Thats very expensive! and that old system seems very complex
Yes, it was! Compared to decimal currency, which was the reason for changing to the decimal dollar, in 1966.
Calculating interest, and compounding it, was rather a nightmare in those pre-computer days. Books of look-up tables called 'ready reckoners' were much used. It was an inheritance from the Brits...
The old system was 1 Pound [symbol �] = 20 shillings [symbol s] = 240 pence [symbol d]. The symbols actually stand for the Latin words used for old French currency. Separators used were slash [/]or apostrophe ['] e.g . � 5/12/6; 7'6 or 7/6.
And as NormK says, the 'guinea' was 21s, used to fiddle the numbers to make items appear cheaper - much as prices ending in $99 or 99c still are.
THIS Wiki page goes into more detail.
The average Australian weekly full-time base wage in 1961 was �18/4/7 [source: ABS 1962 Yearbook] or ~$36.55 using the 1966 dollar conversion.
So one of these mowers cost about 3 weeks wages, back then. Equivalent to ~$4400 today!
Most people would buy them on credit, in the form of Hire Purchase [a form of 'vendor finance'], which became readily available in the 1950's. But the goods were the 'security', and could be repossessed, if payments fell into arrears. Ownership wasn't transferred until the final payment had been made, just as with car loans of today.
