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The origin of "Bob" referring to the Shilling is uncertain, and possibly originates in another language where the foreign word is mispronounced. The origin of any slang term is often lost in the mists of time. There are many theories:

  • It could be connected with Sir Robert "Bob" Walpole speculating that the "Kings' Shilling" was given to army recruits. (This is possibly the most likely origin since the timing is about right.)
  • There is the potential for words games such as the abbreviation of the mintmasters title, "Lord of Sillabawby," and allowing for regional accents.
  • There is a possibility of it referring to "church bell-ringing," a "Bob" being a set of changes rung on bells. There is a lengthy explanation on this going back to an association with an early German word meaning "ring (as a bell)," the same word being the root word for Shilling.
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How many pennies in a bob in Victorian times?

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How much is 2 bob?

In the UK a bob was a slang term for a shilling. There were 20 shillings in a pound. A ten shilling note was commonly called a ten-bob note. There were 2 half-pennies to the penny and 3 pennies to the threepenny (pronounced thrupenny: the u is pronounced as in hut; and commonly known as a thrupenny-bit). There were 6 pennies in a sixpence (commonly known as a tanner) and 12 pennies in a shilling. There were 2 shillings in a florin (commonly known as a two-bob bit) and 2 shillings and sixpence in a half-crown. Before that there were 4 farthings in a penny and 5 shillings in a crown and 21 shillings in a guinea. The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland wore a top hat with a 10/6 price tag on it which meant 10 shillings and sixpence which was half a guinea, a considerable amount of money at the time the book was written. Halfpennies and pennies were copper coloured; thrupenny-bits were brass; tanners, shillings, florins, and half-crowns were silver-coloured. In the UK today a bob is worth 5 pence (5p) which is yet one-twentieth of a pound as was the shilling in its day. In the USA today a bob would be worth around 7 cents.


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How much is a few bob?

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