Old Money in Today's Money

How the conversion works

Two steps happen behind the button. First the pre-decimal amount converts to decimal pounds by arithmetic that never changes: 12 pence to the shilling, 20 shillings to the pound, so a shilling is 5p and a guinea (21 shillings) is £1.05. Then the decimal amount is scaled by how much prices have risen since your chosen year, using the composite price index — the long-run series maintained by the Office for National Statistics that splices three centuries of price history onto modern CPI. £1 in 1900 multiplies by about 160; £1 in 1970 by about 20.

How much is a guinea worth today?

The guinea is the one that confuses everyone, because it outlived its own coin. The gold guinea was struck from 1663 to 1813, but pricing in guineas — 21 shillings, one pound and one shilling — carried on for another century and a half in auction rooms, tailoring and professional fees, precisely because it sounded grander than pounds. As money, a guinea is £1.05 decimal.

Worth as a coin is another matter entirely — see what collectors actually pay for guineas.

How much was a shilling worth?

The shilling was the workhorse of British money — 12 pence, a twentieth of a pound, the unit wages and everyday prices were quoted in. It became the 5p coin at decimalisation, and shillings circulated as 5p pieces into the early 1990s.

Worth as a coin is another matter entirely — see what collectors actually pay for shillings.

How much was a florin worth?

The florin was two shillings — a tenth of a pound, and the Victorians' first deliberate step toward decimal money when it appeared in 1849. It became the 10p at decimalisation.

Worth as a coin is another matter entirely — see what collectors actually pay for florins.

How much was a half crown worth?

The half crown was two shillings and sixpence — an eighth of a pound, and the largest silver coin most people handled day to day. It was demonetised on the eve of decimalisation with no direct decimal successor.

Worth as a coin is another matter entirely — see what collectors actually pay for halfs.

How much was a crown worth?

The crown was five shillings — a quarter of a pound. By the 20th century it barely circulated and was struck mainly as a commemorative, a tradition today's £5 crowns continue.

Worth as a coin is another matter entirely — see what collectors actually pay for crowns.

How much was a sixpence worth?

The sixpence — the "tanner" — was half a shilling, 2.5p decimal. It hung on after decimalisation until 1980, and still turns up in Christmas puddings.

Worth as a coin is another matter entirely — see what collectors actually pay for sixpences.

How much was a farthing worth?

The farthing was a quarter of an old penny, 960 to the pound — the smallest coin of the realm, withdrawn in 1960. Its wren reverse is one of the best-loved British designs.

Worth as a coin is another matter entirely — see what collectors actually pay for farthings.

Why the year changes everything

The multiplier is anything but smooth. Prices nearly doubled during the Napoleonic Wars, drifted gently downwards for much of the Victorian era — a pound in 1890 bought more than in 1850 — then the 20th century broke the pattern: prices roughly tripled across the First World War, and the 1970s alone cut the pound's purchasing power by more than two thirds. That is why a shilling "worth £7.98" in 1900 was worth only £1.00 by Decimal Day, and why any old-money conversion quoted without a year is meaningless.

Frequently asked questions

How much is a guinea worth in today's money?

A guinea was 21 shillings, £1.05 in decimal money. Its purchasing power depends on the year: a guinea in 1900 bought roughly what £168 buys today, a guinea in 1950 about £46.70, and a guinea in 1970 about £21.08. Auction houses still quote in guineas occasionally, where a guinea simply means £1.05. The physical gold guinea coin (1663-1813) is worth far more than its face conversion — see our guinea coin value guide.

How much was a shilling worth in today's money?

A shilling was 12 old pence, one twentieth of a pound, 5p decimal. In purchasing power: a shilling in 1900 is about £7.98 today, in 1930 about £4.24, in 1950 about £2.22, and in 1970 almost exactly £1.00. So when a 1900s novel prices a loaf of bread at a shilling, read it as several pounds of today's money, not 5p.

How much was a farthing worth?

A farthing was a quarter of an old penny — 960 farthings to the pound. Tiny face value, but not worthless in its day: a farthing in 1900 carried the purchasing power of roughly 17p today. That is why Victorian shops priced in farthings: the difference between 3d and 2¾d was real money.

Why do different years give such different answers?

Because the pound's purchasing power moved dramatically. Prices roughly doubled during the Napoleonic Wars (a 1790 pound was worth almost twice a 1800 pound), fell back through the 19th century, then collapsed in the 20th: the pound lost about two thirds of its value across the First World War alone, and inflation between 1970 and 1980 cut it by nearly three quarters again. A conversion is only meaningful with a year attached.

Where do these figures come from?

From the composite price index maintained by the Office for National Statistics, the same long-run series behind the Bank of England's inflation calculator, which splices historic price data from 1751 with modern CPI. Our anchor values were individually verified in August 2026 and are refreshed annually. Figures are rounded — a purchasing-power comparison across centuries is an estimate, not an exchange rate.

Is what the money was worth the same as what the coin is worth?

No, and the difference is usually enormous. This page answers what the money could buy. What a collector pays for the physical coin is a separate market driven by rarity, condition and metal content. A 1900 shilling was worth £7.98 of purchasing power, but a nice example of the coin itself sells for more than that as .925 silver with numismatic interest — and a rare date can be worth hundreds. Each denomination section below links to the collector-value guide.

How did £sd money work?

Until Decimal Day (15 February 1971), the pound divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence — 240 pence to the pound. Written £/s/d from the Latin librae, solidi, denarii. On top sat coins that were multiples: the florin (2s), half crown (2s 6d), crown (5s) and the guinea (21s), which survived as a gentleman's pricing unit long after the coin stopped circulating. Our decimal converter handles pure £sd arithmetic without the inflation layer.

How accurate are purchasing-power conversions?

Treat them as good estimates, not precise figures. A single price index averages across everything people bought, and spending patterns in 1850 (bread, candles, rent) barely resemble today's. Economists also compare using average wages, which gives much higher figures for old money — a labourer's shilling was a bigger share of their income than the price-index conversion suggests. We use the price index because it answers the question people usually mean: what would this money buy?

Related tools and guides

• Pre-decimal ↔ decimal converter — the pure arithmetic, no inflation.
• Pre-decimal coins guide — every £sd denomination explained.
• Coin value checker — what your actual coins are worth to collectors.
• Gold guinea coin values — the physical coin, 1663–1813.