Talk:Coins of the pound sterling

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Older comments[edit]

I think that a there should be two coin sections, one for silver, copper, and modern, whose values remain fixed in pounds sterling, and one for gold coins, like the guinea, which fluxuated with the price of gold with respect to silver.

  • Does anyone Know when in the Spring of 2008 the new Coin Designs will be released ??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.41.240.15 (talk) 17:55, 11 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Some things that need fixing:

  • The 10p coin has been around since decimalization.
  • It's worth mentioning that the 1 and 2 shilling coins were carried across as the 5p and 10p, until the sizes were changed for both coins in the 1990s.
  • do we really need a page for each coin? Euro coins has (superb) pictures all on one page.
  • I heard that decimalization was a condition set by the EU for entry. switching to the metric system too.
    • That can't be so - the currency was decimalized long before there even WAS a EU. Besides, why would they care about British currency, outside of whether it's kept or replaced by the Euro? Metric I can see - everyone else uses it, so it'd be odd to have one member without it, but there's no standardization for the non-Euro currencies Nik42 04:59, 12 Jan 2005 (UTC)
Ok the EU didn't exist but it's precurser the EEC (European Econmic Community) was in existence since 1957 / 1958. Whether it was a requirement of entry I cannot comment on. :: Kevinalewis : please contact me on my Talk Page : 15:21, 4 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

(comments transferred from main article)

What was the abbreviation for a farthing? Also, if 3/6 was the abbreviation for three shillings and sixpence, what was the abbreviation for three shillings, sixpence and one farthing? -- Heron

You just wrote it out as a fraction (which I can't accurately represent here of course!) - so three shillings and sixpence was 3/6 and three shillings, sixpence and one farthing was 3/6 1/4 with the 1/4 written properly as a fraction and close up to the 6d. A farthing on its own was 1/4d, again written as a real fraction. OK? :) Nevilley 23:36 Mar 17, 2003 (UTC) PS Same goes for 1/2 and 3/4, natch.
3/6 ¼ - Hephaestos
Ah! Thank you. In fact, it would have been 3/6¼ with no space. (Nitpick!) :) Nevilley 08:25 Mar 18, 2003 (UTC)
I like the nitpicks, I tend to be a nitpicker myself. *grin* (That is, when I know the subject, or think I do.) ¼, ½ & ¾ (188, 189 & 190) have the added advantage that they're low enough order to show up even in browsers that aren't up to Unicode. Three fractions isn't many, but fortunately for farthings it's all one needs. - Hephaestos

(Comments on the £1 and £2 from 1 Feb 2003 removed, as they've all been incorporated into the One Pound and Two Pounds sub-articles). -- Arwel 01:36 Mar 24, 2003 (UTC)

ValueDescriptionEdge inscriptionDesignerCompositionWeight (grams)Diameter (mm)Edge thickness (mm)
£2Silver-coloured disc surrounded by a copper-coloured ring. "A symbolic representation of the development of British industry from the Iron Age to the modern Computer Age"Standing on the shoulders of giantsBruce RushinInner circle - Cupro-Nickel (75% Copper, 25% Nickel). Outer circle - Nickel-Brass (76% Copper, 4% Nickel, 20% Zinc)12.0028.402.50
£1Gold-coloured discDecus et Tutamen (An ornament and a safeguard)?Nickel-Brass (70% Copper, 5.5% Nickel, 24.5% Zinc9.5022.503.15
£0.50Silver-coloured Heptagon-Christopher IronsideCupro-Nickel (75% Copper, 25% Nickel)8.0027.301.78
£0.20Silver-coloured Heptagon-William GardnerCupro-Nickel (84% Copper, 16% Nickel)5.0021.401.70
£0.10Silver-coloured disc-Christopher IronsideCupro-Nickel (75% Copper, 25% Nickel)6.5024.501.85
£0.05Silver-coloured disc-Christopher IronsideCupro-Nickel (75% Copper, 25% Nickel)3.2518.001.70
£0.02Bronze-coloured disc-Christopher IronsideFrom September 1992: Copper-plated Steel. Pre-September 1992: Bronze (97% Copper, 2.5% Zinc, 0.5% Tin).7.1225.901.85 / 2.03
£0.01Bronze-coloured disc-Christopher IronsideFrom September 1992: Copper-plated Steel. Pre-September 1992: Bronze (97% Copper, 2.5% Zinc, 0.5% Tin).3.5620.031.65

The florin is listed as continuing until decimalisation, but I'm sure the only ones I saw said "two shillings", not "florin". Anyone know when it changed? Bagpuss 22:19 Mar 17, 2003 (UTC)

Never thought of that before, might turn out to be hard to write up; in 1904 they were inscribed with both. - Hephaestos 22:25 Mar 17, 2003 (UTC)

Coins inscribed "florin" were still around in the 1960s, although all the ones after George V said "two shillings". -- Arwel 23:04 Mar 17, 2003 (UTC)

Shilling (1/-), 1502-1970, in circulation until 1990, counting as 5 new pence.

or

Shilling (1/-), 1502-1970, circulated until 1990 as the old Five Pence coin.

