Shilling (British coin)

Uncommon card · No. 103875

The British shilling, abbreviated "1s" or "1/-", was a unit of currency and a denomination of sterling coinage worth 1⁄20 of one pound, or twelve pre-decimal pence (equivalent to five new pence, £0.05 in modern decimal notation). It was first minted in England in 1503 or 1504 during the reign of Henry VII as the testoon, and became known as the shilling, from the Old English scilling, sometime in the mid-16th century. It circulated until 1990. It was commonly known as a bob, as in "ten-bob note", also the Scout Association's Bob-a-Job Week. The shilling was last minted in 1966, prior to the UK's decimalisation. Following Decimal Day 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" (the word "new" was removed after 1980) was minted with the same size as the shilling until 1990. The five-pence coin was reduced in size in 1990, and the old larger five-pence coins and the pre-decimal shilling coins were both withdrawn...

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