You know you’re getting older when……

[Pinza-C55]

When there's a rail strike and nobody says "Bloody British Rail, they should privatise it".

 

[Gareth]

When old enough to have actually spent shillings and florins in a shop. I don't mean pre-decimalisation but when the 5 & 10 pence coins were the exact same size as the old coins and the same value, so the old coins continued to circulate.

Irish "punt" coinage was often similar. Certainly, the 1p & 2p coins were always accepted without hesitation. The larger value coins had been changed by my day due to the breaking of the link with sterling.

 

[Foxhunter]

This one has just happened to me. I've been driving since 1969 and today for the first time I have been overtaken by a hearse.

(I'm telling myself that the driver was taking a rare chance to heat up the Diesel Particulate Filter. And at least it wasn't horse drawn).

 

[PeterY]

...or when your conversation with friends includes plans for retirement, or the fact that they are expecting another grandchild soon, or how much you can save with a Senior Railcard.

I wanted to be 60, so I could get a senior rail card and I've used it a awful lot. I didn't want to be 40 but that was a long time ago now

 

[GusB]

I was going to add something else to the thread but I'm b*****ed if I can remember what it was

 

[Gareth]

When you remember that six month or so period in the early nineties when Brookside was borderline watchable.

 

[Jimini]

When you remember that six month or so period in the early nineties when Brookside was borderline watchable.

IT'S A HAND!!

 

[Gareth]

I wasn't suggesting the acting was any better during that brief period, just to be clear.

 

[Jimini]

I wasn't suggesting the acting was any better during that brief period, just to be clear.

When I first started getting vaguely interested in the railways back in the '90s and worked out what a 'RA' platform indicator meant, it took me far too long to stop saying it in a scouse accent, Sinbad style

 

[Gareth]

Sinbad once came to my school to hand out awards. Highlight of my life.

True story.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

When you can still remember the days when an English shilling had three lions on the reverse and a Scottish shilling had the single lion symbol on the reverse.

 

[Gareth]

Christ, Paul. Was that before or after the Acts of Union?

 

[Basil Jet]

When you hear a song you like and think "Hmmm... maybe they should play this at my funeral"

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Christ, Paul. Was that before or after the Acts of Union?

In my collection of British coins, the reverse of the English shilling with three lions and the reverse of the Scottish shilling with the single lion in the reign of George VI was current up to the 1951 issue.....when I was six years of age.

 

[duncanp]

In my collection of British coins, the reverse of the English shilling with three lions and the reverse of the Scottish shilling with the single lion in the reign of George VI was current up to the 1951 issue.....when I was six years of age.

I remember 1 and 2 shilling coins (equivalent to 5p and 10p for those born after the stone age) being in circulation for quite a few years after decimalisation in 1971.

You also know you're getting older when you complete todays Wordle (22nd June) and you immediately think of a catchphrase from the politically incorrect but very much missed Dick Emery Show.

 

[32475]

In my collection of British coins, the reverse of the English shilling with three lions and the reverse of the Scottish shilling with the single lion in the reign of George VI was current up to the 1951 issue.....when I was six years of age.

That reminds me of when our milkman had a sort of leather satchel full of coins. Once or twice he picked out coins to give some change for my Mum and these were farthings and Victorian or Edwardian pennies. The latter were very worn but still in circulation (first half of the’60s)

 

[Pinza-C55]

That reminds me of when our milkman had a sort of leather satchel full of coins. Once or twice he picked out coins to give some change for my Mum and these were farthings and Victorian or Edwardian pennies. The latter were very worn but still in circulation (first half of the’60s)

There's a Penny (1917 I think) which is so rare that it is worth several thousand pounds.

 

[Typhoon]

This one has just happened to me. I've been driving since 1969 and today for the first time I have been overtaken by a hearse.

If that is a sign of aging, quite a few locally would have had that experience a couple of years ago.

The funeral director insisted that my mother's cortege leave from the house even though I had said I would meet it at the edge of the estate (very narrow roads, tight corners, inconsiderate parking - also I reckoned the walk would take my mind off of recent events, I could go a scenic route). After a quarter of an hour of the stated pick up time, all the neighbours had left (I could have cadged a lift); ten minutes later, I went looking, they were stuck behind a bin lorry, a couple of nine-point turns later we were on our way. I don't know what the top speed of those things is but we overtook a fair few, arriving with a couple of minutes to spare to enter the crematorium at a sedate speed. I suppose we were fortunate that we weren't pulled over and given a ticket.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

There's a Penny (1917 I think) which is so rare that it is worth several thousand pounds.

The 1933 George V penny sold for £72,000 at auction quite a while also.

But on the matter of "penny items", that does not even remotely compare in value to the Queen Victoria Penny Red Plate 77 stamp that should never have been in circulation owing to perforation problems, but about 10 actually did (one is in the Royal family collection) and the last time that one was auctioned, it realised £495,000.

 

[swt_passenger]

That reminds me of when our milkman had a sort of leather satchel full of coins. Once or twice he picked out coins to give some change for my Mum and these were farthings and Victorian or Edwardian pennies. The latter were very worn but still in circulation (first half of the’60s)

I don’t think they worried too much about coin physical condition back then, I remember pre decimal coppers that were almost black and unreadable, but still circulated normally. But I think farthings went out of use in 1960. Old halfpennies lasted until 1967.

