Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Consols \Con"sols\ (? or ?; 277), n. pl. [A contraction of
   consolidated (annuities).]
   The leading British funded government security.

   Note: A considerable part of the public debt of Great
         Britian, which had been contracted in the form of
         annuities yielding various rates of interest, was, in
         1757, consolidated into one fund at 3 per cent
         interest, the account of which is kept at the Bank of
         England. This debt has been diminished and increased at
         different times, and now constitutes somewhat more than
         half of the entire national debt. The stocks are
         transferable, and Their value in the market constantly
         fluctuates; the price at any time being regarded as a
         gauge of the national prosperity and public confidence.