DiCamillo British Money Guide including Amazing Historical Facts

Let us help clear some of the fog.

Before 1971 British money was populated with confusing currency with exotic names. We’ve attempted to simplify and explain them.

Please note that we are not experts in British currency. We do not deal in British coinage, nor are we able to recommend numismatic dealers. We cannot provide the value of British currency. This page is provided solely as a reference to better understand British money in an historical context.

Since 1971, British money has been calculated on the decimal system, with a standardized scheme of 100 pence to the pound. However, previous to 1971, there were many British coins with exotic names and confusing conversions. We’ve tried to list them all (there are over 50!) in the chart below, with their conversions into today’s post-1971 decimal system in italicized text and their old (pre-1971) equivalencies listed in non-italicized text. Coins that had earlier and different values have those values listed with the time period to which the values are appropriate. Units of specie are listed alphabetically.

In pre-decimalization, a sum would normally be written pounds, shillings, pence (£sd). Thus, £2. 19s. 3d. would be 2 pounds, 19 shillings, 3 pence. This would be spoken as “two pounds nineteen and three.” If dealing only in shillings and pence, a sum would be written as 2s. 6d., or 2/6, and spoken as “two and six.” Coins after decimalization carried the term “New Pence” (removed in 1982) to differentiate them from the old, pre-1971 decimal coins.

All UK coinage carries (and has for centuries) the Latin inscription D.G. REG (or REX, when the monarch is a king), F.D., followed by the date. This stands for “Dei Gratia” (“by the Grace of God, Queen”), “Fidei Defensor” (“Defender of the Faith”), and the date. Coins minted during the British Raj have a bit more text: “D:G:BR:OMN:REX F:D:IND:IMP,” which stands for the Latin “Dei Gratia Britanniarum omnium Rex, Fidei Defensor, Indiae Imperator,” which translates to “By the Grace of God, King of Entire Britain, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India.” This phrasing was dropped in 1947, when India was given independence. This inscription was not consistent throughout reigns; the penny of 1750 states only “GEORGIUS II REX.”

Angel

80 pence, or 6 shillings and 8 pence, in the 15th century. 10 shillings. Equivalent to 50 pence in today’s decimal coinage.

Former gold coin. Called an angel because it featured the Archangel Michael slaying a dragon on the reverse. The angel was introduced by Edward IV with a value of 6s 8d to replace the unpopular ten shilling ryal. Under Edward VI the value of the coin was increased to 10 shillings. Angels continued to be produced under James I, with the final issue minted under Charles I in 1643. In the American colonies the Massachusetts ten shilling paper currency note from the October 14, 1713 emission was designated as an angel; this plate was reused several times for emissions until 1740.

Broad

20 shillings, or 1 pound.

A former milled gold coin issued only in the year 1656 (during the commonwealth). The obverse depicts the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell, as a laureated Roman emperor, with the inscription OLIVAR D G R P ANG SCO HIB &c PRO (Oliver, by the Grace of God, Protector of the Republic of England, Scotland, Ireland, etc.), while the reverse shows a crowned shield depicting the arms of the commonwealth with the inscription PAX QVAERITVR BELLO 1656 (Peace is sought through war, 1656).

Crown (also referred to as a “dollar” in slang)

5 shillings. 25 pence between 1971 and 1981. £5 since 1981.

Former coin. The English crown (not to be confused with the later British crown) dates back to Henry VII, when it had a value of 5 shillings and was made of gold. Edward VI struck the first silver crowns in 1551-53; these coins were over twice the size of the gold crowns. Both gold and silver crowns continued to be produced through the commonwealth period. Oliver Cromwell struck the last hammered gold crowns (1649-57), as well as silver crowns (1649-56), and the first milled crown (in silver) in 1658. The regular series of milled silver crowns began in 1662 under Charles II. Gold crowns were discontinued in 1662 (at the time of the appearance of Charles II’s new milled silver crowns); the new crown became the highest denomination silver coin. Successor to the English crown and the Scottish dollar, the British crown was introduced at the Act of Union in 1707 (the union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland) and was removed from circulation after the 1971 decimalization act. The denomination continued as a 25 pence commemorative piece for the first ten years after decimalization. Four issues were made between 1971 and 1981; a characteristic of these versions is that they have no indication of value. The Royal Mint continues to issue proof crowns today for collectors. These pieces are minted primarily to celebrate royal occasions and have carried a value of £5 since 1981.

Five Guinea Piece or Five Pound Piece

105 shillings, or 5 pounds and 25 shillings.

Former gold coin. Minted from 1668 until 1753. During the 17th and 18th centuries it was also known as a five pound piece. The value of the guinea fluctuated over the years, ranging from 20 to 30 shillings; a royal proclamation of December 1717 fixed the value of the guinea at 21 shillings. The five guinea piece was the largest denomination of the milled gold coins and is considered by numismatists to be one of the most impressive pieces of British coinage ever produced.

