I know this is a bit off-topic but I crave your indulgence for an oldish
joke.  In MMD 970908 Darrell Clarke mentions the Guinea.  This was 21
shillings (UKP 1.05 in funny decimal money).  The main use of the guinea
was to inflate prices by 20%.  Lawyers always used to price their
services in guineas, hence

  Q. What is the difference between a lawyer and a rhinoceros?

  A. Not a lot; they both have thick skins and charge a lot!

When the florin was introduced in Britain in 1838 it was a first
tentative step towards decimalisation.  It carried the inscription, "One
tenth of a pound".  Britain finally went decimal in 1971 and the florin
survived, being equal in size, weight and value to the new 10-pence coin.
Until the 10p and 5p coins were shrunk a few years ago you could still
find plenty of pre-decimal florins in circulation to confuse the
tourists.

BTW, is there a way to get the UK pound sign to pass reliably in ordinary
email?  I usually use GBP or UKP to ensure a sensible if clumsy result.

Jeffrey Borinsky

 [ Hee-hee!  We'll have our revenge, Jeffrey: just visit an American
 [ hardware store, and ask the staff about the sizes of common things
 [ which one buys to maintain his house!  :)  -- Robbie