Units

Shopkeeper, No. 112, punches No. 6's credit card, as seen in "Hammer Into Anvil" (1967).

Units (also referred to as Work Units) serve as the currency used within the Village in the 1967-68 British television series The Prisoner. Residents are paid in Units for their work, and they can use them to purchase goods and services from the Village's stores and vendors. Their usage is tracked by way of a punchable credit card system. Although various members of the community in the Village hold down jobs, most, including Number 6 do not have jobs, though are given a comfortable lifestyle. Units are also used as a means of control by the Village authorities, as they can be given or taken away as a form of punishment or reward.

Value

• Village taxi (from the cafe to the shop): 2 Units
• The Tally Ho: 2 Units
• Nine-word ad in the Tally Ho: 3 Units
• Broom head: 4 Units
• Non-alcoholic Vodka: 16 Units
• Teapot: 17 Units
• Non-alcoholic Whiskey: 24 Units
• Small wicker basket: 20-30 Units
• Cuckcoo clock: 30-60 Units
• Arts and crafts competition prize: 2000 Units

Trivia

• During the episode "Hammer into Anvil", Number 6 purchases a notebook (value unknown) and cuckcoo clock (clearly marked 42 Units) for "42 Units in all". The screenplay correctly itemises the purchases (adding an additional purchase, adhesive tape), with the shopkeeper stating, "That'll be 42 units for the clock three for the notebook and 5, that's 50 units, sir."

Images

Number 6's credit card, as seen in "Arrival" (1967).