Coins of the pound sterling

Currently circulating coinage

• one penny and two pence in copper-plated steel
• five pence and ten pence in nickel-plated steel
• equilateral curve heptagonal twenty pence and fifty pence in cupronickel
• bimetallic one pound and two pounds.

Production and distribution

History of pre-decimal coinage

The penny before 1500

The penny after 1500

History of decimal coinage

Decimalisation

• Half penny, 1971–1984: A crown, symbolising the monarch.
• One penny, 1971–2007: A crowned portcullis with chains.
• Two pence, 1971–2007: The Prince of Wales's feathers: a plume of ostrich feathers within a coronet.
• Five pence, 1968–2007: The Badge of Scotland, a thistle royally crowned.
• Ten pence, 1968–2007: The lion of England royally crowned.
• Fifty pence, 1969–2007: Britannia and lion.

Updates 1982–1998

• Twenty pence, 1982–2007: A crowned Tudor Rose, a traditional heraldic emblem of England.
• One pound, 1983–2016: various designs; see One pound .
• Two pounds, 1997–2014: An abstract design of concentric circles, representing technological development from the Iron Age to the modern-day electronic age.

• The halfpenny was discontinued in 1984.
• The composition of the 1p and 2p was changed in 1992 from bronze to copper-plated steel without changing the design.
• The sizes of the 5p, 10p and 50p coins were reduced in 1990, 1992 and 1997, respectively, also without changing the design.

Obverse designs

2008 redesign

• The 1p coin depicts the lower part of the first quarter and the upper part of the third quarter of the shield, showing the lions passant of England and the harp of Ireland respectively
• The 2p coin depicts most of the second quarter of the shield, showing the lion rampant of Scotland
• The 5p coin depicts the centre of the shield, showing the meeting and parts of the constituent parts of the shield
• The 10p coin depicts most of the first quarter of the shield, containing the three lions passant of England
• The 20p coin depicts the lower part of the second quarter and upper part of the fourth quarter, showing the lion rampant of Scotland and the lions passant of England respectively
• The 50p coin depicts the point of the shield and the bottom portions of the second and third quarters showing the harp of Ireland and lions passant of England respectively
• The round, nickel-brass £1 coin from 2008 to 2016 depicted the whole of the Royal Shield. From 2017 it was changed to a bimetallic 12-sided coin depicting a rose, leek, thistle and shamrock bound by a crown.
• The £2 coin from 2015 depicts Britannia.

Changes after 2008

2023 redesign

• 1p depicts the hazel dormouse.
• 2p depicts the red squirrel.
• 5p depicts English oak tree leaves and acorns.
• 10p depicts a western capercaillie.
• 20p depicts an Atlantic puffin.
• 50p depicts an Atlantic salmon.
• £1 depicts two bees.
• £2 depicts the four heraldic flowers of the United Kingdom: Tudor rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock, with the edge inscription, Latin for “In the service of all”, taken from the King's inaugural address on 9 September 2022.

  Obsolete denominations

Commemorative issues

Circulating commemorative designs

Non-circulating denominations

• Twenty-five pence or crown, 1972–1981
• Five pounds or crown, 1990–present
• Twenty pounds, 2013–present
• Fifty pounds, 2015–2016
• One hundred pounds, 2015–2016

Legal tender status of commemorative coins

Maundy money

Bullion coinage

Non-UK coinage

Pre-decimal coinage

System

• £1 = 20 shillings.
• 1 shilling = 12 pence.

