Shilling, What is it?

Question

I'm a little naive about Ebay stuff. Could someone tell me what 'shilling' is?

Answer 1

Where someone has a friend on a different computer driving up the price of the bids.

Michael
http://www.webmasterautomation.com/videos/

Answer 2

If you're referring to a "Shill" (and I didn't know this term before looking it up):
A shill is an associate of a person selling goods or services who pretends no association to the seller and assumes the air of an enthusiastic customer. The intention of the shill is, using crowd psychology, to encourage other potential customers unaware of the set-up to purchase said goods or services. Shills are often employed by confidence artists.

So beware of shillings on ebay.

The word "shill" is probably related to "shillaber", a word of obscure early-20th century origin with the same meaning.

So I learnt something new today!

On the money side I seem to recall:
Before decimalisation in 1971 we had pounds, shillings and pence and you counted in a base 12.
thus:12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shilling = £1 so there were 240 pence in £1.
Ah! The days when three pints cost a quid, I mean £1.

Answer 3

Pre-1971 twenty shillings made one pound so a shilling was valued at 5p in current UK currency. It was often called a "bob".

Half a shilling was a sixpence (small silver coin) often called a "tanner". Half that was a Threepenny (pronounced throopny) bit which had straight edges like the current 50p does. We also had pennies, half-pennies (pronouned haypnys) and even farthings of which you needed four to make an old penny or 960 to make one pound! I am so old I can remember spending one farthing on a chewy sweet as a child. Farthings ceased to be in 1960.

The lowest notes were ten shillings (modern 50p) and were brown. Pound notes were green. Five pound notes were blue, but you never saw them! I don't think I saw a higher denomination than that pre-decimalisation.

Answer 4

Its 12 pence in proper money (or four thruppenny bits, or two tanners, or half a florin).

In the case of E-bay:
"Shill Bidding is bidding that artificially increases an item’s price or apparent desirability, or bidding by individuals with a level of access to the seller’s item information not available to the general Community. Shill Bidding is prohibited on eBay."

Answer 5

Since no one has mentioned it.
A bob = one shilling.
Five bob being five shillings.

960 farthings = £1
480 half-pennys = £1
240 pence = £1
40 three penny bits =£1
20 Shillings = £1
10 Florins = £1
8 Half Crowns = £1
4 Crowns = £1
2 Ten Shilling Notes =£1

A point to note
Imperial measurement is much more accurate than decimal
The world was segmented with Imperial
Computers use Imperial
Time uses Imperial
Why?
Decimal is only approximate.
Only one fifth, or one half, is accurate in decimal.
The rest is approximate after three decimal points unless they are resolved to infinity.
With Imperial
One twelfth, one eighth, one sixth, one third, one twelfth, one quarter, one half, and so on and all are fully resolved.

Answer 6

No idea about eBay. Sorry
But a shilling is an old 5p bit. In the Central belt they still call a 5p a shilling

Answer 7

The shilling (or informally: bob) was an English coin first issued in 1548 for Henry VIII, although arguably the testoon issued about 1487 for Henry VII was the first English shilling. These English issues were preceded by Scots coins, groats valued at twelvepence, issued in the reign of James III

For more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shilling

Answer 8

A shilling is five old pence
think of the beers in scotland 70,80 and 90 shilling. That is how much it used to cost in the old days for a barrell of the stuff.

Answer 9

A shilling is an old term for a 5p. In the early 80's they used to be written on the old 5p coins.

Answer 10

If you are asking what a shilling is, then it is 12d or 5p......

How ever if you are asking what the use of a shill is.... this is where you have "friends" make false bids in an auction to drive the price up

Answer 11

5 pence, shillings, stopped in 1971