Sherlock Holmes goes to a public house seeking information about some people in the area. After ordering a half-pint of local ale from the landlord, he pays with a gold sovereign, worth far more than the ale, and instructs the landlord to keep the change, as he is looking for information. The coin he used is a gold sovereign coin of Queen Victoria, and from the portrait on its obverse can be dated as what is called the old head type, produced from 1893-1901 inclusive, with a total of nearly 100,160,000 total coins of this type produced. A complete meal with beer in a decent restaurant at this time cost a writer 2 shillings and 11 pence. The sovereign coin had a value of 20 shillings.