Pears' Soap advertisement, second version (Wellcome Collection)
The pattern
This still is filed under Price-anchoring offer.
Define
A higher reference number is shown first so the real price reads as a concession, not as a starting bid.
Mechanism
People judge a price against the first number they see. The anchor must be a real comparison or it collapses.
Verdict
We have a credible reference the buyer will accept
Why it works
The ad argues about price without naming one. Coins are the universal unit of worth, so heaping them in a hand beside the pack does the comparison arithmetic silently and leaves the actual shilling unmentioned and therefore unarguable. Leaving four fifths of the card bare is the other half of the mechanism - in a period of dense ornamented advertising, empty ground is what makes a single object look expensive. Hand-lettered copperplate instead of type puts the claim in the register of a personal note rather than a printed assertion, and the flourish carries the eye from the top line down through the falling coins to the brand line, which is the only path across the card.
Steal this when
Use this when the objection is price and you would rather not fight on it - picture the value in a unit the buyer already trusts and let the empty space imply the premium. Right for a single-SKU, low-cost, repeat-purchase product with an established name.