Florin or Double Leonard or Two Shilling Piece

2 shillings. 72 pence, or 6 shillings, in the 14th century. Equivalent to 10 pence in today’s decimal system.

Former coin. After the 1971 decimalization act the florin was reclassified as being worth 10 pence and the coin continued to circulate. In 1993 the florin was withdrawn from circulation; it had been replaced in 1992 by the new, smaller 10-pence coin, which is still in circulation today. An earlier version of the florin existed in the 14th century; it was a gold coin introduced by Edward III in 1344 in an attempt to produce coinage suitable for use in Europe, as well as in England. The gold used to strike the coins was overvalued, which resulted in the them being unacceptable to merchants, and the florin was withdrawn after only a few months in circulation; it was replaced the same year by the noble. The florin was based on a French coin and ultimately was probably based on the fiorino, a gold coin struck in Florence in 1252. Few specimens survive of the English florin, a coin that numismatists regard as one of the most beautiful medieval English coins ever produced.

Guinea

1 pound and 1 shilling, or 21 shillings.

Former gold coin that was originally made of gold from the Guinea coast of Africa, thus the name! The guinea came into existence in 1663, under Charles II; when first issued the coin was worth one pound, or twenty shillings. The value of the guinea fluctuated over the years, ranging from 20 to 30 shillings. A royal proclamation of December 1717 fixed the value of the guinea at 21 shillings. In the Great Recoinage of 1816, the guinea was replaced as the major unit of currency by the pound. Although the last guinea was minted in 1813, the guinea as a monetary unit continued until decimalization in 1971. Auction houses, in particular, used to denominate all their bidding in guineas, primarily because it was considered to be a more aristocratic way to conduct business.

Half Angel

40 pence, or 3 shillings and 4 pence in the 15th century. 3 shillings and 9 pence in the 16th century. 5 shillings and 6 pence in the 17th century.

Former gold coin that was introduced during the restoration of Henry VI (October 1470 – April 1471) with a value of 3s 4d. In 1526, under Henry VIII, the value was increased to 3s 9d. Production of the coin continued through James I, with the value raised to 5s 6d in 1612. The final issue of half angel coins was minted in 1619.

Half Crown

2 shillings and 6 pence

Former coin. The half crown, valued at 2s 6d, was first issued in 1547 under Henry VIII. Production of the hammered gold coin continued into the reign of James I, who minted gold half crowns 1603-19 (under James’s reign a new, larger sized silver half crown was also minted). The minting of hammered silver half crowns continued through Charles I’s reign; the last hammered half crowns were produced between 1660 and 1662, during the reign of Charles II. The milled silver half crown was first produced by Oliver Cromwell, in 1656 and 1658, during the commonwealth, but the first standard regal issue occurred during the reign of Charles II in 1663. The half crown was removed from circulation in 1970 as part of the conversion to the decimal system.

Half Sovereign or Half Laurel or Double Crown

10 shillings, or half a pound. Equivalent to 50 pence in today’s decimal system.

Former circulating gold coin that had a value of 10 shillings. The double crown was first produced by Henry VIII and continued being minted until 1662, when the last of these hammered coins was produced by Charles II. Some larger sized silver double crowns were produced under Charles I. The modern half sovereign, first struck in 1817, had a value of half-a-pound. Today half sovereigns are gold coins minted as proof coins for collectors only.

Jacobus

25 shillings

Former gold coin issued during the reign of James I. The name of the coin comes from the Latin inscription surrounding the king’s head on the obverse of the coin, “JACOBUS D G MAG BRIT FRA ET HI REX” (“James, by the grace of God, of Britain, France and Ireland, King”). Isaac Newton refers to the coin in a letter to John Locke: “The Jacobus piece coin’d for 20 shillings is the 41th: part of a pound Troy, and a Carolus 20s piece is of the same weight. But a broad Jacobus (as I find by weighing some of them) is the 38th part of a pound Troy.”

