Question about British Coinage
RWF
were issued in that year?
oly
> When did England switch over to the "new" pence (1971?) and what coins
> were issued in that year?
"Decimal Day", the launch date for the new coins, was on 15 February
1971.
The planning for the conversion began informally in 1961 and the
formal decision to proceed was taken in March 1966.
There are fifty "new pence" dated 1969 and 1970; these replaced a ten
shillings banknote and must have been in circulation before decimal
day (I think).
I am certain that the new 10 pence and the new 5 pence were introduced
in 1968 because they were directly equivalent to the old florin (2
shillings) (or 1/10th of a pound) and the old one shilling (or 1/20th
of a pound). They began to siculate in 1968. Thus, you can easily
find 10 "new" pence and 5 "new" pence dated 1968, 1969, and 1970 as
well as 1971.
It was not necessary to retire the cupro-nickel (post 1945) florins
and the shillings as they were the same size and weight and value as
the new 10 pence and the new 5 pence. The old florins and old
shillings were still in circulation in 1985 on my first trip to
England including coins with the image of the Queen's father, George
VI (who died back in 1952). These old florin and shilling coins coins
did not bite the dust until the 10 pence and 5 pence were reduced in
size and weight in 1992 and 1990, repectively.
The two "new pence" and one "new penny" and the 1/2 "new penny" are
only dated from 1971.
**********************************************************************************************************************
You can in good conscience not read below the line unless you are
interested in what happened to these coins later... there were many
more changes.
***********************************************************************************************************************
The 1/2 penny was retired in 1984.
The term "new" was dropped from all of the pence designated coins in
1982.
A twenty pence multi-sided coin was introduced in 1982.
A one pound coin was introduced in 1983. The one pound banknote was
retired.
A solid nickel-brass 2 pound coin was introduced in 1986. This became
a ringed multi-colored coin in 1997. It freely circulates today.
I believe that the 50 pence was downsized in 1997. The larger older
50 "pee" have been withdrawn from circulation.
Four Commemoratives between 1972 and 1981 were denominated at 25
pence, but the denomination did not appear on these crown-sized cupro-
nickel coins.
Five pound commemorative coins began to appear in 1990. They are
crown sized and made primariyl in copper-nickel. The five pound coin
is issued in large numbers but does not typically circulate (the
smallest banknote is now five pounds).
The Royal Mint does make a lot of these coins in silver and gold
strikes especially for collectors. For example, during the Queen's
Golden Jubilee in 2002, a complete set in all denominations (including
the Maundy Money) was struck in gold and made available to the public.
The United Kingdom's experience in decimalization must have been very
helpful for those who had to introduce the new Euro coins and
banknotes in 2002.
oly
Tony Clayton
> On Feb 16, 9:01 pm, "RWF" <R...@200902.invalid> wrote:
> > When did England switch over to the "new" pence (1971?) and what coins
> > were issued in that year?
>
> "Decimal Day", the launch date for the new coins, was on 15 February
> 1971.
>
> The planning for the conversion began informally in 1961 and the
> formal decision to proceed was taken in March 1966.
>
> There are fifty "new pence" dated 1969 and 1970; these replaced a ten
> shillings banknote and must have been in circulation before decimal
> day (I think).
They certainly were. The ten shilling note was withdrawn before the end of 1970.
>
> I am certain that the new 10 pence and the new 5 pence were introduced
> in 1968 because they were directly equivalent to the old florin (2
> shillings) (or 1/10th of a pound) and the old one shilling (or 1/20th
> of a pound). They began to siculate in 1968. Thus, you can easily
> find 10 "new" pence and 5 "new" pence dated 1968, 1969, and 1970 as
> well as 1971.
>
> It was not necessary to retire the cupro-nickel (post 1945) florins
> and the shillings as they were the same size and weight and value as
> the new 10 pence and the new 5 pence. The old florins and old
> shillings were still in circulation in 1985 on my first trip to
> England including coins with the image of the Queen's father, George
> VI (who died back in 1952). These old florin and shilling coins coins
> did not bite the dust until the 10 pence and 5 pence were reduced in
> size and weight in 1992 and 1990, repectively.
>
> The two "new pence" and one "new penny" and the 1/2 "new penny" are
> only dated from 1971.
>
Full details of the decimal changeover and the coins that were introduced can
be found on http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk/dec.html
--
Tony Clayton tony.cla...@pem.cam.ac.uk
Coins of the UK : http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk
Sent using RISCOS on an Acorn Strong Arm RiscPC
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