Not sure about auction payments. A guinea is a pound and a shilling - a sort of fat or posh pound I suppose. Horse race prizes here are still priced in guinea

Not sure about auction payments. A guinea is a pound and a shilling - a sort of fat or posh pound I suppose. Horse race prizes here are still priced in guineas eg here's a random link, noting guineas: https://www.racingpost.com/news/festivals/guineas-festival/confirmed-runners-and-riders-for-the-1000-guineas-at-newmarket-plus-an-early-tip-aZBEY9H4TCPa/ https://www.racingpost.com/news/festivals/guineas-festival/c... I can imagine that in the past, a popinjay or boastfool (made that one up) caused the guinea to be created because they wanted to outflance someone else. I don't think £1 1s is a useful lump of money, ever. I think it is simply there for bragging rights and further nonsense. There is also the sovereign - "sov" - also a nickname for a pound but it isn't one. Gold sovs are worth a shit load these days. I also missed out tanners and a lot more 8)