Inflation?
Beware the King's Shilling! Him and his Grandad. Speaking of inflation - I'd known about The King's Shilling and the reason for a Glass Bottom, for many years; so I thought I'd check for inflation.
1st I found "The practice of "taking the King's shilling" to enlist in the British military officially stopped in 1879. However, the term is still used informally today. The shilling was a large silver coin that represented the daily pay rate for a private soldier at the time. The bounty for enlisting varied over time, but was worth about £2,900 in today's money." Question (Unchecked) Was the "Bounty" paid after recruitment "by shilling"?
Double check
According to bankofengland.co.uk £1 in 1879 is now £104.42;
which would make a Shilling =£104.42/20 = £5.20; which seems a far cry from their figure of £2,900.
However, which ever is correct, there's still a high degree of inflation. Needless to say, I never took the Queen's shilling as then was - BUT - wasn't averse to the recruitment-proof Tankard on my 21st.
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