United Kingdom: Coins Issued and Used

Showing other, not-coin types (tokens, medals etc.).

United Kingdom (1801 - )
Information about what currencies were issued by United Kingdom, with lists of coinage, as well as periods when foreign-issued currencies were used.
Notes

Please note: this section is still under construction!

On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, and the state was renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - its formal name at present.

If you are looking for coins issued before 1801, see listings under Great Britain.

Currency: Pound Sterling (pre-decimal). Used in United Kingdom: (1801 - 1971)
CurrencyPound Sterling (pre-decimal)
PeriodPound Sterling (pre-decimal)
Used1801 - 1971
Description

Prior to 1971, one pound was subdivided into 20 shillings and each shilling into 12 pence, making 240 pence to the pound (hence the currency was not decimal).

Currency: Pound Sterling. Used in United Kingdom: (1971 - present)
CurrencyPound Sterling
PeriodPound Sterling
Used1971 - present
Description

The pound sterling (symbol: £; ISO code: GBP), commonly known simply as the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the British Antarctic Territory, and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence (singular: penny).

On 15 February 1971, the UK decimalised (switched from the old, non-decimal Pound Sterling), replacing the shilling and penny with a single subdivision, the new penny. £1 12s 6d became £1.62½. The word "new" was omitted from coins after 1981.