Thank you Jim and others who replied to my query about the exchange rate of pounds vs. dollars used in tax records ca. 1819.  I tried various suggestions but only one worked and is obviously the answer -- 1.388 American cents to 1 English penny.  You need to convert the pounds and shillings to pence (12 pence to a shilling, 20 shillings to a pound, 240 pennies to a pound); multiply by 1.3888 and divide by 100 to get the dollar amount.  This exchange rate was spot on for the land tax records; I make no representation for anything else.

I apologize to those who had trouble reading the amounts in my original post; apparently my pound sign came across as =A3 in some cases.  The amount in question was 126 pounds, 9 shillings, 3 pence (roughly $421.27).

Thanks again to the sharp-witted person who figured out the answer.

Kathy


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