The English Pound Coin Through the Ages

The English Pound Coin has a rich history that spans over 1,200 years. The first coins were introduced in the 8th century by King Offa of Mercia.

The first silver penny, introduced by King Offa, weighed about 1.3 grams and was made from sterling silver. This was a significant innovation in coinage at the time.

The use of silver in English coins continued until the 15th century, when the introduction of the gold sovereign marked a new era in English currency. The gold sovereign was first minted in 1489 and featured the image of King Henry VII.

The English Pound Coin has undergone many changes over the centuries, but its value and significance have remained constant.

The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms copied the Frankish currency system of 12 deniers to the sou (shilling) and 240 deniers or 20 sous to the libra. This system was adopted due to trade links with Charlemagne's Frankish Empire.

The name "pound" originates from the Latin word Libra for weight or balance, via the construction Libra Pondo, meaning a pound weight. This Latin term has been discarded, but its presence is still felt in the £ symbol, an ornate L, and the abbreviation for the unit of mass, lb.

A pound was originally divided into 20 shillings and 240 silver pennies, echoing the ancient Roman system of libra, solidus, and denarius. The value of a pound also equated to the price of a pound of silver.

The pre-decimal coinage system in England was quite complex, but it's fascinating to learn about. The pound was originally divided into 240 pence, but it was rarely expressed in this way.

Before decimalisation in 1971, the pound was divided into 20 shillings, and each shilling was further divided into 12 pence. This means that 1 pound was equal to 20 shillings, and 1 shilling was equal to 12 pence.

To write amounts in shillings and pence, people used various notations. For example, five shillings and sixpence could be written as 5s 6d, 5/6, or even 5/- for five shillings only.

The notation 5/- was used to indicate zero pennies, making it clear that the amount was just five shillings. This notation was commonly used in everyday transactions.

Here's a breakdown of the pre-decimal coinage system:

The pre-decimal coinage system might seem confusing at first, but it's interesting to learn about the history behind it.

Decimal coinage has a fascinating history. The first decimal coins, the five pence (5p) and ten pence (10p), were introduced in 1968 to familiarise the public with the new system.

These coins 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 (50p) coin followed in 1969, replacing the old ten shilling note.

The remaining decimal coins – the half penny (1/2p), penny (1p), and two pence (2p) – were issued in 1971 at decimalisation.

A quarter-penny coin was proposed at the time decimalisation was being planned, but was never minted.

The new coins were initially marked with the wording NEW PENNY (singular) or NEW PENCE (plural), but the word "new" was dropped in 1982.

The symbol "p" was adopted to distinguish the new pennies from the old, which used the symbol "d" (from the Latin denarius, a coin used in the Roman Empire).

The composition of the 1p and 2p coins was changed from bronze to copper-plated steel in 1992.

Due to their high copper content (97%), the intrinsic value of pre-1992 1p and 2p coins increased with the surge in metal prices of the mid-2000s.

Here's a list of the decimal coins introduced in 1971, along with their designs:

The English Pound has been around for a thousand years, and its value has changed significantly over time. One pound could buy you 15 head of cattle in the year 980.

From the 15th Century to the year 2000, the pound's purchasing power had fallen four-hundred-fold. This means that one pound in 2000 had a much lower value than one pound in 1500.

Prices had risen by about 118 times between 1750 and 1998, according to the House of Commons library. This is a staggering increase, especially when you consider that one decimal penny in 1750 would have had greater purchasing power than a pound in 1998.

The best part of this inflation took place after 1945.

The pound's name has a fascinating history. It comes from the Latin word Libra, meaning weight or balance.

Its symbol, the £, is an ornate L, a nod to its Latin roots.

The pound's value was originally tied to the price of a pound of silver, which is where its name makes sense.

In ancient times, a pound was divided into 20 shillings and 240 silver pennies, a system that echoes the Roman system of libra, solidus, and denarius.

This system of one livre to 20 sous and 240 deniers was also adopted in the Frankish kingdom under Charlemagne, showing that the pound's design wasn't unique to England.

The design of the English pound coin has undergone several changes over the years. The Royal Mint has produced all genuine UK coins since the 13th century, with the Trial of the Pyx checking for size, weight, and composition every year.

