What's the only purchase you can make in England whereof the price is still quoted in guineas? ( A guinea was one pound and one shilling: £1 and 5 pence in modern sterling )

Not being a betting person myself Fred I can only guess that it's placing a bet on the horses, and the purchase of race horses.
I did go to Point to Point racing once but lost all my bets.

Don't you still pay your servants in guineas Fred? Myself, I give them a half crown and one Sunday off a month.

quote:

Originally posted by dance girl:
Not being a betting person myself Fred I can only guess that it's placing a bet on the horses, and the purchase of race horses.
I did go to Point to Point racing once but lost all my bets.

Don't you still pay your servants in guineas Fred? Myself, I give them a half crown and one Sunday off a month.

You can't place a bet in guineas. You can, however, buy horses at Tattersall's horse auctions in Newmarket. There all the bids are in guineas.This may not matter much to the bidders: a few years ago I was at a second grade auction there and even then the average price was over 60,000 gns per animal.Somehow I don't think anyone was caring much about an extra 60,000 times 5 pence over £60,000. "Tatt's" commission on the winning bid would itself be more than that.It does seem odd that a colt is being bid to hundreds of thousands or more in guineas. The guinea coin itself was not minted after 1799, except in 1813 when some were issued to pay Wellington's army.(Don't ask why. Perhaps he saw them as horses: he was born in Ireland, after all )

Pay my servants in guineas? Look, until not many years ago I myself was being paid in guineas ! It's only quite recently that counsel's fees were not multiples of a guinea. When I started all fee notes were expressed in guineas.Traditionally the pound was for counsel and the shilling went to his clerk: clerks were always paid on commission. (Clerks negotiate the fees and tout for the work, like theatrical agents do )

In those days you would still see prices of paintings in galleries shown in guineas and other professions, e.g doctors, quoted their fees in guineas.

Servants I pay in shillings a month or pounds per annum, but they do get to live in servants' quarters here if they aren't in a tied cottage (i.e. leave job, leave cottage). They do get a bowl of gruel at Christmas, too.

This is very interesting Fred. I don't remember guineas, although I know a lot of people that use the term still in the UK.
I remember decimalisation coming into the UK and all the excitment over the new coins though.

Personally, I think you are indulging your servants; one of the worst things a man of property can do.
Half a crown is more than ample for the scullery maids.
Of course I give Mellors an extra sixpence for services rendered over and above his game keeping duties.

When you buy a guinea hen?

That's what we liked to call it babs

We haven't provided a source here on the subject of guineas. Here is a link to Wikipedia