Maundy Money

Special silver coins that are used in the Royal Maundy ceremony on Maundy Thursday. Also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, Maundy Thursday is the Christian holy day that occurs on the Thursday before Easter. The name “Maundy,” and the ancient ceremony itself, derive from a commandment, or mandatum, of Jesus Christ at the Last Supper that his followers should love one another (John XIII 34). It was also at the Last Supper that Christ performed the humble act of washing the feet of his apostles. It appears to have been the custom as early as the 13th century for members of the English royal family to take part in Maundy ceremonies by distributing money and gifts of food and clothing, and to recall Christ’s simple act of humility by washing the feet of the poor. In the 18th century the practice of washing the feet was discontinued; in the 19th century the gifts of food and clothing were replaced by money allowances. Today’s recipients of Royal Maundy are usually men and women who are 70, or older, chosen because of the Christian service they have given to church and community. There are as many recipients, divided into an equal number of men and women, as there are years in the sovereign’s age (in the 2019 ceremony, Queen Elizabeth II, who was 93 that year, presented Maundy money to 186 men and women). Until the 18th century the coins given were from regular, circulating coinage; it was not until the latter half of the century that the four Maundy coins developed as distinct, non-circulating silver pieces: four pence, threepence, two pence, and one penny pieces (threepence and four pence coins are only minted for Maundy money, whereas two pence and penny pieces circulate regularly, though not in silver). The obverse of the coins features the reigning monarch, while the reverse shows a crowned numeral enclosed by a wreath, a design that has remained virtually unchanged since 1822. At the ceremony the monarch hands each recipient two small leather string purses: a white one containing the specially-minted silver Maundy coins (which equal, in pence, the years of the monarch’s age), and a red one that contains a £5 and a 50 pence coin (not silver), which represents the value of the food and clothing that used to be distributed at the ceremony.

Penny (also referred to as “a copper” in slang)

1 pence

A coin in circulation today. Pre-1992 the penny was made of bronze; since 1992 it’s been made of copper-plated steel. Since 1971 there have been 100 pence to a pound. The term penny is singular; pence is plural. The abbreviation of a “d” for a pence comes from the Latin denarius, a small silver coin of ancient Rome originally equivalent to 10 bronze asses. The word penny is probably Germanic in origin. Silver Maundy penny coins are minted for Royal Maundy; see Maundy Money for more information.

Pound or Pound Sterling (also referred to as “a quid” in slang)

20 shillings, or 240 pence. Equivalent to 100 pence in today’s decimal system.

A one pound coin has been around for centuries — silver £1 coins were issued during the reign of Charles I in the 17th century. In 1983 the nickel-brass £1 coin was introduced, roughly coinciding with the removal from circulation in 1984 of the £1 note (introduced in 1797). Between its introduction in 1983 and its removal from circulation in 2016, the nickel-brass £1 coin had an inscription on its edge. Most frequently this was the Latin phrase “Decus Et Tutamen,” which translates as “an ornament and a safeguard.” The phrase first appeared on British coins in the 17th century and refers to the inscribed edge as a protection against the clipping of precious metal. In March of 2017 a new 12-sided, bimetallic £1 coin with a rose, leek, thistle, shamrock, and crown on the reverse was introduced. (See Sterling for more information on the derivation of that term). A pound once referred to a monetary unit of Scotland used before the union with England and Wales (1707). The Scottish currency was called a pound Scots and was worth a fraction of the pound sterling. The pound was also the basic monetary unit of various dependent territories of the United Kingdom. The term comes from the Middle English po(u)nd, which derives from Old English pund, which originated with the Latin pondo. The pound abbreviation symbol of £ derives from the Latin libra, which was a unit of weight in ancient Rome corresponding to a pound.

Quarter Farthing

1/16th of a pence, or 1/3,840th of a pound.

Former coin produced for circulation in Ceylon (then a British colony, today the independent nation of Sri Lanka) between 1839 and 1853. The coin is considered to be part of British coinage because it has no indication of what country it was minted for, being made in the same style as the contemporary third farthing. Its value was considered too small to be used in Britain.

Ryal or Rose Noble

120 pence, or 10 shillings, in the 15th century.

The ryal was a gold coin with a value of 10 shillings introduced in 1465 by Henry VI to replace the noble (which had been valued at 6s 8d). The ryal was unpopular and was replaced by the angel by Edward IV. Mary I and Elizabeth I struck a 15-shilling ryal. James I produced a rose ryal, which was actually a two-ryal piece (valued at 20 or 22 shillings) and a spur ryal, valued at 15 shillings (increased to 16s 6d in 1612 as the price of gold increased).

Shilling or Testoon (also referred to as “a bob” in slang)

12 pence. There were 20 shillings to a pound. Equivalent to 5 pence in today’s decimal system.

The silver shilling dates to the late 15th century, when it was called a testoon. By the early 17th century it became an important coin, with several issues minted. The first milled shillings were struck in 1658 during the commonwealth. The final hammered shillings were produced by Charles II between 1660 and 1662; the regular series of milled shillings began circulating in 1663. After the 1971 decimalization act the shilling was reclassified as being worth 5 pence and the coin continued to circulate. In 1990 the shilling was withdrawn from circulation and formally replaced by the new, smaller 5 pence coin, still in circulation today. Shilling derives from a Saxon word; however, the “s” with which it was abbreviated comes from solidus, a Roman coin.

Sixpence or Sixpenny Bit (also referred to as “a tanner” in slang)

6 pence. Equivalent to 2½ pence in today’s decimal system.

