Decimal Coinage

Since decimalisation in 1971 (see Decimal Day), the pound has been divided into 100 pence (until 1981 described on the coinage as "new pence"). The symbol for the penny is "p"; hence an amount such as 50p (£0.50) properly pronounced "fifty pence" is more colloquially, quite often, pronounced "fifty pee". This also helped to distinguish between new and old pence amounts during the changeover to the decimal system. A decimal halfpenny was issued until 1984.

Pre-decimal

The Mad Hatter's hat shows an example of the old pre-decimal system: the hat costs 10 shillings and 6 pence

Prior to decimalisation, the pound was divided into 20 shillings and each shilling into 12 pence, making 240 pence to the pound. The symbol for the shilling was "s."—not from the first letter of the word, but from the Latin solidus. The symbol for the penny was "d.", from the French denier, from the Latin denarius (the solidus and denarius were Roman coins). A mixed sum of shillings and pence such as 3 shillings and 6 pence was written as "3/6" or "3s. 6d." and spoken as "three and six". 5 shillings was written as "5s." or, more commonly, "5/-". The stroke (/) indicating shillings is also known as a solidus, and was originally an adaptation of the long s which represented that word.

Various coin denominations had, and in some cases continue to have, special names—such as crown, farthing, sovereign and guinea. SeeCoins of the pound sterling and List of British coins and banknotes for details.

By the 1950s, coins of George III, George IV and William IV had disappeared from circulation, but coins (at least the penny) bearing the head of any British king or queen from Queen Victoria onwards could be found in circulation. Silver coins were replaced by those in cupro-nickel in 1947, and by the 1960s the silver coins were rarely seen. Silver/cupro-nickel shillings (from any period after 1816) and florins (2 shillings) remained as legal tender after decimalisation (as 5p and 10p respectively), and the sixpences of 1816 and after remained legal tender until 1980 (as two and a half new pence).