Coins (and currency)

Except in the two–row table immediately below, and elsewhere if otherwise stated (see Other (historical or non-British) Coins), this page is about British coins.

Correct name for the 'heads' side of a coin		Obverse
Correct name for the 'tails' side of a coin		Reverse

Legal Tender

Questions of the type "5p coins are legal tender up to what amount?" are perennially popular with setters. But how many of them know what this simple phrase – 'legal tender' – actually means?

According to the website of The Royal Mint: "Legal tender has a very narrow and technical meaning in the settlement of debts. It means that a debtor cannot successfully be sued for non–payment if he pays into court in legal tender."

The Mint goes on to emphasise that the term has no real meaning except in the payment of debts; for any other transaction, both parties must agree that the form of payment is suitable. For example, if you try to pay for something in a shop with coins that have been produced as collectibles, the shopkeeper has every right to refuse the transaction, even though they are legal tender. Equally, you can pay for anything in coins above the value that is designated as legal tender, if the other party is happy to accept them.

You can even settle a debt with coins that are not legal tender, if the court agrees to accept them; but if you do, you run the risk of being sued for non–payment at a later date.

Interestingly, Scottish banknotes are not legal tender (within the strict rule set out above) – even in Scotland! Bank of England notes are legal tender in England and Wales, up to any amount, but no banknotes are legal tender in Scotland. They are, however, "legal currency – i.e. they are approved by the UK Parliament." (This is according to the Committee of Scottish Bankers, which adds: "the Scottish economy seems to manage without that legal protection.") But the same applies as for collectible coins: no one is legally obliged to accept Scottish banknotes as payment for anything – including, in this case, a debt.

UK coins of £1 and above are legal tender up to any amount. This means that there are just six coins to which a legal tender limit applies, and they are:

	1p		2p		5p		10p		20p		50p
	20p		20p		£5		£5		£10		£10

British Coins: Timeline

Questions about when various coins were introduced or withdrawn are very popular with setters. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to establish exactly when these events occurred.

Beware questions that ask "In which year was [such–and–such a coin] withdrawn from circulation?"

Coins are often (albeit not always) withdrawn at midnight on New Year's Eve. Which year do you want?

The safest way to phrase the question, in such cases, is "The [such–and–such] coin was withdrawn at midnight on 31 December, in which year?"

Even The Royal Mint's own website doesn't always give exact dates for introductions and withdrawals (or 'demonetisations', as they call it). In such cases I've just given the year, unless I've found the exact date somewhere else.

The farthing was withdrawn from circulation at midnight on		31 December 1960
5p and 10p coins introduced		1968
The pre–decimal halfpenny was withdrawn, and the 50p coin was introduced, on		14 October 1969
The half crown coin was demonetised on		1 January 1970
The UK switched to decimal currency on		15 February 1971
The pre–decimal 1d and 3d coins were withdrawn from circulation at midnight on		31 August 1971
The pre–decimal 6d coin was withdrawn from circulation at midnight on		30 June 1980
The word 'New' was dropped from British decimal coins in (year)		1982
20p coin introduced		9 June 1982
£1 coin introduced		21 April 1983
Scottish £1 coin introduced (followed in subsequent years by Wales, NI, England)		24 April 1984
New halfpenny withdrawn from circulation		31 December 1984
Old (larger) 5p and 10p coins were last minted, and the new (smaller) 5p coins were introduced, in (year)		1990
New (smaller) 10p coins were introduced on		30 September 1992
The new (smaller) 50p was introduced on		1 September 1997
The old (larger) 50p was withdrawn from circulation at midnight on		28 February 1998
£2 coin (standard issue) introduced		15 June 1998
Royal Shield reverse designs introduced (on all except the £2 coin)		2008
New £1 coin introduced (March) and the old one withdrawn (October)		2017

British Coins: Sculptors

Portrait of the Queen used from 1952–68 was by		Mary Gillick
Portrait of the Queen used on Commonwealth coinage 1968–84 was by		Arnold Machin
Portrait of the Queen used on Commonwealth coinage 1984–7 was by		Raphael Maklouf
Portrait of the Queen used on UK and some Commonwealth coinage 1998–2015		Ian Rank–Broadley
Portrait of the Queen used on UK coins from 2015		Jody Clark
Sculpted the hands on the 1973 50p piece		David Wynn

