The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

shilling, abbreviated "1/-", was a unit of currency and a denomination of sterling coinage worth of one pound, or twelve

pence A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...

. It was first minted in the reign of Henry VII as the testoon, and became known as the shilling, from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

, sometime in the mid-16th century. It circulated until 1990. The word ''bob'' was sometimes used for a monetary value of several shillings, e.g. "ten-bob note". Following

decimalisation Decimalisation or decimalization (see spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by powers of 10. Most countries have decimalised their currencies, converting them from non-decimal ...

on 15 February 1971 the coin had a value of five new pence, and a new coin of the same value but labelled as "five new pence" or "five pence" was minted with the same size as the shilling until 1990, after which the shilling no longer remained legal tender. It was made from silver from its introduction in or around 1503 until 1946, and thereafter in

cupronickel Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. ( Monel is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a mi ...

. Before

Decimal Day Decimal Day in the United Kingdom and in Ireland was Monday 15 February 1971, the day on which each country decimalised its respective £sd currency of pounds, shillings, and pence. Before this date, the British pound sterling (symbol "£" ...

in 1971, sterling used the

Carolingian monetary system The Carolingian monetary system, also called the Carolingian coinage system £sd £sd (occasionally written Lsd, spoken as "pounds, shillings and pence" or pronounced ) is the popular name for the pre-decimal currencies once common throughout Europe, especially in the British Isles and hence in several countries of the ...

"), under which the largest unit was a pound (£) divided into 20 shillings (s), each of 12 pence (d). Although the coin was not minted until the 16th century, the value of a shilling had been used for accounting purposes since the

early medieval period The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

. The value of one shilling equalling 12 pence (12 d) was set by the Normans following the

conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, ...

; before this various English coins equalling 4, 5, and 12 pence had all been known as shillings. The notation for a number of shillings and pence was widely used (e.g., "19/11" for nineteen shillings and eleven pence). The form was used for a number of shillings and zero pence (e.g., "5/–" for five shillings exactly).

History

The first coins of the pound sterling with the value of 12d were minted in 1503 or 1504 and were known as testoons. The testoon was one of the first English coins to bear a real (rather than a representative) portrait of the monarch on its obverse, and it is for this reason that it obtained its name from an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

coin known as the ''testone'', or ''headpiece'', which had been introduced in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

in 1474. Between 1544 and 1551 the coinage was debased repeatedly by the governments of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

and

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

in an attempt to generate more money to fund foreign wars. This debasement meant that coins produced in 1551 had one-fifth of the silver content of those minted in 1544, and consequently the value of new testoons fell from 12d to 6d. The reason the testoon decreased in value is that unlike today, the value of coins was determined by the market price of the metal contained within them. This debasement was recognised as a mistake, and during Elizabeth's reign newly minted coins, including the testoon (now known as the shilling), had a much higher silver content and regained their pre-debasement value. Shillings were minted during the reigns of every English monarch after Edward VI, as well as during the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

, with a vast number of variations and alterations appearing over the years. The Royal Mint undertook a massive recoinage programme in 1816, with large quantities of gold and silver coin being minted. Previous issues of silver coinage had been irregular, and the last issue, minted in 1787, was not intended for issue to the public, but as Christmas gifts to the Bank of England's customers. New silver coinage was to be of .925 ( sterling) standard, with silver coins to be minted at 66 shillings to the troy pound. Hence, newly minted shillings weighed

troy ounce Troy weight is a system of units of mass that originated in 15th-century England, and is primarily used in the precious metals industry. The troy weight units are the grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy ounce (20 pennyweights), and th ...

, equivalent to 87.273

grains A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legumes ...

or 5.655

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to th ...

s. The Royal Mint debased the silver coinage in 1920 from 92.5% silver to 50% silver. Shillings of both alloys were minted that year. This debasement was done because of the rising price of silver around the world, and followed the global trend of the elimination, or the reducing in purity, of the silver in coinage. The minting of silver coinage of the pound sterling ceased completely (except for the ceremonial

Maundy Money Royal Maundy is a religious service in the Church of England held on Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday. At the service, the British monarch or a royal official ceremonially distributes small silver coins known as "Maundy money" (lega ...

) at the end of 1946 for similar reasons, exacerbated by the costs of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. New "silver" coinage was instead minted in

, an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel. Beginning with Lord Wrottesley's proposals in the 1820s there were various attempts to decimalise the pound sterling over the next century and a half. These attempts came to nothing significant until the 1960s when the need for a currency more suited to simple monetary calculations became pressing. The decision to decimalise was announced in 1966, with the pound to be redivided into 100, rather than 240, pence.

was set for 15 February 1971, and a whole range of new coins was introduced. Shillings continued to be

legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in ...

with a value of 5 new pence until 31 December 1990.

Design

Testoons issued during the reign of Henry VII feature a right-facing portrait of the king on the obverse. Surrounding the portrait is the inscription , or similar, meaning "Henry, by the Grace of God, King of England and France". All shillings minted under subsequent kings and queens bear a similar inscription on the obverse identifying the monarch (or Lord Protector during the

), with the portrait usually flipping left-facing to right-facing or vice versa between monarchs. The reverse features the escutcheon of the

Royal Arms of England The royal arms of England are the arms first adopted in a fixed form at the start of the age of heraldry (circa 1200) as personal arms by the Plantagenet kings who ruled England from 1154. In the popular mind they have come to symbolise the ...