• 1 penny = 2 halfpennies and 4 farthings |half farthing], farthing |a third of a farthing], and sixpence, the standard ways of writing shillings and pence were:
  
  • 5s 6d
  • 5/6
  • 5/- for 5 shillings only, with the dash to stand for zero pennies.
  The sum of 5/6 would be spoken as "five shillings and sixpence" or "five and six".
  The abbreviation for the old penny, d, was derived from the Roman [denarius">sixpence (British coin)">sixpence, the standard ways of writing shillings and pence were:
  
  • 5s 6d
  • 5/6
  • 5/- for 5 shillings only, with the dash to stand for zero pennies.
  The sum of 5/6 would be spoken as "five shillings and sixpence" or "five and six".
  The abbreviation for the old 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, which was originally an adaptation of the long s. The symbol "£", for the pound, is derived from the first letter of the Latin word for pound, libra.
  A similar pre-decimal system operated in France, also based on the Roman currency, consisting of the livre, sol or sou and denier. Until 1816 another similar system was used in the Netherlands, consisting of the gulden, stuiver and duit,.

  Materials

  The metal composition varied, not just between different denominations but also over time. The crown, half crown, florin, shilling, and sixpence were made from sterling silver until 1920; debased silver from 1920 until 1946; and cupronickel from 1947 onwards.
  The penny, halfpenny, and farthing were made from copper until 1860, after which bronze was used. The bronze alloy initially consisted of 95% copper, 4% tin and 1% zinc, but in 1923 was altered to 95.5% copper, 3% tin and 1.5% zinc.
  The threepence introduced in 1937 was a twelve-sided nickel-brass coin, but the previous threepence, a small silver coin of diameter continued to be made until 1945. Like the higher value silver coins, this was changed from sterling silver to debased silver in 1920.

  Denominations

  In the years just prior to decimalisation, the circulating British coins were:
  

  Denomination	Obverse	Reverse	Diameter	Thickness	Mass	Composition	Edge	Introduced	Withdrawn
  Farthing	Various Monarchs	Wren	20.19 mm		2.83g	Bronze	Smooth	1860	1961
  Half penny	Various Monarchs	Golden Hind	25.48 mm		5.67g	Bronze	Smooth	1860	1969
  Penny	Various Monarchs	Britannia	31 mm		9.45g	Bronze	Smooth	1860	1971
  Threepence	George VI">George I of Great Britain">George VI 1937–1952 Queen Elizabeth II 1953–1971	Thrift until 1952 Crowned portcullis with chains	21.0–21.8 mm	2.5 mm	6.8g	Nickel-brass	Plain	1937	1971
  Sixpence	King George VI 1946–1952 Queen Elizabeth II 1953–1971	Crowned royal cypher until 1952 Floral design – Four Home Nations	19.41 mm		2.83g	Cupronickel	Milled	1947	1980
  Shilling	King George VI 1946–1952 Queen Elizabeth II 1953–1971	Crowned lion on Tudor crown or Crowned lion standing on Scottish crown until 1952 Coat of Arms of England or Scotland	23.60 mm	1.7 mm	5.66g	Cupronickel	Milled	1947	1990
  Florin	King George VI 1946–1952 Queen Elizabeth II 1953–1971	Crowned rose flanked by a thistle and shamrock until 1952 Rose encircled by thistle, leek and shamrock	28.5 mm	1.85 mm	11.31g	Cupronickel	Milled	1947	1992
  Half crown	King George VI 1946–1952 Queen Elizabeth II 1953–1971	Royal Shield flanked by crowned royal cypher until 1952 Crowned Royal Shield	32.31 mm		14.14g	Cupronickel	Milled	1947	1969
  Crown	King George VI 1946–1952 Queen Elizabeth II 1953–1971	Various commemorative designs	38 mm	2.89 mm	28.28g	Cupronickel	Milled	1951	Present

  
  The farthing had been demonetised on 1 January 1961, whilst the crown was issued periodically as a commemorative coin but rarely found in circulation.
  Some of the pre-decimalisation coins with exact decimal equivalent values continued in use after 1971 alongside the new coins, albeit with new names, and the others were withdrawn almost immediately. The use of florins and shillings as legal tender in this way ended in 1991 and 1993 when the 5p and 10p coins were replaced with smaller versions. Indeed, while pre-decimalisation shillings were used as 5p coins, for a while after decimalisation many people continued to call the new 5p coin a shilling, since it remained of a pound, but was now counted as 5p instead of 12d. The pre-decimalisation sixpence, also known as a sixpenny bit or sixpenny piece, was equivalent to p, but was demonetised in 1980.
  

