A sixpence. . A variant of tester. In the reign of Henry VIII. a “testone” was a shilling, but only sixpence in the reign of Elizabeth. (French, teste, tête, the [monarch’s] head.)
· ·
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.
· 
· 