British Pre–Decimal Coins

Coin valued at one quarter of a penny: in circulation for 100 years, from 1860 to 1960		Farthing
Pennies in a shilling (prior to 1971)		12
Shillings in a pound (prior to 1971)		20
Pennies in a pound (prior to 1971)		240
Value of "half a crown" (the largest value coin in general UK circulation, pre–1971)		2s 6d (30 pence)
Value of a guinea		£1 1s 0d (21/–)
Introduced in 1849 in an early attempt at decimalisation – worth 2/–, or one tenth of a pound (a proposal to introduce a coin worth £0.01 was not implemented at the time)		Florin
The £ sign represents the Latin word libra, indicating the basic unit of weight in the Roman Empire, which in turn is derived from the Latin word for		Scales (balance)
Small silver coin, first minted in 211 BC, that the 'd' in £. s. d. stands for; the name is derived from a phrase meaning "containing ten"; it was 10 asses, an as being a bronze coin)		Denarii
Ship on the reverse of the old (pre–decimal) halfpenny		Golden Hind
Bird depicted on the reverse ("tails" side) of a farthing		Wren
Reverse showed sprigs of oak in George V's reign, a thrift plant for Edward VIII, a shield of St. George on a Tudor rose for George VI, and a Tudor portcullis for Elizabeth II		3d bit
Once known as a 'bender', because due to its high silver content it could be bent in the hands		Sixpence
£2 and £5 coins were first used in		Isle of Man
Sides on a nickel–brass 3d bit		12

British Decimal Coins

Introduced in 1971, abolished in 1985		½p
Sides on 50p and 20p pieces		7
Sides on the £1 coin introduced in 2017		12
British 'silver' coins are at least 70%		Copper
Value of a guinea in decimal currency		£1.05
On standard 50p coins (when she is shown), Britannia is holding out, with her left hand		An olive branch

The 1p and 2p coins are made of copper–plated steel. The 5p, 10p and 50p coins are 75% copper and 25% nickel. The 20p coin is 84% copper and 16% nickel. The inner part of a £2 coin is also cupronickel, and that of the new £1 coin is a nickel–plated alloy. The outer rings of the £1 and £2 coins are made from nickel brass, which is 76 or 70% copper, 20 or 24.5% zinc and 4 or 5.5% nickel (the proportions are slightly different in each case; the first figures are for the £1 coin and the second for the £2).

		Diameter		Reverse (pre–2008)
1p		2cm		Portcullis and crown
2p		2.6cm		Prince of Wales's feathers, and crown
5p		1.75cm		Thistle and crown
10p		2.4cm		Lion and crown
20p		Not applicable		Rose and crown
50p		Not applicable		Britannia
£1		2.2cm		Royal coat of arms (England), Leek (Wales) or Thistle (Scotland)

Commemorative Issues

1973 (50p – circle of hands on reverse)		Britain's entry into the Common Market
1986 (£2)		Edinburgh Commonwealth Games
1989 (£2 – two separate issues)		Tercentenaries of the Bill of Rights and Scottish Claim of Right
1992–3 (50p)		Completion of the EC single market and British presidency of the EC
1994 (50p)		D–Day (50th anniversary)
1994 (£2)		Tercentenary of the Bank of England
1995 (£2)		End of World War II (50th anniversary)
1995 (£2)		Foundation of the United Nations (50th anniversary)
1996		Euro 96
Since 1998 (50p)		Too many to list!

Constituent Metals

Since 1992, UK "copper" coins (1p and 2p) have been copper–plated

Steel

(... and this makes them magnetic!)

		Copper (%)		Zinc (%)		Nickel (%)
5p, 10p and 50p coins, and the centre of the £2 coin		75		(None)		25
20p coins		84		(None)		16
£1 coins		70		24.5		5.5
£2 coins (outer ring)		76		20		4

Other (historical or non–British) Coins

US coins – nicknames

Nickel		5 cents
Dime		10 cents
quarter		25 cents

Other

Sporting trophy made from melted–down rupees		Calcutta Cup
Spanish coin, produced from the 16th century and in circulation until the 19th, worth two escudos – also minted in Peru and Mexico		Doubloon
Originally introduced in Sicily in 1140, then in Venice in 1284; used as a standard gold coin throughout Europe from the 16th century until WWI (when it was worth just under ten shillings)		Ducat
First minted in Florence in 1252		Florin
Silver coin, minted originally under Edward I (1272–1307) and only irregularly since 1660 (last in 1888); worth 4d		Groat
The Russian rouble is divided into one hundred		Kopecks
South African coin, first minted 1967, containing one (Troy) ounce of gold		Krugerrand
Word that has appeared on every US coin since 1792		Liberty
President featured on US 1–cent coins since 1909		Abraham Lincoln
Canadian coin, first minted 1979, in various denominations containing various amounts – up to one (Troy) ounce – of almost pure gold (actually more pure than the Krugerrand)		Maple Leaf
Gold coin introduced in the reign of Edward III, worth 6s 8d (80 pence)		Noble
The biggest coins ever made constituted the copperplate money of		Sweden
Unit of currency in Germany, prior to the accession of Kaiser Wilhelm I (1871)		Thaler
Common British bird featured on the reverse ('tails') side of the farthing (¼d)		Wren

© Haydn Thompson 2017–22