So I did a little math regarding the payment Hans gets cause I was wondering how much he puts up with and only gets money for it, in chapter 8 they say that he gets paid, “at the fixed salary of three rix-dollars a week, being exactly fourteen shillings and twopence, minus one farthing, English currency. One stipulation, however, was made by the guide—the money was to be paid to him every Saturday night, failing which, his engagement was at an end.”
So basically he gets paid around 2700 a week or around
get this
140,000$ A YEAR!!!
Now I know he didn’t work for an entire year but since he is just a guide im quite amazed how much he was paid and how rich Prof Lindenbrook is.
by JohanStrombeck
3 Comments
20 shillings is only a pound.
I dont know where youre getting that $2700 a week figure from. If I read that quote from the book correctly, hes being paid 3 rix dollars, which is apparently equal to 14 shillings 2 pence (I ignored the farthing because of how little that is). A shilling was 1/20th of a pound, and a pence 1/240th (pre-decimalisation British currency is obtuse like that) so 14s 2d would be about 71% of one pound. According to an online currency inflation calculator I found, £0.71 in 1864 (when the book was first published) would be about £111.24 today, equal to $137.66 at the current GBP-USD rate. Which is not a lot of money at all.
Honestly given just how far off your figure was I reckon you either misinterpreted the quote, misplaced a decimal at some point in your calculations, or just made up some ridiculous figure for your post so someone else would come along and correct you (do all the research for you)
“Fourteen shillings and twopence, minus one farthing” would equal 169.75 pence which in modern parlance would be £1.69 (plus three quarters of a penny) a week.
Adjusted for inflation, that would now be worth approximately £175 a week, or about £9,000 a year.
Which would be US$11,137 per year.
Unless my maths is very wonky.