 and denier (d). Until 1816 another similar system was used in the Netherlands, consisting of the gulden (G), stuiver (s; 1/20 G) and duit, (d; 1/8 s or 1/160 G).
- For an extensive list of historical pre-decimal coin denominations, see List of British banknotes and coins.
In the years just prior to decimalisation, the circulating British coins were:
- Half crown (2/6)
- Florin or two shillings (2/-)
- Shilling (1/-)
- Sixpence (6d)
- Threepence (3d) (usually pronounced "threppence", "thruppence", "threp-unny bit" or similar)
- Penny (1d)
- Halfpenny (½d) (usually pronounced HAY-p'nee)
The crown, half crown, florin, shilling and sixpence were cupro-nickel coins (in historical times silver or silver alloy); the penny, halfpenny and farthing were bronze; and the threepence was a twelve-sided nickel-brass coin (historically it was a small silver coin).
Some of the pre-decimalisation coins with exact decimal equivalent values continued in use after 1971 alongside the new coins, albeit with new names (the shilling became equivalent to the 5p coin, with the florin equating to 10p), and the others were withdrawn almost immediately. The use of florins and shillings as legal tender in this way ended in 1990 and 1992 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 1/20 of a pound, but was now worth 5p instead of 12d. The pre-decimalisation sixpence, also known as a sixpenny bit or sixpenny piece, was rated at 2½p, but was demonetised in 1980.
|Five pounds||Two pounds||Sovereign
|Crown||Half crown||Florin||Shilling||Sixpence||Groat||Threepence||Penny||Halfpenny||Farthing||Half farthing||Third farthing||Quarter farthing|
|Five pounds||1||2 1/2||5||20||40||50||100||200||300||400||1200||2400||4800||9600||14400||19200|
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 was a mag, a silver threepence was a joey and the later nickel-brass threepence was called a threepenny bit (// or // bit, i.e. thrup'ny or threp'ny bit – the apostrophe was pronounced on a scale from full "e" down to complete omission); 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". 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".
Coins in the colonies
A 1½ d. coin was circulated in Jamaica in the nineteenth century. J