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Okay enough free advertising, I'm bringing this thread back to the original intended purpose of Miscellaneous Webley and Scott Flare Gun information:

I was reviewing the information here this morning and realised that some of it seems less than straightforward with regard to the cost/price of these units. Even though I was born after decimilisation in the UK it was not that long after and everyone, including my parents, still thought in 'old money' so the prices I quoted make sense to me even though I never actually used them! I have realised that to most, especially non UK, they are probably utter nonsense so to help explain the price a little better we need to have a quick review of pre decimilised British currency. I'll use the 30th March 1915 price of '65/-' for the calculations as it makes the arithmetic a lot easier...

'65/-' is sixty five Shillings and no pence.

So, a pre decimal British Pound sterling contained 240d (240 pence) and this was because originally 240 silver pennies weighed (you guessed it) 1lb of sterling silver (this measurement is from the time of Henry 2nd in the 12th Centruy). A 'shilling' was equal to 12d and thus there were twenty shillings in a pound. So '65/-' is the same as three pounds and five shillings / three and 1/4 pounds or £3.25.

Still with me.............................?

A modern inflation calculator makes £3.25 in 1915 the equivalent in todays (27/06/2014) money to:
£291.52
$496.05
€363.80

If this seems like it might be cheap then do bear in mind that Inflation calculators are crude and don't truly account for the relative differences in the economics of now and 100 years ago, that these flare guns were cheaply produced items as demonstrated by the fact that many different models share identical parts. They were also made in a time of war and goverment purchasing power in a time of war is different to that of a private individual. Even accepting these things the first order of 50 would still have come to around £15K in todays money.

In any event I hope this is a more understandable price than '65/-' which probably meant nothing to many.

Live the dream.

Andy

<blockquote data-quote="intwenothor" data-source="post: 379251" data-attributes="member: 4118">Okay enough free advertising, I&#039;m bringing this thread back to the original intended purpose of Miscellaneous Webley and Scott Flare Gun information:I&nbsp; was reviewing the information here this morning and realised that some&nbsp; of it seems less than straightforward with regard to the cost/price of these units. Even though I was born after&nbsp; decimilisation in the UK it was not that long after and everyone, including&nbsp; my parents, still thought in &#039;old money&#039; so the prices I quoted make&nbsp; sense to me even though I never actually used them! I have realised that to most, especially non UK, they are probably utter&nbsp; nonsense so to help explain the price a little better we need to have a&nbsp; quick review of pre decimilised British currency. I&#039;ll use the 30th March 1915 price of &#039;65/-&#039; for the calculations as it makes the arithmetic a lot easier...&#039;65/-&#039; is sixty five Shillings and no pence.So, a pre decimal British Pound sterling contained 240d (240 pence) and this was because originally 240 silver pennies weighed (you guessed it) 1lb of sterling silver (this measurement is from the time of Henry 2nd in the 12th Centruy). A &#039;shilling&#039; was equal to 12d and thus there were twenty shillings in a pound. So &#039;65/-&#039; is the same as three pounds and five shillings / three and 1/4 pounds or £3.25. Still with me.............................?A modern inflation calculator makes £3.25 in 1915 the equivalent in todays (27/06/2014) money to:£291.52$496.05€363.80If this seems like it might be cheap then do bear in mind that Inflation calculators are crude and don&#039;t truly account for the relative differences in the economics of now and 100 years ago, that these flare guns were cheaply produced items as demonstrated by the fact that many different models share identical parts. They were also made in a time of war and goverment purchasing power in a time of war is different to that of a private individual. Even accepting these things the first order of 50 would still have come to around £15K in todays money. In any event I hope this is a more understandable price than &#039;65/-&#039; which probably meant nothing to many.Live the dream.Andy</blockquote>

[QUOTE="intwenothor, post: 379251, member: 4118"] Okay enough free advertising, I'm bringing this thread back to the original intended purpose of Miscellaneous Webley and Scott Flare Gun information: I was reviewing the information here this morning and realised that some of it seems less than straightforward with regard to the cost/price of these units. Even though I was born after decimilisation in the UK it was not that long after and everyone, including my parents, still thought in 'old money' so the prices I quoted make sense to me even though I never actually used them! I have realised that to most, especially non UK, they are probably utter nonsense so to help explain the price a little better we need to have a quick review of pre decimilised British currency. I'll use the 30th March 1915 price of '65/-' for the calculations as it makes the arithmetic a lot easier... '65/-' is sixty five Shillings and no pence. So, a pre decimal British Pound sterling contained 240d (240 pence) and this was because originally 240 silver pennies weighed (you guessed it) 1lb of sterling silver (this measurement is from the time of Henry 2nd in the 12th Centruy). A 'shilling' was equal to 12d and thus there were twenty shillings in a pound. So '65/-' is the same as three pounds and five shillings / three and 1/4 pounds or £3.25. Still with me.............................? A modern inflation calculator makes £3.25 in 1915 the equivalent in todays (27/06/2014) money to: £291.52 $496.05 €363.80 If this seems like it might be cheap then do bear in mind that Inflation calculators are crude and don't truly account for the relative differences in the economics of now and 100 years ago, that these flare guns were cheaply produced items as demonstrated by the fact that many different models share identical parts. They were also made in a time of war and goverment purchasing power in a time of war is different to that of a private individual. Even accepting these things the first order of 50 would still have come to around £15K in todays money. In any event I hope this is a more understandable price than '65/-' which probably meant nothing to many. Live the dream. Andy [/QUOTE]

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