Posted by Dave Thewlis on June 25, 2009 at 04:04:36 user dthewlis.
In Reply to: Re: Absent posters (Trivia) posted by John on June 25, 2009 at 03:51:37:
I recall reading that the sovereign replaced the guinea somewhere in the Regency, around 1821-1824, and I think I remember it was an answer to counterfeiting as it was an entirely new currency. It was denominated in pounds, rather than guineas. From that point guineas existed as a concept but were not represented by actual coinage or notes. So while large sums were represented in guineas/pounds/shillings/pence in reality the only currency available was pounds/shillings/pence.
Unfortunately my only connection with pre-decimal English money was in the early 1960s in Berlin, in interacting with British military counterparts. Perhaps understandably guineas were not a topic of general concern.