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This article concerns British coinage, the coinage of the United Kingdom.
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Current coinage
Obverse and reverse of common coins in current circulation, £2, £1, 50p, 20p, 10p, 5p, 2p and 1pThe British currency was decimalised on February 15, 1971. The basic unit of currency – the Pound (or Pound Sterling) – was unaffected. Before decimalisation there were 240 (old) pennies in a pound, now there are 100 new pence. The new coins were marked with the wording "New Penny" (singular) or "New Pence" (plural) to distinguish them from the old. The word New was dropped after ten years. The symbol p was also adopted to distinguish the new pennies from the old, which used the symbol d.
The first pound coin was introduced in 1983 to replace the Bank of England £1 banknote which was discontinued in 1984 (although the Scottish banks continued producing them for some time afterwards. The last of them, the Royal Bank of Scotland £1 note, remained in production until 2003). A circulating bimetallic £2 coin was also introduced in 1998 (first minted in, and dated, 1997) – there had previously been commemorative £2 coins which did not normally circulate. The total amount of coinage in circulation is roughly three and a quarter billion pounds, of which the £1 and £2 coins account for almost two billion pounds.
Every year, newly minted coins are checked for size, weight, and composition at a Trial of the Pyx. Essentially the same procedure has been used since the thirteenth century. Assaying is now done by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths on behalf of HM Treasury.
Coins and dates
- Half Penny (£0.005) 1971-1984, demonetised since then.
- One Penny (£0.01), 1971- (1822- Maundy Money)
- Two Pence (£0.02), 1971- (1822- Maundy Money)
- Three Pence (£0.03), 1822- Maundy Money
- Four Pence (£0.04), 1822- Maundy Money
- Five Pence (£0.05), 1968-1990 and 1990-
- Ten Pence (£0.10), 1968-1992 and 1992-
- Twenty Pence (£0.20), 1982-
- Twenty-Five Pence (£0.25), 1972-1981 (special issues, not in common circulation)
- Fifty Pence (£0.50), 1969-1997 and 1997-
- One Pound (£1.00), 1983-
- Two Pounds (£2.00), 1986-1997 (special issues) 1997- (first general issue)
- Five Pounds (£5.00), 1990- (special issues, not in common circulation)
A Quarter Penny coin, to be struck in aluminium, was proposed at the time decimalisation was being planned, but ended up never being minted.
Note that all Maundy coins (which originate in the pre-decimalisation era and have a different design from 'standard issue' coins) are legal tender in the UK, and so while the standard one and two penny coins originate in 1971, the oldest legal tender one and two penny coins date from 1822. Three and four pence coins are only available as Maundy Money, and a very limited number are produced each year. Interestingly, the pre-decimal Maundy pieces have the same legal tender status and value as post-decimal ones, and were effectively increased in face value by 140% upon decimalization. Their numismatic value is, of course, much greater.
Several of these coins have changed in size and design since first introduction.
In August 2005 the Royal Mint announced an open competition (pdf file) to redesign the reverses of the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins which were designed in the 1960s (early 1980s in the case of the 20p). The competition closes on 14 November 2005, although the Mint has retained the option of keeping the existing designs if no suitable new designs are produced.
| Denomination | Diameter | Thickness | Weight | Composition | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One penny |
20.03 mm
|
1.65 mm
|
3.56 g
|
Copper-plated steel | smooth |
| Two Pence |
25.90 mm
|
1.85 mm
|
7.13 g
|
Copper-plated steel | smooth |
| Five Pence |
18.00 mm
|
1.70 mm
|
3.25 g
|
Cupro-nickel | milled, wire or flat edge |
| Ten Pence |
24.50 mm
|
1.85 mm
|
6.50 g
|
Cupro-nickel | milled, wire or flat edge |
| Twenty Pence |
21.40 mm
|
1.70 mm
|
5.00 g
|
Cupro-nickel | smooth, seven-sided |
| Fifty Pence |
27.30 mm
|
1.78 mm
|
8.00 g
|
Cupro-nickel | smooth, seven-sided |
| One Pound |
22.50 mm
|
3.15 mm
|
9.50 g
|
Nickel-brass | milled with variable inscription |
| Two Pound |
28.40 mm
|
2.50 mm
|
12.00 g
|
Inner: Cupro-nickel Outer: Nickel-brass |
milled with variable inscription |
Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories
The Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories of the United Kingdom, although using the Pound, are responsible for their own economies, and thus mint their own coinage. These are in the same denominations as those of the UK, but with their own designs.
