(c) 'Bob Cratchit Cthulhu', Travis Louie, 2017

For those who have earned their stripes, or even just dipped their toes in the inky darkness of Call of Cthulhu, you’ll know that the game is normally set within the Americas. As such, the currency for default games is the United States Dollar. However, our games predominantly take place in an alternative version of the United Kingdom and uses the Great British Pound.

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Fear not, dear investigator, Steve has gone off and done the research and maths (not MATH) for you! Please find the following breakdown as to how we’ve converted monetary values in 1920’s Cthulhu.

• In 1920, £1 was worth just under $5 (it was about $4.70 in 1919 and $4.87 in 1925, but for the sake of ease, we’ll round up).

• This means if you divide your £1 into fifths, you’d find a dollar is equivalent to 20p.

• However, in 1920, a Pound was not broken down into 50p, 20p, 10p, 5p, 2p and 1p respectively, but into shillings, pennies, halfpennies, and farthings.

• £1 can be broken down into 20 Shillings. A Shilling can be broken down into 12 Pennies. A halfpenny is exactly what is sounds like, half a penny, and a farthing is a quarter of a penny. There are some further slang bits below, but that’s the ins and outs of it!

• Back to our Dollar to Pound exchange rate, you’d find that $1 is the equivalent of 4 Shillings.

With all the above taken into consideration, the simple equation to find your 1920’s GBP is as follows:

• Multiply your $ amount by 4, giving you the amount in Shillings.

• If the Shillings total comes to over 20, divide by 20 to get the amount in Pounds. Decimal points should be then doubled to give the remaining Shilling amount.

• For example, $5 multiplied by 4 would give us 20 shillings. Dividing by 20 gives us £1. However, $6.50 multiplied by 4 is 26 shillings. Dividing this by 20 gives us £1.3 or £1 and 6 Shillings.

British Money Slang

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As mentioned above, there were slang terms for money back in the day that can be used if you’d like to give the full experience. We tend to steer clear of this in SJF games just for accessibility, but feel free to use these! One thing to note that was not explained above is the larger denomination to the Pound was the Guinea, which was £1 and 1 Shilling.

• Like today, a Pound Note was also called a quid. Unlike today, the coin was referred to as a Sovereign.

• A Shilling can also be referred to as a bob. Two Shillings is called a Florin or a Two Bob Bit. Five Shillings would be referred to as a Crown. Two shillings and 6 Pence would be Half a Crown.

• Half a Guinea is 10 Shillings and 6 Pence.

• 2 Pennies was referred to as a half groat, 4 being a groat.

Did You Say Multiverse?

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It was mentioned above that although a lot of the history of the world – and the UK in focus – is acknowledged in the games we run, there are some bits that we’ve changed to allow versatility.

• For regulars to The St James Files, you’ll know that after Queen Victoria’s death in 1901 (real world), the successor to the Throne was her son, Rupert II (SJF-verse). It has been mentioned in passing during Case File 6 that Queen Anastasia has taken the throne post Case File 5.

• Our in-game Prime Minister is a liberal by the name of Thomas Smith. We’ve stepped away from the political side of the game for previous games and intend to do so until such a thing becomes prominent to the story. Watch this space if you’re interested in such a thing!

• Due to its nonexistence in 1920, the NHS is yet to be formed and Private Doctors are rampant. There are General Hospitals across the country, but they charge a fee referred to as the Almoner’s Charge (minimal of 6 Pence per day, depending on the level of care and accommodation you require).

• Post Case File 3, the Monarchy’s Arcane and Surreal Investigations team, The Green Rose, continues to exist under the control of a new regime. More on this soon!