1950's currency.

I am using bank notes and coins in my poker game instead of chips (the reason why is in a few previous posts). As my film noir OTS is set in the 1950's, the money has to obviously be from that era also. I found a really helpful website: http://www.thebanknotestore.com/ which has given me pictures of what the bank notes looked like:

This specific 10 shilling note was used from 1951 to 1955. There was a note which was used in 1950 but because i don't know the exact year i am setting my OTS, i decided it would be a safe option to use this one. As my characters are wealthy, they are more likely to play poker with 10 shillings notes than they are 1 shilling note.

This 1 shilling note was used during 1950 to 1955. I have purposely chosen the same sort of years to when the 10 shilling note was used.

I have also found some pictures of the shillings that were used during the 1950's. I have to make sure i get the right colour and size to make it look legitimate.

This coin would have probably been the same size as a 50p is now. The colour is dark with a hint of grey and green.

But my question is would wealthy people in the 1950's really be using shillings to play poker?

I don't really think so, as these characters are clearly wealthy and quite 'snobbish'. Also, a lot of money has to be won - enough money for somebody to want to cheat to win it. On the other hand, presentation-wise, having coins on the table would be more interesting and diverse. It could make it look as if there is more money on the table that there actually is. i must have a big think about this fast because i am planning to film the other half of my OTS soon.          

To find a conclusion to this problem (whether or not to have coins on my table) i am planning to set up the poker game and take a few pictures to test the lighting, layout and presentation. I will take these pictures before i film the poker game scene, so that on the night of filming, i don't waste time trying to figure what looks right or not. Time is precious!

I also did some research to find out the average earning of a skilled and unskilled worker. As my male character is a businessman, he has to have well over the average amount of money on the poker table. I was internet-looking when i came across this site explaining what the average wage was in the early 1950's:

http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~alan/family/N-Money.html

I am aiming mainly for the early 1950s of my film noir due to the costumes, and this site has helped me to see how much much i should have on the table during my poker game.


Linking back to my target audience

As my target audience is ranged from 16-25 year olds, they will not remember or know much about money from the 1950's. I think if my target audience was older, i would have to worry a bit more about if they will notice any errors i may cause when using this money. I do have to still make the money look realistic as 16-25 are probably quite sharp at identifying money!