Coins from British dependencies are sometimes found in change in other jurisdictions, but are not legal tender in the United Kingdom and tend not to be accepted by UK traders and banks. Since they have the same specifications as UK coins, they are sometimes tolerated in commerce, and can readily be used in vending machines.
Bullion coinage
The traditional bullion coin issued by Britain is the gold Sovereign, formerly a circulating coin, with a face value of one pound. Since 1987 a series of bullion coins, the Britannia, has been issued, weighing one troy ounce, half ounce, quarter ounce, and one-tenth ounce of fine (.917) gold and with face values of £100, £50, £25, and £10.
| Types of British coinage | |
|---|---|
| Falkland Islands | Gibraltar | Guernsey | Isle of Man | Jersey | St Helena and Ascension | United Kingdom | |
Pre-decimal system
Pre-decimalisation, the pound was divided into 240 pennies (or pence) rather than 100, though it was rarely expressed in this way. Rather it was expressed in terms of pounds, shillings and pence, where:
- £1 = 20 shillings (20s).
- 1 shilling = 12 pence (12d).
Thus: £1 = 240 pence. The penny was further subdivided at various times, though these divisions vanished as inflation made them irrelevant:
- 1 penny = 2 halfpennies and (earlier) 4 farthings (half-farthing, third-farthing, and quarter-farthing coins were actually minted in the late 1800s, but circulated only in certain British colonies and not in the UK itself).
Using the example of five shillings and sixpence, the standard ways of writing shillings and pence were:
- 5s 6d
- 5/6 (see below for the / mark)
- 5/- for 5 shillings only, with the dash to stand for zero pennies.
This sum would be spoken as "five shillings and sixpence" or "five and six".
The symbol, £, for the pound is derived from the first letter of the Latin word for pound, the librum. This symbol is found in the Unicode table as (U+00A3), and differs from that allocated to the Turkish and former Italian unit, the lira, which derives from the same source word. That symbol is usually two-barred, and is found at (U+20A4) (although note that the British pound symbol is always written with two bars (ref: Bank of England Notes)and not with one bar except by modern Americans and type faces.
The old abbreviation for the penny, d, was derived from the Roman denarius, and the abbreviation for the shilling, s, from the Roman solidus. The shilling was also denoted by the slash symbol, also called a solidus for this reason. The English penny was derived from a silver coin (the sceat of 20 grains weight)which was in general circulation in Europe during the middle ages. The weight of this coin was originally 20 grains but had reached 24 grains by the time of King Alfred (A.D. 871-899) or 1/240th of a troy pound, a weight known as a pennyweight – around 1.555 grams.
The pre-decimalisation coins with exact decimal equivalent values continued in use after 1971 alongside the new coins, albeit with new names, (e.g., the Shilling became the 5p coin, and the Florin equating to 10p). The others were withdrawn almost immediately but most of those that did have precise equivalents in the new system remained legal tender until they were replaced by smaller coins in the early 1990s. Pre-decimalisation shillings were used as 5p coins, with many people calling the new 5p coin a shilling, since it remained 1/20 of a pound, but was now worth 5p instead of 12d. The pre-decimalisation sixpence, also known as a sixpenny bit or sixpenny piece, was rated at 2½p but was demonetised in 1980.