  Five pounds	1		5	20	40	50	100	200	300	400	1200	2400	4800	9600	14400	19200
  Double sovereign		1	2	8	16	20	40	80	120	160	480	960	1920	3840	5760	7680
  Sovereign			1	4	8	10	20	40	60	80	240	480	960	1920	2880	3840
  Crown				1	2		5	10	15	20	60	120	240	480	720	960
  Half crown					1			5		10	30	60	120	240	360	480
  Florin						1	2	4	6	8	24	48	96	192	288	384
  Shilling							1	2	3	4	12	24	48	96	144	192
  Sixpence								1		2	6	12	24	48	72	96
  Groat									1		4	8	16	32	48	64
  Threepence										1	3	6	12	24	36	48
  Penny											1	2	4	8	12	16
  Halfpenny												1	2	4	6	8
  Farthing													1	2	3	4
  Half farthing														1		2
  Third farthing															1
  Quarter farthing																1

  Slang and everyday usage

  Some pre-decimalisation coins or denominations became commonly known by colloquial and slang terms, perhaps the most well known being bob for a shilling, and quid for a pound. A Farthing coin|farthing] was a mag, a silver threepence was a joey and the later nickel-brass threepence was called a threepenny bit ; a sixpence was a tanner, the two-shilling coin or florin was a two-bob bit. Bob is still used in phrases such as "earn/worth a bob or two", and "bob‐a‐job week". A rhyme, with several variations and sung to the tune of 'Rule Britannia', was: "Rule Britannia, two tanners make a bob, three make eighteen pence, and four two bob".
  The two shillings and sixpence coin or half-crown was a half-dollar, also sometimes referred to as two and a kick. A value of two pence was universally pronounced tuppence, a usage which is still heard today, especially among older people. The unaccented suffix "-pence", pronounced, was similarly appended to the other numbers up to twelve; thus "fourpence", "sixpence-three-farthings", "twelvepence-ha'penny", but "eighteen pence" would usually be said "one-and-six".
  Quid remains as popular slang for one or more pounds to this day in Britain in the form "a quid" and then "two quid", and so on. Similarly, in some parts of the country, bob continued to represent one-twentieth of a pound, that is five new pence, and two bob is 10p.
  The introduction of decimal currency caused a new casual usage to emerge, where any value in pence is spoken using the suffix pee: e.g. "twenty-three pee" or, in the early years, "two-and-a-half pee" rather than the previous "tuppence-ha'penny". Amounts over a pound are normally spoken thus: "five pounds forty". A value with less than ten pence over the pound is sometimes spoken like this: "one pound and a penny", "three pounds and fourpence". The slang term "bit" has almost disappeared from use completely, although in Scotland a fifty pence is sometimes referred to as a "ten bob bit". Decimal denomination coins are generally described using the terms piece or coin, for example, "a fifty-pee piece", a "ten-pence coin".

  Monarch's profile

  All coins since the late 17th century have featured a profile of the current monarch's head. The direction in which they face changes with each successive monarch, a pattern that began with the Stuarts, as shown in the table below:
  For the Tudors and the Stuarts up to and including Charles II, both left- and right-facing portrait images were minted within the reign of a single monarch, together with equestrian portraits on certain coins and full face portrait images. In the Middle Ages, portrait images tended to be full face.
  There was a small quirk in this alternating pattern when Edward VIII became king in January 1936 and was portrayed facing left, the same as his predecessor George V. This was because Edward thought his left side to be better than his right. However, Edward VIII abdicated in December 1936 and his coins were never put into general circulation. When George VI came to the throne, he had his coins struck with him facing the left, as if Edward VIII's coins had faced right. Thus, in a timeline of circulating British coins, George V and VI's coins both feature left-facing portraits, although they follow directly chronologically.

