A bodle or boddle or bodwell, also known as a half groat or Turner was a
Scottish copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
coin, of less value than a
bawbee
A bawbee was a Scotland, Scottish sixpence. The word means a debased copper coin, valued at six pence Scots (equal at the time to an English half-penny), issued from the reign of James V of Scotland to the reign of William III of England, William ...
, worth about one-sixth of an
English penny
The English penny (plural "pence"), originally a coin of pure silver, was introduced by King Offa of Mercia. These coins were similar in size and weight to the continental '' deniers'' of the period and to the Anglo-Saxon sceats which had ...
. They were first issued under
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
, and were minted until the coronation of
Anne
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
.
Its name may derive from Bothwell (a mint-master).
It is mentioned in one of the songs of
Joanna Baillie
Joanna Baillie (11 September 1762 – 23 February 1851) was a Scottish poet and dramatist, known for such works as ''Plays on the Passions'' (three volumes, 1798–1812) and ''Fugitive Verses'' (1840). Her work shows an interest in moral philoso ...
:
Black Madge, she is prudent, has sense in her noddle
Is douce and respectit; I carena a bodle.
The use of the word survives in the anglicised phrase "not to care a bodle",
[ which ]Brewer
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer ...
glosses as "not to care a farthing
Farthing or farthings may refer to:
Coinage
*Farthing (British coin), an old British coin valued one quarter of a penny
** Half farthing (British coin)
** Third farthing (British coin)
** Quarter farthing (British coin)
* Farthing (English ...
". Something similar appears in Burns' '' Tam o' Shanter'' (line 110), it is also mentioned:
Fair play, he car'd na deils a boddle (He cared not devils a bodle)
Gallery
Post-Medieval Scottish Coin (FindID 250281).jpg , Turner or Bodle of Charles I, c.1642-1650 AD
Charles II Turner (or Bodle) 1663 (FindID 389031).jpg , Turner or Bodle of Charles II, c. 1663-1668 AD
Coin, Scottish Turner or Bodle of Charles II (FindID 484303).jpg , Turner or Bodle of Charles II, c. 1677-1679 AD
See also
* Plack
*Pound Scots
The pound ( Modern and Middle Scots: ''Pund'') was the currency of Scotland prior to the 1707 Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. It was introduced by David I ...
*Scottish coinage
From until 1709 the coinage of Scotland was unique, and minted locally. A wide variety of coins, such as the plack, bodle, bawbee, dollar and ryal were produced over that time. For trading purposes coins of Northumbria and various other places ha ...
In Sunderland, County Durham, in the North of England there is a well known as the Bodelwell.
References
* MacKay, Charles – ''A Dictionary of Lowland Scotch'' (1888)
* ''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'', sometimes referred to simply as ''Brewer's'', is a reference work containing definitions and explanations of many famous phrases, allusions, and figures, whether historical or mythical.
The "New E ...
''
External links
*Elks, Ken
Coinage of Great Britain
Coins of Scotland
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