Does anyone remember getting a silver three pence piece in their change? I found one in the street and dad reckoned they were still hanging about but shouldn’t have been by then, I must have been very young…

 

[Lloyds siding]

In my collection of British coins, the reverse of the English shilling with three lions and the reverse of the Scottish shilling with the single lion in the reign of George VI was current up to the 1951 issue.....when I was six years of age.

It is more complicated than that. George VI introduced Scottish and English versions in honour of his Scottish wife. They both had single lions on, but in heraldically 'English' and 'Scottish' poses. When Elizabeth II came to the throne the shillings were redesigned with three lions for the English shilling and the single lion for the Scottish. They coninued to be produced until 1966, and remained in circulation (as 5p equivalents) after decimalisation...until the 5p coins were reduced in size when the shillings were withdrawn. (1970 collectors' proof sets, including English and Scottish shillings, were produced, but should not have entered circulation.)

 

[Gloster]

I do remember getting a penny from 1897 in my change one day around 1969. It was almost entirely black.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

It is more complicated than that. George VI introduced Scottish and English versions in honour of his Scottish wife. They both had single lions on, but in heraldically 'English' and 'Scottish' poses. When Elizabeth II came to the throne the shillings were redesigned with three lions for the English shilling and the single lion for the Scottish. They coninued to be produced until 1966, and remained in circulation (as 5p equivalents) after decimalisation...until the 5p coins were reduced in size when the shillings were withdrawn. (1970 collectors' proof sets, including English and Scottish shillings, were produced, but should not have entered circulation.)

Thank you for your clarification. Age-related false memory syndrome playing me false and a look at my collection proves the truth of what you say. It must be at least 12 years since I last added anything to my 3-binder collection.

I do have an 1862 florin in good condition that my wife gave to me in 1975 when we married.

 

[Lloyds siding]

I do remember getting a penny from 1897 in my change one day around 1969. It was almost entirely black.

In the late 60s when still at school I was into coin collecting, as was a mate. If we were late leaving school in order to catch the train we would splash out on a bus. We would deliberately give the conductor a shilling or florin (for the 2d fare) in order to get some change...and then examine the change for any rarities. We were particularly keen on 'KN' and 'H' pennies, and anything with Victoria's bun head (there were still some circulating)..bun head pennies (pre 1860) were made from copper, rather than the bronze of all subsequent issues. One conductor took an interest in what we were doing...and started collecting coins for us to check on whenever he saw us. That is how I got some bunheads from the 1840s...however the conductor kept the William IV pennies that he found (from the 1830s)..still circulating in 1969!

 

[nw1]

I remember 1 and 2 shilling coins (equivalent to 5p and 10p for those born after the stone age) being in circulation for quite a few years after decimalisation in 1971.

They were still there in the early 80s so quite a few years indeed!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

But I think farthings went out of use in 1960.

Yes, end December 1960. Last minted 1956. Briefly came back into "use" post decimalisation when they were sometimes passed off as 1p coins.

Old halfpennies lasted until 1967.

Last minted 1967, but still used as legal tender until end July 1969.

Does anyone remember getting a silver three pence piece in their change? I found one in the street and dad reckoned they were still hanging about but shouldn’t have been by then, I must have been very young…

No. Although my grandma had kept a few Silver 3d's from the 1930's to put in the Christmas pud each year. Always had to hand them back though.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

In 1947 (when I was two years old), silver ceased to be used in British coinage and was replaced by cupro-nickel.

 

[Pinza-C55]

You remember how the news captivated you when Sue Lawley or Angela Rippon was reading it.

 

[nw1]

Re decimalisation, it's funny to think that, in the 1967-70 period, you would have paid for your rail fare to travel on then-new stock such as Mk-IIs, CIGs, VEPs, REPs, TCs, and so on with old pre-decimal currency.

Given much of said stock lasted until the 21st century, it seems a curious mix of the old and the (relatively) modern.

But in calling such stock "relatively modern" I'm probably showing another sign of getting old!

You remember how the news captivated you when Sue Lawley or Angela Rippon was reading it.

Sue Lawley and Angela Rippon? Seems like yesterday!

 

[dgl]

If that is a sign of aging, quite a few locally would have had that experience a couple of years ago.

The funeral director insisted that my mother's cortege leave from the house even though I had said I would meet it at the edge of the estate (very narrow roads, tight corners, inconsiderate parking - also I reckoned the walk would take my mind off of recent events, I could go a scenic route). After a quarter of an hour of the stated pick up time, all the neighbours had left (I could have cadged a lift); ten minutes later, I went looking, they were stuck behind a bin lorry, a couple of nine-point turns later we were on our way. I don't know what the top speed of those things is but we overtook a fair few, arriving with a couple of minutes to spare to enter the crematorium at a sedate speed. I suppose we were fortunate that we weren't pulled over and given a ticket.

Well my Grans hearse was a nice Jag which even with the extra coachwork could probably do a good turn of speed!