The next higher basic unit is the pound, in later times also called a quid, which equals twenty shillings shillings The British shilling, abbreviated "1s" or "1/-", was a unit of currency and a denomination of sterling coinage worth 1⁄20 of one pound, or twelve pence. https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Shilling_(British_coin) Shilling (British coin) - Wikipedia (or four crowns crowns The crown was a denomination of sterling coinage worth 1⁄4 of one pound, or 5 shillings, or 60 (old) pence. The crown was first issued during the reign of Edward VI, as part of the coinage of the Kingdom of England. One crown. https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Crown_(British_coin) Crown (British coin) - Wikipedia ). A gold sovereign sovereign The sovereign is a British gold coin with a nominal value of one pound sterling (£1) and contains 0.2354 troy oz of pure gold. Struck since 1817, it was originally a circulating coin that was accepted in Britain and elsewhere in the world; it is now a bullion coin and is sometimes mounted in jewellery. https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Sovereign_(British_coin) Sovereign (British coin) - Wikipedia is equivalent to a pound, while a gold guinea guinea A guinea was worth £1,1s (one pound and one shilling). This is the same as £1.05 in modern money. Because a guinea was close to a pound, putting prices in guineas made the price seem less. A price of 39 guineas might look like "about £39". https://simple.wikipedia.org › wiki › Guinea_(coin) Guinea (coin) - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia is worth one shilling more (twenty-one shillings).