Some younger people might not recognise these! Pennies and two pence, change from all those £*. 99 purchases. * being 0 and above pounds.

When British Money was decemalised in the 1970’s we went from 240 pence (D) in a pound (L). That was made up of 20 shillings (S) each of twelve pence. And the shilling was also made up of two sixpence, or four threepenny bits, or 24 half pence or 48 farthings (1/4 of a penny) and apparently there was a mite (1/8 of a penny). There was also half a crown which was two shillings and sixpence. (a florin was two shillings). A crown was five shillings. Ten shillings was half a pound and twenty one shillings was a Guinea. Somewhere among the smallest coinage were groats…..

Hence the Pounds, shillings and pence, or L. S. D. You can imagine how confusing that was for a child. My pocket money was either two threepenny bits or a sixpence, going up to a shilling as I got older.

When we went to 100 pence in a pound, the smallest coin was 1/2 new pence (p), a new penny came next, two pence (all copper coloured), five pence (silver coloured) ten, twenty and fifty pence. The fifty and twenty are not round but have seven sides I think? Eventually the half pence was discontinued and later a bi coloured pound coin was bought in, followed by a bi coloured (bronze and silver coloured) two pound coins.

So we get to recent times where notes are now plastic instead of the paper and rag (cloth was used for strength) notes of the past.

Coins and notes are still used, if you can’t afford credit or use the Internet it’s still needed. But smaller denominations, like pence, might disappear. Some of the coins have got smaller over time. Will we see king Charles third on coins? I guess they will be introduced over the next few years. Maybe the copper coins will disappear soon.

(The .99 pence idea fools you into thinking you are spending less than a full pound £1.00) well you are but only 1% less!