts of the US.

[Ed Bradford]

If I recall correctly, the U.S. government didn’t start making money until 1793. Up until then and for many years afterward, the money of other countries was legal tender. In 1818 you’d find in circulation the Spanish Milled Dollar (pieces of eight) and the English Pound. Because of the shortage of money, banks and individuals made their own which were in US denominations. So circulating at the time you had quite a mixture. I would imagine that the value of some of the privately minted money in comparison to that from the government mint may differ. I could see that in some of the frontier states the value of the local money was trusted more than that of the government and thus of higher value. You must keep in mind that in 1818 the USA just finished the second war with England and during that war the seat of government, Washington DC, was sacked.

By the way, I vote favorably for the Caragrouch as the currency of the Grumpy Old Men. Now all we need is a flag, flower and anthem. I also think that Myth's elephant should be the mascot.

We should probably move this whole thread to the Grumpy Old Men forum.

............Ed