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I am old enough that when I was a kid in the UK there was still such a thing as a halfpenny (pronounced: ha'penny). Although please note: I am not that old; thi
by jameshart 4y ago
I am old enough that when I was a kid in the UK there was still such a thing as a halfpenny (pronounced: ha'penny). Although please note: I am not that old; this was ½p - half a 'new penny', i.e. 1/200 of a pound sterling, and not to be confused with the old ½d, half of an old penny, which was 1/480 of a pound (or two farthings). Predecimal currency was well before my time. By over half a decade, in fact. But anyway, point is: of course this meant that some things were priced to end with £0.99½p. The rules are universal.
- richrichardsson 4y agoJust to add a data point about the pronunciation; the way you've written it leads me to read it as "har-penny", which I imagine is valid, however we pronounced it in my family as "hay-penny".
- jameshart 4y agoSorry, that is indeed the intended pronunciation. In fact even briefer than that: more hayp’ny. Just wanted to really get across that most importantly, the l and f are definitely both silent.
- richrichardsson 4y agoIt's been so long I had completely forgotten about that extra contraction. Reminds me of one of my favourite coins I had in my possession as a child, a "thrup'ny bit"! For the uninitiated this was a pre-decimalisation three pence coin.