Shilling 1879, Coin from United Kingdom - detailed information

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 "wreath" type of shilling was introduced at the beginning of the reign of King William IV and was issued from 1831 to 1887, well into the reign of Queen Victoria. Its design is the same as the sixpence coin issued in the same period, only with a different inscription. The reverse inscription was an innovation at the time, breaking with two earlier traditions - it shows the value and denomination, whereas earlier coins did not, and was in English - whereas earlier coins carried inscriptions only in Latin.

The composition is Sterling Silver (0.925 silver) and the coins have 0.1682 oz ASW (ounce of Absolute Silver Weight). 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. Thus, a shilling coin issued in 1879 was legal tender for 111 years.

During the year, the dies were changed; early in the year the reverse had a die number between the wreath and the date and the obverse had the "Third Head" variation of the queen's portrait; later coins had no die number and the "Fourth Head" effigy.