, surrounded by the inscription , or a variant, meaning "I have made God my helper".

testoons have a different reverse design, featuring a crowned

Tudor rose The Tudor rose (sometimes called the Union rose) is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the House of Tudor, which united the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The Tudor rose consists o ...

, but those of

return to the Royal Arms design used previously. Starting with Edward VI the coins feature the denomination printed next to the portrait of the king.

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

and

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She ...

shillings are exceptions to this; the former has the denomination printed on the reverse, above the coat of arms, and the latter has no denomination printed at all. Some shillings issued during Mary's reign bear the date of minting, printed above the dual portraits of Mary and

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...

. Early shillings of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

feature the alternative reverse inscription , meaning "Let God arise and His enemies be scattered", becoming , meaning "What God hath put together let no man put asunder" after 1604.

In popular culture

Guildhall Museum Collection- Drusilla Dunford Money Table Sampler 3304

A slang name for a shilling was a "bob" (plural as singular, as in "that cost me two bob"). The first recorded use was in a case of coining heard at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

in 1789, when it was described as

cant Cant, CANT, canting, or canted may refer to: Language * Cant (language), a secret language * Beurla Reagaird, a language of the Scottish Highland Travellers * Scottish Cant, a language of the Scottish Lowland Travellers * Shelta or the Cant, a la ...

, "well understood among a certain set of people", but heard only among criminals and their associates. In the Gambia, white people are called ''toubabs'', which may derive from the colonial practice of paying locals two shillings for running errands. An alternate etymology holds that the name is derived from French ''toubib'', i.e. ''doctor''. To "take the King's shilling" was to enlist in the army or navy, a phrase dating back to the early 19th century. To "cut someone off with a shilling", often quoted as "cut off ''without'' a shilling" means to disinherit. Although having no basis in English law, some believe that leaving a family member a single shilling in one's will ensured that it could not be challenged in court as an oversight. A popular legend holds that a shilling was the value of a cow in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, or a sheep elsewhere.

Mintages

Victoria *1838 - 1,956,240 *1839 - 5,666,760 *1840 - 1,639,440 *1841 - 875,160 *1842 - 2,094,840 *1843 - 1,465,200 *1844 - 4,466,760 *1845 - 4,082,760 *1846 - 4,031,280 *1848 - 1,041,480 *1849 - 645,480 *1850 - 685,080 *1851 - 470,071 *1852 - 1,306,574 *1853 - 4,256,188 *1854 - 522,414 *1855 - 1,368,499 *1856 - 3,168,600 *1857 - 2,562,120 *1858 - 3,108,600 *1859 - 4,561,920 *1860 - 1,671,120 *1861 - 1,382,040 *1862 - 954,360 *1863 - 839,320 *1864 - 4,518,360 *1865 - 5,619,240 *1866 - 4,989,600 *1867 - 2,166,120 *1868 - 3,330,360 *1869 - 736,560 *1870 - 1,467,471 *1871 - 4,910,010 *1872 - 8,897,781 *1873 - 6,589,598 *1874 - 5,503,747 *1875 - 4,353,983 *1876 - 1,057,387 *1877 - 2,980,703 *1878 - 3,127,131 *1879 - 3,611,407 *1880 - 4,842,786 *1881 - 5,255,332 *1882 - 1,611,786 *1883 - 7,281,450 *1884 - 3,923,993 *1885 - 3,336,527 *1886 - 2,086,819 *1887 - 4,034,133 *1888 - 4,526,856 *1889 - 7,039,628 *1890 - 8,794,042 *1891 - 5,665,348 *1892 - 4,591,622 *1893 - 7,040,386 *1894 - 5,953,152 *1895 - 8,880,651 *1896 - 9,264,551 *1897 - 6,270,364 *1898 - 9,768,703 *1899 - 10,965,382 *1900 - 10,937,590 *1901 - 3,426,294 Edward VII *1902 - 7,905,604 *1903 - 2,061,823 *1904 - 2,040,161 *1905 - 488,390 *1906 - 10,791,025 *1907 - 14,083,418 *1908 - 3,806,969 *1909 - 5,664,982 *1910 - 26,547,236 George V *1911 - 20,065,908; 6,000 (Proof) *1912 - 15,594,009 *1913 - 9,011,509 *1914 - 23,415,843 *1915 - 39,279,024 *1916 - 35,862,015 *1917 - 22,202,608 *1918 - 34,915,934 *1919 - 10,823,824 *1920 - 22,865,142 *1921 - 22,648,763 *1922 - 27,215,738 *1923 - 14,575,243 *1924 - 9,250,095 *1925 - 5,418,764 *1926 - 22,516,453 *1927 - 9,262,244 *1928 - 18,136,778 *1929 - 19,343,006 *1930 - 3,137,092 *1931 - 6,993,926 *1932 - 12,168,101 *1933 - 11,511,624 *1934 - 6,138,463 *1935 - 9,183,462 *1936 - 11,910,613 George VI Elizabeth II

Notes

References

External links

Online Coin Club / Coin Type: Shilling
– Listing of all issued shillings, with mintages, descriptions and photos {{Portal bar, Money, Numismatics, United Kingdom Coins of Great Britain History of British coinage Pre-decimalisation coins of the United Kingdom