Using "guinea" is a way of increasing the price of something for the purpose of getting more money and so that the buyer can brag a little. A guinea is a pound plus a shilling. i don;t know if and don't that one could write a check in guineas instead of in pounds and pence Here's what Wikipedia (NOT the best source of information, in general) says >From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The *guinea* is an obsolete coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_England>between 1663 and 1813. [1]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_%28British_coin%29#cite_note-Roberts-0>It was the first English machine-struck gold coin <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_coin>, originally worth one English Pound sterling <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pound_sterling>,[1]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_%28British_coin%29#cite_note-Roberts-0>equal to twenty shillings <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shilling>; but rises in the price of gold caused the value of the guinea to increase, at times as high as thirty shillings. The name came from Guinea <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea> in West Africa, where much of the gold used to make the coins originated. Although no longer circulated, the term *guinea* survives in some circles, notably horse racing <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_racing> [1]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_%28British_coin%29#cite_note-Roberts-0>, and in the sale of rams <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_sheep>, *to mean an amount of one pound<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pound_%28currency%29>and one shilling (one pound and five pence <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny> in decimalised<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimalisation#UK_and_Ireland>currency, equivalent to 21 shillings *). It also formed the basis for the Arabic term for the Egyptian pound (* gineh*, جنيه). Anne the retired librarian Philadelphia, PA On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 10:33 AM, <KJEMEM@aol.com> wrote: > > So, could someone write a check for guineas? Or put it on a credit card? > Write it into a purchasing agreement of whatever kind is used? --or is > it > just used for press releases to impress somebody? > > > > > In a message dated 5/28/2009 8:52:42 A.M. Central Daylight Time, > norman@nwtulloch.vispa.com writes: > > Still used for racehorses too, Karen: > > > > **************We found the real ‘Hotel California’ and the ‘Seinfeld’ > diner. What will you find? Explore WhereItsAt.com. > (http://www.whereitsat.com/?ncid=emlwenew00000004) > _______________________________________ > Orcadia Group Photo Album > http://tinyurl.com/28bx9x > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > ORCADIA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message