Front matter
Reading edition
Transcribers note: Many of the puzzles in this book assume a familiarity with the currency of Great Britain in the early 1900s. As this is likely not common knowledge for those outside Britain (and possibly many within,) I am including a chart of relative values.
The most common units used were:
the Penny,abbreviated: d. (from the Roman penny, denarius)
the Shilling,abbreviated: s.
the Pound,abbreviated: £
There was 12 Pennies to a Shilling and 20 Shillings to a Pound, so there was 240 Pennies in a Pound.
To further complicate things, there were many coins which were various fractional values of Pennies, Shillings or Pounds.
Farthing¼d.
Half-penny½d.
Penny1d.
Three-penny3d.
Sixpence (or tanner)6d.
Shilling (or bob)1s.
Florin or two shilling piece2s.
Half-crown (or half-dollar)2s. 6d.
Double-florin4s.
Crown (or dollar)5s.
Half-Sovereign10s.
Sovereign (or Pound)£1 or 20s.
This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it should be adequate to solve the puzzles in this book.