  Regal titles

  From a very early date, British coins have been inscribed with the name of the ruler of the kingdom in which they were produced, and a longer or shorter title, always in Latin; among the earliest distinctive English coins are the silver pennies of Offa of Mercia, which were inscribed with the legend "King Offa". As the legends became longer, words in the inscriptions were often abbreviated so that they could fit on the coin; identical legends have often been abbreviated in different ways depending upon the size and decoration of the coin. Inscriptions which go around the edge of the coin generally have started at the centre of the top edge and proceeded in a clockwise direction. A very lengthy legend would be continued on the reverse side of the coin. All monarchs used Latinised names, save Edward III and Edward VI, both Elizabeths, and Charles III.
  

  Latin text	English text	Notes
  	Edward III, by the grace of God King of England and France, Lord of Ireland
  	Edward, by the grace of God King of England, Lord of Ireland and Aquitaine	Used after the Treaty of Brétigny when Edward III temporarily gave up his claim to the French throne.
  	Edward, by the grace of God King of England and France, Lord of Ireland and Aquitaine	Used after Anglo-French relations broke down and Edward III resumed his claim.
  	Henry VII by the Grace of God, King of England and France	France had been claimed by the English continuously since 1369.
  	Henry VIII by the Grace of God, King of England and France	The Arabic numeral 8 was also used instead of the Roman VIII.
  	Henry VIII by the Grace of God, Of England, France and Ireland, King	Used after Henry VIII made Ireland a kingdom in 1541. The Arabic numeral 8 was also used instead of the Roman VIII.
  	Philip and Mary by the Grace of God, King and Queen	The names of the realms were omitted from the coin for reasons of space.
  	Elizabeth, by the Grace of God, of England, France, and Ireland, Queen
  	James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King	James, King of Scotland, by succeeding to the English throne united the two kingdoms in his person; he dubbed the combination of the two kingdoms "Great Britain" though they remained legislatively distinct for more than a century afterwards.
  	Charles, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King
  	Oliver, by the Grace of God, of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, Ireland etc., Protector	Cromwell ruled as a monarch but did not claim the title of king.
  	Charles II, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King
  	James II, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King
  	William and Mary by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King and Queen	The spouses William and Mary ruled jointly.
  	William III by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King	William continued to rule alone after his wife's death.
  	Anne by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Queen
  	George by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, of Brunswick and Lüneburg Duke, of the Holy Roman Empire Archtreasurer and Elector	George I added the titles he already possessed as Elector of Hanover. He also added the title "Defender of the Faith", which had been borne by the English kings since Henry VIII, but which had previously only rarely appeared on coins.
  	George II by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, of Brunswick and Lüneburg Duke, of the Holy Roman Empire Archtreasurer and Elector
  	George III by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, of Brunswick and Lüneburg Duke, of the Holy Roman Empire Archtreasurer and Elector
  	George III, by the Grace of God, of the Britains King, Defender of the Faith	The Acts of Union united Great Britain and Ireland into a single kingdom, represented on the coinage by the Latin genitive plural Britanniarum. At the same time, the claim to the throne of France was dropped and other titles were omitted from the coinage.
  	George IV, by the Grace of God, of the Britains King, Defender of the Faith	Used 1820-1826.
  	George IV, by the Grace of God, of the Britains King, Defender of the Faith	Used 1824-1830.
  	William IV, by the Grace of God, of the Britains King, Defender of the Faith
  	Victoria, by the Grace of God, of the Britains Queen, Defender of the Faith
  	Victoria, by the Grace of God, of the Britains Queen, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India	Queen Victoria was granted the title "Empress of India" in 1876.
  	Edward VII, by the Grace of God, of all the Britains King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India	Edward VII's coins added after "Britains" to imply a rule over the British overseas colonies as well as the United Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
  	George V, by the Grace of God, of all the Britains King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India
  	Edward VIII, by the Grace of God, of all the Britains King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India	Although Edward VIII abdicated, his coins never properly entered circulation but it can be assumed his coins had these words.
  	George VI, by the Grace of God, of all the Britains King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India
  	George VI, by the Grace of God, of all the Britains King, Defender of the Faith	The title "Emperor of India" was relinquished in 1948, after the independence of India and Pakistan.
  	Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of all the Britains Queen, Defender of the Faith
  	Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith	The "of all the Britains" was dropped from the coinage in 1954, and current coins do not name any realm.
  	Charles III, by the Grace of God, King, Defender of the Faith

