“Hold up there, you! It’s a shilling to tie up your boat at the dock... and I shall need to know your name. What say you to three shillings and we forget the name? Welcome to Port Royal, Mr. Smith”
– Pirates of the Caribbean
Prior to 1971 the United Kingdom’s currency was made up of Farthings, Pence, Shillings, Crowns, and Pounds. In a five-year campaign, the United Kingdom modernized their currency to a decimal system. Today, the official term of the British currency is the Pound Sterling (GBP), aka the Pound, while coins are known as Pence. The terms Schilling and Farthing were retired about 1980-1990.
1504 to 1971
The British monetary system has over 1,000 years of history. The Pound was first used as a currency in 760A.D. and became the official currency in 1707 when England and Scotland united to form the United Kingdom. The bank of England started printing banknotes (Pounds) in 1855. Prior to this, they were all handwritten. The old monetary system was made up of pounds, shillings, and pence where the coins were based on the weight of silver. A penny was equal to 1 pennyweight of silver and a pound was equal to 240 silver coins.
• 2 farthings = 1 halfpenny
• 2 halfpence = 1 penny
• 3 pence = 1 thruppence
• 6 pence = 1 sixpence (a ‘tanner')
• 12 pence = 1 shilling (a bob)
• 2 shillings = 1 florin ( a ‘two bob bit')
• 2 shillings and 6 pence = 1 half crown
• 5 shillings = 1 Crown
One pound was divided into 20 shillings.
One shilling was divided into 12 pennies.
One penny was divided into two halfpennies, or four farthings.
There were therefore 240 pennies in a pound.
The Shilling got its start during the Anglo-Saxon times (410-1066AD). Not until the reign of Henry VII during the 16th century did it become a coin. From 1504 to 1971 the Shilling was the workhorse in the United Kingdom for its convenience in size and value. It was used throughout the British Empire to include Australia, Austria, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, and British Commonwealth. Finally, in 1971 the UK introduced the new decimal system, and the Schilling was changed from 12 pence to the pound (1/20 pound) to 5 pence to the pound.
15 February 1971
The decision to change to a decimal system was announced March 1966 after several other countries switched during 1960s. The Decimal Currency Board was charged with overall supervising the change and reducing public anxiety. The board spent two years educating the public about Decimal Day. Four days prior to 15 February, banks closed to prepare for the conversion. Prices for both old and new currency were displayed in shops to alleviate the fear of price increases. When the day final arrived on 15 February 1971, the public had no problems with ‘Decimal Day’. The new system was one pound equals 100 pence. Changing to a decimal system had its benefits as schools would not have to spend months on teaching the old conversion of money, business calculations would be quicker and have less errors.
Current Times
On 1 January 2002, most of Europe changed to the Euro, but the United Kingdom voted to stay with the British Pound. Since the passing of the Queen of England in Sept 2023, The British currency will be updated to King Charles. Although, you might find some coins or bank notes that still have the Queen of England. England is changing their bank notes to a polymer, just like the Philippines, as an anti-counterfeit. The 50 Pound note is the first to be released followed by the 20 Pound note. After September 30, 2022, paper notes will no longer be accepted. England has eight different coins, they are 2 pounds, 1 pound, 50pence, 20 pence, 10 pence, 5 pence, 2 pence, and 1 pence (penny).
Other Knowledge:
Great Britain vs. UK vs. England: Learn the Difference
• The United Kingdom (UK) consist of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
• Great Britain consists of the larger island made up of England, Wales, and Scotland.
• England is a country within Great Britain, Capital is London.
More Reading
Project Britain
Royal Mint Museum
Decimalization in Britain
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