The silver sixpence was first minted in the mid-16th century during the reign of Edward VI. The first milled sixpence were produced by Elizabeth I between 1561 and 1571; Elizabeth also authorized a hammered version, which was continued under later monarchs. Large quantities of sixpence were produced by Charles I; the final hammered version occurred 1660-62, during the reign of Charles II (milled sixpence were produced in 1658 by Cromwell). The regal series of milled sixpence started in 1674 under Charles II. The sixpence remained in circulation after the 1971 decimalization act, but was reclassified as being worth 2½ pence. The coin was not minted in the new classification and was withdrawn from circulation in 1980.

Third Farthing

1/12th of a pence, or 1/2,880th of a pound.

Former coin minted exclusively for use in Malta (then a British colony, now the independent Republic of Malta) between 1827 and 1913. The coin is considered to be part of British coinage because it has no indication of what country it was minted for, being made in the same style as the contemporary quarter farthing. Its value was considered too small to be used in Britain. The third farthing was originally made of copper; however, by the time of the mintage of 1866 the coins were made of bronze.

Threepence or Thruppenny Bit

3 pence

Pronounced “THRUP-ence,” this coin was removed from circulation in 1971. The silver threepence first appeared in English coinage during the fine silver coinage of Edward VI (1547-53). The threepence was changed to a nickel-brass composition in 1937 and ceased to be legal tender after August 31, 1971. Silver Maundy threepence coins are minted for Royal Maundy; see Maundy Money for more information.

Two Guinea or Double Guinea or Forty Shilling Piece

First issued in 1664, when it had a nominal value of 40 shillings and was known as a forty shilling piece. After the Proclamation of 1717 settled the value of a guinea at 21 shillings, the two guinea piece became worth 42 shillings.

Former gold coin minted between 1664 and 1753. The value of the guinea fluctuated over the years from 20 to 30 shillings. A royal proclamation of December 1717 fixed the value of the guinea at 21 shillings.

Two Pound Coin

£2

A relatively new addition to the lineup of British coinage, the circulating £2 coin was introduced in June of 1998 and is the highest denomination coin in common circulation in the UK. Like the new £1 coin (introduced in 2017), the £2 coin is notable for its bimetallic design that features an outer yellow metal ring and an inner nickel-colored disc. It was the first bimetallic coin to be produced for circulation in Britain since the 1692 tin farthing.

Unite

20 shillings, until 1612; thereafter, 22 shillings.

The unite was the second British gold coin with a value of 20 shillings minted during the reign of James I. It was the equivalent of a pound and was named after the legends on the coin indicating the king’s intention of uniting his two kingdoms (England and Scotland). The unite was valued at 20 shillings until 1612, when the increase in the value of gold caused it to be raised to 22 shillings. The coin was produced during James I’s second coinage (1604-19). The unite was replaced in James’s third coinage by the laurel.

British Money Explained

Let us help clear some of the fog.

Angel

Bob or Shilling

Broad

Copper

Crown (also referred to as a “dollar” in slang)

Dollar

Double Crown or Half Laurel or Half Sovereign

Double Florin

Double Guinea or Two Guinea

Double Leonard or Florin or Two Shilling Piece

Farthing

Fifty Pence Piece

Five Guinea Piece or Five Pound Piece

Five Pence Piece

Florin or Double Leonard or Two Shilling Piece

Forty Shilling Piece or Two Guinea Piece

Four Pence Piece

Gold Penny

Groat or Twopence

Guinea

Half Angel

Half Crown

Half Farthing

Half Florin or Leopard

Half Groat

Half Guinea

Half Laurel or Half Sovereign or Double Crown

Half Noble

Half Penny or Half Pence (also called a “ha’penny” in slang)

Half Pound Note (Ten Shilling Note) (also called “a bob note” or “half a quid” in slang)

Half Ryal

Half Sovereign or Half Laurel or Double Crown

Helm or Quarter Florin

Jacobus

Laurel

Leopard or Half Florin

Mark

Maundy Money

Noble

Pence

Penny (also referred to as “a copper” in slang)

Pound or Pound Sterling (also referred to as “a quid” in slang)

Quarter Farthing

Quarter Florin or Helm

Quarter Guinea

Quarter Noble

Quarter Ryal

Quid

Ryal or Rose Noble

Shilling or Testoon (also referred to as “a bob” in slang)

Sixpence or Sixpenny Bit (also referred to as “a tanner” in slang)

Sovereign

Sterling

Tanner or Sixpence

Ten Pence Piece

Ten Shilling Note (Half Pound Note) (also called “a bob note” or “half a quid” in slang)

Testoon or Shilling

Third Farthing

Third Guinea

Three Farthing

Three Halfpence

Threepence or Thruppenny Bit

Triple Unite

Twenty Pence Piece

Two Guinea or Double Guinea or Forty Shilling Piece

Two Pence

Two Pound Coin

Two Shilling Piece or Florin or Double Leonard

Unite