Sorry, Arwel, but I found your wording confusing, which is why I changed it. Maybe mine wasn't that great either. Perhaps this and the previous problem would go if we list the various values and then list the coins with that value chronologically within that. i.e.

  • Coins worth 1/- or 5p
    • Shilling, 1502-1970 (legal tender until 1990)
    • Five New Pence (same size as the shilling), 1968-1990 (legal tender until 1990)
    • Five New pence (smaller version), 1990-

Bagpuss 18:33 Mar 18, 2003 (UTC)

Yes, things are always likely to be a bit ambiguous. All the 17th century coins worth a pound are confusing too, especially when some names come back into use and the confusion of the Civil War. The way things are now it looks like you could still find a 1502 shilling in circulation in 1990! Maybe a comment should be added about how coins fell out of use with the various recoinages (especially 1816), and with changes in the metal composition, esp. 1947. First thing is to do an article about Maundy money, I think, and then continue with histories of each coin -- I'm not too bothered about the order of the coins, though descending value/date seem fairly logical. Zoe thinks some of the coin article names are a bit long, but at least they're unambiguous. By the way Hephaestos suggested putting coin inscriptions within <small></small> tags, which I think look really neat, like ELIZABETH II D G REGINA. -- Arwel 20:05 Mar 18, 2003 (UTC)

I think we might be able to make Zoe and others a bit happier by using a scheme with the lesser-used term in parentheses, such as Half Florin (Leopard). I could be wrong though; trying to read minds again.  ;) - Hephaestos


Hmm, no mention of the pound coin with part of the Welsh National Anthem on the edge? They are minted in Wales! 205.177.176.242 (talk) 12:58, 11 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Edge inscription - 2008 £1 coin (Dent desgin)[edit]

The wording of the article was such, that following the 2008 redesign the £1 coin no longer had an inscription around its edge.

I have one of these coins in front of me now, and the milling has the familiar 'DECUS ET TUTAMEN +' inscription. I have therefore reworded the article to suit.

Petecollier (talk) 15:19, 19 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]


There is a Welsh inscription on the edge of some pound coins, it quotes an important line in the Welsh National Anthem. All other UK nations have the latin, however, check you pound coins that have a leak or dragon on the revers-queen side. 205.177.176.242 (talk) 14:31, 11 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Legal Apparatus - The One Pound Coin[edit]

There is no section, or even reference to the legal apparatus that creates the authority for coins for the British, namely the Royal Proclamation that created the one pound coin, that gives it 'Legal Tender' in any ammount and in any part of the United Kingdom. I have dug through The Gazette and found the article concerned. I do not know how to best integrate this information into the article. The One Pound Coin Hackbinary (talk) 21:07, 7 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

British vs English[edit]

For some pre-decimal coins (c.f. threepence, groat, sixpence) one article serves for both the pre-1707 English coin and post-1707 British coin. However, for others (c.f. penny, shilling) there are separate articles. I can see arguments for both sides: the currency (pound sterling) was not changed by the Act of Union, yet the distinction between English coins and British coins remains. Some consistency is needed. Thoughts? Retroplum (talk) 23:50, 8 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

BRITT:[edit]

Do we have a good reference that confirms that BRITT: is an abbreviation of BRITANNIARUM (of the Britains) rather than BRITANNORUM (of the Britons)? ----Ehrenkater (talk) 17:33, 23 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Some older coins used the full word. TheCurrencyGuy (talk) 15:20, 22 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

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Future coinage: Second Carolean Era[edit]

...as Elizabeth doesn't translate from English to Latin, her English name was used on all current coinage, with the remainder of the Royal Title in Latin abbreviated around the edge.

Here is the new Carolean Latin Royal Title (in full): Carolus III, Dei Gratia Britanniarum Regnorumque Suorum Ceterorum Rex, Consortionis Populorum Princeps, Fidei Defensor. (to be abbreviated on coinage as space permits.)

It had previously been argued that coinage in Britiain was never issued in Latin; see ancient Roman coinage, or, more recently, George VI coinage for examples.

There is also a proposal from the Royal Mint that future coinage be issued in the local language of each of the realms of the United Kingdom.

Please reserve space for these details as they become available. 2603:6011:6A23:823B:91D9:3862:5F48:EF3B (talk) 00:31, 20 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Fidei Defensor / Defensatrix[edit]

Grammatically, the correct feminine form of Defensor is Defensatrix. However, the specific title, Fidei Defensor, is fixed and its form is not changed for Queens regnant. See for example Elizabeth II's proclamation of her title, in English and Latin, as gazetted here following the Royal titles Act of 1953. I will change the relevant parts of the article accordingly. P M C 14:46, 30 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

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