A similar pre-decimal system operated in France, also based on the Roman currency, consisting of the livre (L) sol (s) and denier (d).
Slang
Some pre-decimalisation coins or denominations became commonly known by slang terms, perhaps the most well known being bob for a shilling, and quid for a pound. A farthing was a mag, a silver threepence was a joey and the later cupro-nickel threepence was called a threepenny bit (pronounced thrup'ny bit), a sixpence was a tanner and a half crown was a half dollar. Quid remains as popular slang for one or more pounds to this day in Britain in the form "a quid", and then "two quid etcw/." thereafter.
Silver content
From the time of Charlemagne until the 12th century, the silver currency of England was made from the highest purity silver available. Unfortunately there were drawbacks to minting currency of Fine Silver, notably the level of wear it suffered, and the ease with which coins could be "clipped", or trimmed by those dealing in the currency.
In the 12th century a new standard for English coinage was established by Henry II, the Sterling Silver standard of metal – 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper used in coinage. This was a harder wearing alloy, yet it was still a rather high grade of silver. It went some way to discouraging the practice of "clipping", though this practice was further discouraged and largely eliminated with the introduction of the milled edge we see on coins today.
In 1920, the silver content of all British coins was reduced from 92.5% to 50%, with a portion of the remainder consisting of manganese, which caused the coins to tarnish to a very dark colour after they had been in circulation for a significant period. Silver was eliminated altogether in 1947, except for Maundy coinage, which returned to the pre-1920 92.5 percent silver composition.
History of the penny
The penny was originally one 'pennyweight' of silver. A pennyweight is a unit of mass which is the same as 1.555 grams, or 1/240th of a troy pound. So, a penny was literally, as well as monetarily, 1/240th of a troy pound of sterling silver. The weight of this coin was instituted by Charlemagne, and the purity of 92.5% silver (sterling silver) was instituted by Henry II in 1158 with the "Tealby Penny" – a hammered coin. At this time the standard unit of currency in England was the penny.
The mediaeval penny would have been the equivalent of around 1s 6d in value in 1915. British government sources suggest that prices have risen over 61-fold since 1914, so a mediaeval sterling silver penny might be worth around £4.50 today, and a farthing (a quarter penny) would have the value of slightly more than today's pound.
For detailed information, see the series of articles starting from History of the English penny.
Historical coins
The old British system of money, which evolved from English mediaeval times, used a selection of coins known as guineas, pounds, crowns, half crowns, shillings, threepence, pennies, halfpennies and farthings. Other currency units included a sovereign, a half sovereign, and the groat.
Denominations of pre-decimal coins and their years of production
- Note that the value of some coins fluctuated at different times in their history, particularly in the reigns of James I and Charles I. The value of a Guinea fluctuated between 20 and 30 shillings before being fixed at 21 shillings in December 1717.
- Note that these are denominations of British, or earlier English, coins – Scottish coins had different values.
- Five Guineas (originally 100/- £5, later 105/- £5.25) 1668-1753.
- Five Pounds (100/- £5) (Gold) 1826-1990.
- Triple Unite (60/- £3) 1642-1644.
- Fifty Shillings (50/- £2.5) 1656.
- Two Guineas (42/- £2.1) 1664-1753.
- Two Pounds (40/- £2) 1823-1937.
- Rose Ryal (30/- £1.5) 1604-1625.
- Guinea (21/- £1.05) 1663-1799, 1813
- Broad (20/- £1) 1656.
- Sovereign (20/- £1) 1489-1604; 1817-1914, since 1914 a bullion coin.
- Laurel (20/- £1) 1619-1644?
- Unite (20/- £1) 1604-1619; 1649-1662.
- Spur Ryal (15/- £0.75) 1604-1625.
- Half Guinea (10/6 £0.525) 1669-1813.
- Half Sovereign (10/- £0.5) 1544-1553; 1603-1604; 1817-1937, since 1980 a bullion coin.
