Skiv was British slang for a sovereign — the gold coin worth one pound sterling that circulated in the UK until the early 20th century.
Skiv was British slang for a sovereign — the gold coin worth one pound sterling that circulated in the UK until the early 20th century. It belongs to the rich tradition of Cockney and underworld slang for currency denominations, where almost every coin had its own rhyming or coded nickname. While you wouldn't use it today except in deliberately retro or historical contexts, it pops up in Victorian-era literature, old crime fiction, and nostalgic references to Britain's pre-decimal monetary culture.
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UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
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British slang for a sovereign — the gold coin worth one pound sterling that was a standard unit of currency through the 19th and early 20th centuries. Sovereigns became iconic symbols of wealth, and getting or spending a sovvy had weight. The coin is still minted today as a collectible and store of value, so 'sovvy' occasionally resurfaces in antiques, numismatics, or nostalgic conversation, though it's far less common than it once was on the streets.
(military slang, Vietnam War) A prostitute.
(British, slang) Pound sterling.
(UK, dialect, archaic) Any small coin.
He'd saved up a few skivs over the summer and was planning to spend the lot at the Michaelmas fair.
(UK, slang, obsolete) A sovereign .