d equivalents and continued to be minted with their values in new pence. The UK finally abandoned it in 1992 when smaller, more convenient, "silver" coins were introduced.
All coins since the 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:
|Facing left||Facing right|
|Cromwell 1653–1658||Charles II 1660–1685|
|James II 1685–1688||William and Mary 1689–1694
William III 1694–1702
|Anne 1702–1714||George I 1714–1727|
|George II 1727–1760||George III 1760–1820|
|George IV 1820–1830||William IV 1830–1837|
|Victoria 1837–1901||Edward VII 1901–1910|
|George V 1910–1936|
|Edward VIII 1936||(uncirculated issues)|
|George VI 1936–1952||Elizabeth II 1952–present|
For the Tudors and pre-Restoration Stuarts, both left- and right-facing portrait images were minted within the reign of a single monarch (left-facing images were more common). In the Middle Ages, portrait images tended to be full face.
There was a small quirk in this alternating pattern when Edward VIII ascended to the throne in January 1936 and was portrayed facing left, the same as his predecessor George V. This was because Edward thought his left to be his best side. 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 (as they should have done according to tradition). Thus, in a timeline of circulating British coins, George V and VI's coins both feature left-facing portraits, although they follow directly chronologically.
Currently circulating coinage
Production and distribution
All UK coins are produced by the Royal Mint. The same coinage is used across the United Kingdom – Unlike banknotes, local issues of coins are not produced for different parts of the UK. The pound coin until 2008 has been produced in regional designs, but these circulate equally in all parts of the UK (see UK designs, below).
Every year, newly minted coins are checked for size, weight, and composition at a Trial of the Pyx. Essentially the same procedure has been used since the 13th century. Assaying is now done by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths on behalf of HM Treasury.
The 1p and 2p coins from 1971 are the oldest standard-issue coins still in circulation.
Coins from the British dependencies and territories that use the pound as their currency are sometimes found in change in other jurisdictions. Strictly, they are not legal tender in the United Kingdom; however, since they have the same specifications as UK coins, they are sometimes tolerated in commerce, and can readily be used in vending machines.
UK-issued coins are, on the other hand, generally fully accepted and freely mixed in other British dependencies and territories that use the pound.
An extensive coinage redesign was commissioned by the Royal Mint in 2005, and new designs were gradually introduced into the circulating British coinage from summer 2008. The pre-2008 coins will remain legal tender and are expected to stay in circulation for the foreseeable future.
Coins in circulation
Estimated as at March 2014
|Denomination||Number of pieces (m)||Face value £m|
Stated as largest value
|Denomination||Diameter (mm)||Thickness (mm)|
UK decimal coinage history
Since decimalisation on 15 February 1971 the pound (symbol "£") has been divided into 100 pence. (Prior to decimalisation the pound was divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 (old) pence; thus there were 240 (old) pence to the pound. The value of the pound itself was unchanged by decimalisation.)
The first decimal coins – the five pence (5p) and ten pence (10p) — were introduced in 1968 in the run-up to decimalisation in order to familiarise the public with the new system. These initially circulated alongside the pre-decimal coinage and had the same size and value as the existing one shilling and two shilling coins respectively. The fifty pence (50