- Double Crown (10/- £0.5) 1604-1619; 1625-1662.
- Halfpound (10/- £0.5) 1559-1602; 1642-4
- Half Unite (10/- £0.5) 1642-3.
- Half Laurel (10/- £0.5) 1619-1625.
- Rose Noble or Ryal (10/- £0.5, 15/- £0.75 from 1553) 1464-1470, 1487, 1553-1603.
- Third Guinea (7/- £0.35) 1797-1813.
- Noble (6/8 £0.3333, raised to 8/4 £0.4167 in 1464) 1344-1464.
- Angel (6/8 £0.3333) 1461-1643.
- Florin or Double Leopard (6/- £0.3) 1344. Demonetised within 1 year.
- Quarter Guinea (5/3 £0.2625) 1718, 1762.
- Crown (5/- £0.25) 1526-1965
- Crown of the Rose (4/6 £0.225) 1526-1547.
- Double Florin (4/- £0.2), 1887-1890.
- Half Noble (3/4 £0.1667, increased to 4/2 £0.2083 in 1464); minted 1346-1438.
- Half Angel (3/4 £0.1667, later 5/6 £0.275), 1470-1619.
- Half Florin or Leopard (3/- £0.15) 1344. Extremely rare.
- Half Crown (2/6 £0.125), 1526-1969.
- Quarter Angel (2/- £0.1), 1547-1600. Gold.
- Florin (2/- £0.1), 1848-1970, circulated until 1993 as the old Ten Pence coin.
- Twenty Pence (1/8 £0.0833 - 2/- £0.1) 1257-1265. Gold. Undervalued for its metal content and extremely rare!
- Quarter Noble (1/8 £0.0833), 1344-1470.
- Quarter Florin or Helm (1/6 £0.075), 1344. Gold coin demonetised within 1 year.
- Shilling (1/- £0.05), 1502-1970, circulated until 1990 as the old Five Pence coin.
- Sixpence (6d £0.025), 1547-1970
- Groat (4d £0.0167) silver 1279-1662, 1836-1862 (and thereafter only for Maundy)
- Threepence (3d £0.0125), silver 1547-1945 (and thereafter only for Maundy), nickel-brass 1937-1970
- Half Groat (2d £0.0083), 1351-1662
- Twopence (2d £0.0083), silver (inc. Maundy) 1668- current; copper 1797-1798.
- Three Halfpence (1&;frac12d £0.0063), 1561-1582, 1834-1870 *
- Penny (1d £0.0042), 757-1970
- Three Farthings (0.75d £0.0031), 1561-1582.
- Halfpenny (0.5d £0.0021), 1272-1969
- Farthing (0.25d £0.0010), c. 1200-1960
- Half Farthing (0.125d £0.0005), 1828-1868 *
- Third Farthing (0.08333d £0.0003) 1827-1913 *
- Quarter Farthing (0.0625d £0.0002), 1839-1868 *
- Scottish coin Bawbee (0.5d £0.0021), 1539-1697
Note: * = denomination issued for use in the colonies, usually in Ceylon, Malta, or the West Indies, but normally counted as part of the British coinage.
Note that the mediaeval florin, half florin, and quarter florin were gold coins intended to circulate in Europe as well as in England and were valued as much more than the Victorian and later florin and double florin. The mediaeval florins were withdrawn within a year because they contained insufficient gold for their face value and thus were unacceptable to merchants.
All British coins produced since 1662 have been milled, i.e., produced by machine; the first milled coins were produced during the reign of Elizabeth I and periodically during the reigns of James I and Charles I, but there was opposition to mechanisation from the moneyers who ensured that most coins continued to be produced by hammering.
In mediaeval times, the penny was a sterling silver coin. English silver pennies are a collectible, and are now quite rare.
See also
External links
- Coins of England and Great Britain
- British Coin Denominations
- British Coinage from the Royal Mint's website.
- CoinPeople.com British Coin Forum A friendly numismatic community.