  Coins in the colonies

  Some coins made for circulation in the British colonies are considered part of British coinage because they have no indication of what country it was minted for and they were made in the same style as contemporary coins circulating in the United Kingdom.
  A three halfpence coin was circulated mainly in the West Indies and Ceylon in the starting in 1834. Jamaicans referred to the coin as a "quatty".
  The half farthing coin was initially minted in 1828 for use in Ceylon, but was declared legal tender in the United Kingdom in 1842.
  The third farthing coin was minted for use in Malta, starting in 1827.
  The quarter farthing coin was minted for use in Ceylon starting in 1839.

  Mottos

  In addition to the title, a Latin or French motto might be included, generally on the reverse side of the coin. These varied between denominations and issues; some were personal to the monarch, others were more general. Some of the mottos were:
  
  • "I have made God my helper". Coins of Henry VII, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I. Possibly refers to Psalm 52:7, Ecce homo qui non-posuit Deum adjutorem suum "Behold the man who did not make God his helper".
  • "A dazzling rose without a thorn". Coins of Henry VIII and Edward VI. Initially on the unsuccessful and very rare Crown of the Rose of Henry VIII and continued on subsequent small gold coinage into the reign of Edward VI.
  • "We have made God our helper". Coins of Philip and Mary. The same as above, but with a plural subject.
  • "I shall make them into one nation". Coins of James I, signifying his desire to unite the English and Scottish nations. Refers to Ezekiel 37:22 in the Vulgate Bible.
  • "I reign with Christ as my protector". Coins of Charles I.
  • "May God rise up, may enemies be scattered". Coins of Charles I, during the Civil War. Refers to Psalm 67:1 in the Vulgate Bible.
  • "Peace is sought by war". Coins of the Protectorate; personal motto of Oliver Cromwell.
  • "Britain". Reign of Charles II to George III. Found on pennies and smaller denominations.
  • . "Shamed be he who thinks ill of it." Sovereigns of George III. Motto of the Order of the Garter.
  • . "An ornament and a safeguard." Some pound coins of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and some crown coins including some of Victoria and George V. Refers to the inscribed edge as a protection against the clipping of precious metal, as well as being a complimentary reference to the monarch and the monarchy.

    Minting errors reaching circulation

  Coins with errors in the minting process that reach circulation are often seen as valuable items by coin collectors.
  In 1983, the Royal Mint mistakenly produced some two pence pieces with the old wording "New Pence" on the reverse side, when the design had been changed from 1982 to "Two Pence".
  In 2016, a batch of double-dated £1 coins was released into circulation. These coins had the main date on the obverse as '2016', but micro-engraving on the reverse dated as '2017'. It is not known how many exist and are in circulation, but the amount is fewer than half a million.
  In June 2009, the Royal Mint estimated that between 50,000 and 200,000 dateless 20 pence coins had entered circulation, the first undated British coin to enter circulation in more than 300 years. It resulted from the accidental combination of old and new face tooling in a production batch, creating what is known as a mule, following the 2008 redesign which moved the date from the reverse to the obverse side.