Have no idea if it has any basis in fact but a good story and certainly feasible. Currently voted the best answer. Well English beer mugs were made like that so you could see if the king's shilling was at the bottom - if it was you had been got by the naval press gangs.
Jack Flash Answer has 2 votes. The point about taking the King's Shilling is quite right, but perhaps the custom persists nowadays to enable people to carry on watching TV whilst drinking? Other recruits came from the courts, where a criminal's sentence could be commuted to service in the army - still the case apparently with the Blackwatch Regiment.
In fact the bounty for joining the army was much larger than a shilling. Here is a picture of the King's Shilling Tankard in question:. When you joined the army the final part of recruitment was to be paid a shilling. When the recruiters came to a village they would go to the local bar to try to persuade young men to join. One way to do this was to put a shilling in the tankard. I'm not sure if that is the reason for glass bottom tankards though, anyone rich enough to own one would probably be to old to fight.
Another story is the glass bottom was so you could see a punch coming when you had the tankard raised. Reg had enlisted in the Vietnam War as a volunteer. Maybe this gift has some bearing on the tradition of recruitment as Reg wanted him to go with him? Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group.
Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. The King's Shilling Ask Question. Asked 5 years, 5 months ago. Active 1 year, 4 months ago. Viewed 2k times. Improve this question. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. A recruiting sergeant recounted: …your last recourse was to get him drunk, and then slip a shilling in his pocket, get him home to your billet, and next morning swear he enlisted, bring all your party to prove it, get him persuaded to pass the doctor.
Wed Mar 28, pm In my early drinking years I worked my way across from the Isis to the Severn, mostly on foot, and downed many a pint of Forest Brown and Orchard Delight. This was back in the 'fifties, and many country pubs still had the pewter tankards, some with glass bottoms. The practical reason for this was so that one could check the clarity of the draught.
The crack was mighty, and many tall tales were told; codding the stranger was a form of entertainment.
Some yarns were told me, such as the yarn about the black dog of Avebury, and the famous 'moonraker' fable. I also heard another traveller being told the yarn about the shilling in the tankard. These two fables have a certain similarity, the coin in the water, and may be of ancient origin. One yarn I heard is rather good, and I pass it on hereunder.
If a stranger come in, they'd point out Old Jarge as being simple, and the stranger should offer him the choice of two coins to get hisself a drink; a sixpence or a penny. So Jarge'd look at em and say, "well, the littlun do be pretty, but the bigun must be worth more, so I'll have him.
Wed Mar 28, pm Here is a contemporary account of a press gang although it doesn't mention anything about the glass bottomed tankard or the shilling. I had always believed that story to be something that people believed but there was no actual evidence for as I did have a couple of volumes of contemporary tales about pirates some time ago. Regretfully I no longer have them. After the press-gang was got into their boat, some with broken arms, others with their ribs broke who were afterwards carried to Deptford Yard to the Surgeon to be cured the ships crews flung into the boat at them several handspikes, hatchets, and other desperate weapons, all which were brought into the publick Hall of the Admiralty, and a complaint was likewise made to their Lordships on Tuesday, but what the consequence will be must be referred to another opportunity.
With regard to the pirate stories which I wish I still had , the best book was "A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates" by Captain Charles Johnson sometimes assumed to be the pseudonym of Daniel Defoe, though there seems to be no real evidence of this. Thu Mar 29, am Flash, you might want to speak to the Redoubt museum in Eastbourne, The curator used to be Richard Callaghan had this to offer to the Napoleon website Quote: The expression 'to take the king's shilling, meant to sign up to join the army.
Rather like with the 'prest' money for the 'impressed' man, a bonus payment of a shilling was offered to tempt lowly paid workers to leave their trade an average daily wage during the Napoleonic period was 2p at 12p to a shilling, this represented six days wages in one go.
Once the shilling had been accepted, it was almost impossible to leave the army. Since the army was not seen as an attractive career, recruiting sergeants often had to use less than honest methods to secure their 'prey', such as getting the recruitee drunk, slipping the shilling into his pocket and then hauling him before the magistrate the following morning still hungover to get him to accept the fact that he was now in the army.
Sometimes the 'King's shilling' was hidden in the bottom of a pewter tankard having drunk his pint, the unfortunate drinker found that he had unwittingly accepted the King's offer.
As a result, some tankards were made with glass bottoms. Other recruits came from the courts, where a criminal's sentence could be commuted to service in the army - still the case apparently with the Blackwatch Regiment. In fact the bounty for joining the army was much larger than a shilling. They might be of some asistance Flash Thu Mar 29, am Thanks to you both - great anecdotes, dj.
And I'll follow up that lead, Andy. Thu Mar 29, am This person suggests what I always believed to be the correct origin of glass bottomed tankards but she gives no citation: Quote: the purpose of having a glass bottom to your tankard is solely so that you can check the clarity of your beer.
Pewter tankards with glass bottoms were more durable than glasses, and therefore more practical in rough pubs. The glass bottom has nothing whatever to do with press gangs or King's shillings, however many people tell you it has!
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