The pre-decimal shilling (1s), also abbreviated in sums as e.g. 1/- for one shilling, was a unit of currency equalling one twentieth of a pound sterling, or twelve pence sterling; the "s" in the abbreviation is not from "shilling" but from "sestertius" - the Roman coin which was the ancestor of the denomination. It was used in the United Kingdom, and earlier in Great Britain and England.
The denomination had undergone several earlier changes: the King George III shilling (1816 - 1820), King George IV first issue (1821 only), King George IV second issue (1823 - 1825), King George IV third issue (1825 - 1829), the "wreath" type (1831 - 1887), a brief shield of the Coat of Arms (1887 - 1892), a "three shields" type (1893 - 1901), and then the English Lion on a crown (1902 - 1927).
In 1927, most denominations were re-designed by George Kruger Gray as part of the so-called "Fourth Coinage". The other denominations got new themes, but the shilling retained the general idea of the English Lion on top of St Edward's Crown; it was just re-designed to look more streamlined, and the crown is seen from a different aspect. The design was issued until the end of the reign of King George V in this form, then during the reign of King George VI two Tudor roses were added and the coin was re-branded the "English Shilling", with a parallel Scottish Shilling introduced in 1937.
In 1953, the design was superseded by a new type of English Shilling featuring the crowned Shield of England.
The composition was 50% (0.0903 oz ASW) until 1946, after which time it was debased to copper-nickel together with the rest of the silver coinage. When the currency became decimal in 1971, shillings were re-denominated as five new pence; they remained legal tender until 1990, when a smaller type of five pence replaced them. |
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The centre of the reverse shows St Edward's Crown surmounted by the crowned Lion of England. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, the crown has been traditionally used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13th century (with a two-century gap between 1689 and 1911). The lion is walking to left, its head turned to face the viewer. Above the lion's tail in small letters, the artist's initials KG (for [George] Kruger Gray).
Within a beaded border, around above is the continuation of the monarch's legend: FID · DEF IND · IMP (abbreviated from FIDEI DEFENSOR INDIAE IMPERATOR - Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India).
Around below, the denomination and the date of issue: · ONE SHILLING · [year] ·.
Due to the Independence of India, the "Emperor" part of the legend was dropped in 1948; the designer's initials were also removed at this time. |
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