Hi Bernard, On 6th December 2007, Terry asked a question about the Kings Shilling in Glass bottomed tankards and you replied it seems a bit far fetched. This is an old story and may seem like one of those enduring myths, but it is true. Under the days of sail, life was hard and it is no wonder the navy had trouble recruiting ships crews so laws were passed to allow press ganging to recruit for the next sailing. Press Gangs would frequent pubs near the docks and look for strong young men, ply them with free drink and when drunk they were easy prey to sign up for the next sailing. Often the Kings Shilling was dropped into a drink and once drunk, the shilling was deemed to have been accepted and the unfortunate drinker was now one of the ships crew. When ships were seen approaching the harbour, locals would stay away from pubs and other public places until the ships left so as to avoid the press gangs. Trade in the pubs was reduced and so landlords introduce glass bottomed pewter tankards so the drinker could check for the shilling before drinking. Many of todays naval terms such as “dog watch” “pigs” for officers date back to this time as the press gangs were forced to move further inland as ships approaching harbour were seen well in advance and the locals apparently disappeared for the duration. The press gangs were forced to venture further inland and recruited a lot of farm labourers who had nothing in common with the way of the seas and used much of their own knowledge and terminology as a kind of slang which has become a tradition of naval terminology. So yes, the story is in fact true. A link to an ex naval sailors site is: http://www.the-old-sea-dog.net/uk9.html which verifies the story. Hope that is of interest and every good wish for 2008. Andrew Moore