Medieval money explained: pounds, shillings and pence
England counted its money in pounds, shillings and pence, but for centuries the only coin was the silver penny: the pound and the shilling were ways of counting pennies. Source
How was money counted?
12 pennies made a shilling and 20 shillings a pound, so a pound was 240 pennies. A sum was written in pounds, shillings and pence: £, s and d.
A mark was two thirds of a pound, 13s 4d or 160 pennies, and a noble was half a mark. Source · Source 2 · Source 3
Which coins were there?
- The penny. Struck in England from around 785, under King Offa of Mercia: a small coin of silver, and for five hundred years the only one. Worth 1d. By the standard of 1351 it held 1.08 g of pure silver, about $1.7 today. Source
- The florin. Edward III's first gold coin, authorised in January 1344. It was withdrawn that August, after only a few months. Worth 6s. By the standard of 1344 it held 6.96 g of pure gold, about $880 today. Source
- The noble. The gold coin that lasted, first struck in 1344. Worth 6s 8d. By the standard of 1351 it held 7.74 g of pure gold, about $970 today. Source
- The groat. Four pennies in one silver coin. Edward I had tried one, but it became a lasting coin in Edward III's new coinage of 1351. Worth 4d. By the standard of 1351 it held 4.32 g of pure silver, about $6.8 today. Source · Source 2 · Source 3
What was a penny worth, year by year?
The crown made the penny lighter in steps, and fixed in pennies what its gold coins passed for. Each row gives the pure silver in a penny, the gold a penny stood for, and what each is worth today. Source
| Years | Silver in a penny | Gold for a penny |
|---|---|---|
| 1247–1279 | 1.3375 g about $2.1 | 0.0967 g about $12 |
| 1279–1344 | 1.332 g about $2.1 | 0.0967 g about $12 |
| 1344–1346 | 1.2168 g about $1.9 | 0.0967 g about $12 |
| 1346–1351 | 1.1988 g about $1.9 | 0.0967 g about $12 |
| 1351–1412 | 1.0789 g about $1.7 | 0.0967 g about $12 |
| 1412–1464 | 0.8991 g about $1.4 | 0.087 g about $11 |
| 1464–1465 | 0.7193 g about $1.1 | 0.087 g about $11 |
| 1465–1526 | 0.7193 g about $1.1 | 0.0645 g about $8.1 |
| 1526–1544 | 0.6393 g about $1 | 0.0573 g about $7.2 |
How many pennies was a day's work?
- Farm labourer: 2d a day. A pound took 120 days.
- Master mason: 6d a day. A pound took 40 days.
- Knight: 2s a day. A pound took 10 days.
In other words, people were paid in pennies and counted in pounds: a pound was 120 days of a farm labourer's work and 10 days of a knight's.