Letter: Knowing the real value of history
Wednesday 16th June 2010, 6:59AM BST.
Letter: Is it too much to ask article writers to desist from the ridiculous practice of using the 1970s “Decimal Day” conversion factors to explain the values of bygone sums of money at today’s rates?
The figure of 15 shillings originally chargeable for the Charles Darwin book (see Star, June 8) would properly convert to about £45 in present day money not 75p.
Similarly the half pound coin reported on recently in a treasure trove dispute could under no circumstances have been worth 50p - it would have been a small fortune.
The relative values of yesterday’s money and today’s cannot be fixed by one factor and I am sure that when I served HM the King as a conscripted soldier in 1947, my 26 shillings a week was worth more than £1.30!
Similarly my grandfather never worked for 37-and-a-half-pence per week in 1902.
To digress from this I was told by Tom Pemberton, of Much Wenlock, some time ago that the reason for there now being no nightingales in the Ironbridge Gorge is that they don’t like tall vegetation so the change from scrubby trees to casual forest in that area and many others resulted in their departure.
I hope that Mr Pemberton’s expert knowledge can thus clear up the recent query in the Star about this.
Mr A Minton
Bridgnorth
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Interesting post but shouldn’t it be from, Mr A M Minted? :)
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Shirley Tart must be on holiday – your Royal Correspondent would never have approved the photo caption at the head of this story.
There’s still time to save your skins – can I suggest you replace it immediately with “HRH etc , who I have been privileged to meet on a number of occasions, drone, drone….” or something similar?
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