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A "penny" might have meant an old penny, or 1/240 GBP.
by billpg 9y ago
A "penny" might have meant an old penny, or 1/240 GBP.
- isostatic 9y agoIt certainly would have done. In 1840 average weekly wage for a skilled man in his 30s was £2 according to the first link on ddg. A penny post would be about 1/480th of a weekly wage. If we assume that a skilled man in his 30s today would earn £40k, that would put today's stamp in the £1.50 range, rather than 65p. Far cheaper today, despite being pretty much meaningless. It's no wonder people "hacked" the system, this was a time before phones, or even telegrams, but a time when long distance commerce and connected economies were beginning to become established.