List of British bank notes and coins
List of British banknotes and coins, with commonly used terms.
Prior to decimalisation in 1971, there were 12 pence (written as 12d) in a shilling (written as 1s or 1/-) and 20 shillings in a pound, written as £1 (occasionally "L" was used instead of the pound sign, £). There were therefore 240 pence in a pound. For example, 2 pounds 14 shillings and 5 pence could have been written as £2 14s 5d or £2 14/5.
The value of some coins fluctuated, 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. These are denominations of British, or earlier English, coins – Scottish coins had different values.
Notes:
1915 half sovereign
1560–61 halfpound, one of the first English milled coins
1740 Two guineas
Since decimalisation on "Decimal Day" in 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 pence. Originally the term "new pence" was used; the word "new" was dropped from the coinage in 1982. The old shilling equated to five (new) pence, and, for example, £2 10s 6d became £2.52 1⁄2. The symbol for the (old) penny, "d", was replaced by "p" (or initially sometimes "np", for new pence). Thus 72 pence can be written as £0.72 or 72p; both were commonly read as "seventy-two pee".
Note: The description of banknotes given here relates to notes issued by the Bank of England. Three banks in Scotland and four banks in Northern Ireland also issue notes, in some or all of the denominations: £1, £5, £10, £20, £50, £100.
Bank of England notes are periodically redesigned and reissued, with the old notes being withdrawn from circulation and destroyed. Each redesign is allocated a "series". Currently, the £5 and £10 notes are "series E" revised issue and the £20 and £50 notes are "series F" issue. Series F is the latest round of redesign, which commenced in March 2007. The £5 and £10 notes are to undergo this process in the near future.
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