Seven
groats and two pence.
Page
Henry The Fourth Part II Act
I, Scene ii Line 242
Thirty cents. That’s what seven groats and two pence is.
This is the Page answering Falstaff when he asks how much money he has in his
purse. It seems that Falstaff is always short on cash. How much was thirty
cents worth in the year 1400 (when Henry IV was alive) or the 1590’s (when Will
wrote this play)? I have no idea, but I’m pretty sure it was worth a lot more
than thirty cents is today. After all, what can you buy for thirty cents today?
Not much.
Well, I googled the value of money back then, and here’s a site
you can look at to see how far thirty cents would go when Will was alive. https://abagond.wordpress.com/2007/05/02/money-in-shakespeares-time/
Take a look, it’s pretty interesting. There’ll be a quiz tomorrow.
Quiz!? No, not really, I can’t back that up.
Two small books. That's one thing that seven groats and two pence (thirty cents) would get you in Will's day.
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