The obverse of the coin has featured four different portraits of Elizabeth II, with the inscription ELIZABETH II D.G.REG.F.D. 2013, which was later changed to ELIZABETH II DEI.GRA.REG.FID.DEF. 2015, and then reverted back to ELIZABETH II D.G.REG.F.D. in 2017.

The Royal Mint launched a competition in 2005 to find new reverse designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin, which was won by Matthew Dent in 2008. His designs, featuring sections of the Royal Shield, were gradually introduced into the circulating British coinage from mid-2008.

The new 12-sided, bimetallic pound coin, introduced in 2017, features a rose, leek, thistle, and shamrock bound by a crown, designed by 15-year-old David Pearce.

The design of British coins has undergone significant changes over the years.

The obverse of modern British coins features a profile of the current monarch's head, with Queen Elizabeth II's head appearing on all decimal coins minted until 2022.

Five different effigies were used to reflect Queen Elizabeth II's changing appearance, created by Mary Gillick, Arnold Machin, Raphael Maklouf, Ian Rank-Broadley, and Jody Clark.

The inscription on most current coins reads ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FIDEI DEFENSATRIX, which translates to "Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen and Defender of the Faith."

This inscription has been used in various forms, including ELIZABETH II D G REG F D, and was updated to CHARLES III DEI GRATIA REX FIDEI DEFENSOR after the accession of Charles III.

The 12-sided design, introduced in March 2017, features a rose, leek, thistle, and shamrock bound by a crown, designed by 15-year-old David Pearce.

The edge inscription on the original coin was changed each year from 1983 to 2008 to show an emblem representing the UK, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and England.

Here are some edge inscriptions used on British coins:

The Royal Mint is responsible for producing all genuine UK coins. The same coinage is used across the United Kingdom, with no local issues for different parts of the UK.

Every year, newly minted coins are checked for size, weight, and composition at a Trial of the Pyx, a procedure that's been used since the 13th century. The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths now handles assaying on behalf of HM Treasury.

The oldest standard-issue coins still in circulation are the 1p and 2p coins from 1971. Pre-decimal crowns are the oldest coins in general that are still legal tender, although they're rarely encountered in everyday circulation.

Coins from the British dependencies and territories that use sterling as their currency can sometimes be found in change elsewhere, but they're not strictly legal tender in the UK. However, they're often tolerated in commerce and can be used in vending machines.

The estimated volume of coins in circulation as of March 2016 includes:

The Royal Mint is responsible for producing all genuine UK coins, and the same coinage is used across the United Kingdom. This means that you can use coins from one part of the country in another part without any issues.

Every year, the Royal Mint checks newly minted coins for size, weight, and composition at a Trial of the Pyx, a procedure that has been in use since the 13th century.

The 1p and 2p coins from 1971 are the oldest standard-issue coins still in circulation, and pre-decimal crowns are the oldest coins in general that are still legal tender.

The estimated volume in circulation as at March 2016 was:

Currently, circulating coinage in the UK includes a range of denominations. The one penny and two pence coins are made of copper-plated steel, while the five pence and ten pence coins are made of nickel-plated steel. The twenty pence and fifty pence coins are made of cupronickel.

The one penny coin has a diameter of 20.3 mm and a mass of 3.56 g, while the two pence coin has a diameter of 25.9 mm and a mass of 7.12 g. The five pence coin has a diameter of 18 mm and a mass of 3.25 g, while the ten pence coin has a diameter of 24.5 mm and a mass of 6.5 g.

The twenty pence coin has a unique design, featuring a crowned Tudor Rose on the obverse and a smooth, Reuleaux heptagon edge. The fifty pence coin also features a smooth, Reuleaux heptagon edge and a mass of 8 g.

Here's a breakdown of the circulating coins:

Other coins entering circulation were a thing, and it's pretty interesting. In the UK, some British Crown Dependencies, Gibraltar, and UK South Atlantic Overseas Territories issued their own £1 coins, although they weren't legal tender in the UK.

These coins were often similar in size and composition to their UK counterparts, and many even featured the same portraits of the UK monarch. I'm not sure why they didn't switch to the new design when the UK did, but they didn't.

Gibraltar and the Isle of Man continued to use their round pound coins alongside the new UK pound coins, while the other territories phased out their round pounds without replacing them. It's a bit confusing, but that's what happened.