Britain's coins before 1971
Before 1971 Britain had a non-decimal system using pounds, shillings and pence.
Farthing
1/4d
Half Penny
1/2d
Penny
1d
Threepence
3d
Sixpence
6d
One Shilling
1s or 1/-
Two Shillings
2s or 2/-
Half Crown
2s 6d or 2/6
Key: 1d is 1 penny; 1s is shilling. d stands for 'Denarius', s for Solidus. Both were ancient Roman coins.
British pre-decimal coins in the twentieth century were:
- Farthing (¼d) - quarter of an old penny (not legal tender after 1960)
- Halfpenny (½d) - half an old penny
- Penny (1d)
- Threepence (3d) - or Three penny bit or 3d bit
- Sixpence (6d)
- Shilling (1s or 12d)
- Two shillings or florin (2s or 24d)
- Half crown ('Two and six' 2s 6d)
Farthings, halfpennies and pennies were bronze. The threepenny bit was brass. Before 1937 they were silver. There was a tradition of putting a threepenny bit in a Christmas pudding for a lucky child to find.
The sixpence, shilling, two shillings and half crown coin were silver. They were real silver before 1920.
There was also a crown coin which the Royal Mint issued them on special occasions.
The mint issued a crown for HM Queen's Coronation in 1953 and to commemorate the life of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965. Churchill was the first person other than the reigning monarch to appear on a British coin. Crowns were large coins. People kept them as mementos, rather than used them as money. Before the First World War there were also sovereigns (worth £1) and half sovereigns minted in gold.
After 1914, there were no sovereigns and half sovereigns. There were £1 and 10s notes instead.
1967 appears to be the last year of the old coins. But, the Royal Mint had pulled a trick to stop people hoarding the last of the old money - they dated all old money coins from 1967 to 1970, 1967.
After 1971 the sixpence, shilling and two shilling pieces were still legal tender. Sixpence was 2½ new pence, one shilling 5 new pence and two shillings 10 new pence. Other coins disappeared. Many older people were sad to see the half crown go and kept examples as souvenirs.
The sixpence remained in circulation until June 1980 and has been missed ever since.
When were £sd coins and notes no longer legal tender?
There was no specific date on which all the £sd coins and notes were withdrawn. £sd coins ceased to be legal tender over a period from 1961 to 1993.
The Royal Mint withdrew the farthing on 1 January 1961, well before the UK Government made any decision on decimalisation.[1]
When the Government decided to introduce decimal currency, the Royal Mint withdrew a few of the £sd coins.
The halfpenny was no longer legal tender from 1 August 1969[2] and the half crown from 1 January 1970. [3]
The Bank of England called in the ten shilling note on 22 November 1970. This meant it was no longer legal tender, but you could still can take it to the Bank of England and change it for 50p.
The penny and threepence were still legal tender on D-Day (Decimal Day), 15 February 1971. You could still use them to pay for goods in new and old money until 1 September 1971 [4], when they were withdrawn. This worked because 6d translated to 2½ in decimal.
The remaining £sd coins had a much longer life. The sixpence continued in use until 30 June 1980 and was no longer legal tender from 1 July 1980.
The Royal Mint withdrew the shilling and florin (two shillings) coins when it introduced the new smaller 5p and 10p coins. The shilling remained legal tender until 30 December 1990 and the florin or two shilling piece until 30 June 1993.
So in summary:
- Farthing withdrawn on 1 January 1961
- Halfpenny withdrawn on 1 August 1969
- Half crown withdrawn on 1 January 1970
- Ten shilling note withdrawn on 22 November 1970
- Penny withdrawn on 1 September 1971
- Threepenny bit withdrawn on 1 September 1971
- Sixpence withdrawn on 1 July 1980
- Shilling (and original 5p) withdrawn on 1 January 1990
- Two shillings (and original 10p) withdrawn on 1 July 1993
So the last day you could legally spend a £sd coin or note was 30 June 1993.
The two shilling piece or florin was first struck in 1849 in Queen Victoria's reign as a small step towards decimal currency. The first florins were marked 'One tenth of a pound'. So it was both Britain's first decimal coin and the last pre-decimal coin.
More on old money
References
[1] The Guardian 31 December 1960 [1]
[2] The Times 30 July 1969, page 20 issue 57625
[3] The Times 31 December 1969, page 1, issue 57755
[4] The Times 3 August 1971, page 4, issue 58240
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