Milestones in the decimal coinage of the UK

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The new penny depicted a crowned portcullis, representing the House of Commons.

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You may have noticed the resemblance of the design on the new penny to that on the old threepenny bit. The only other new coin that echoed one of the previous designs was of course the fifty pence, with its depiction of Britannia, who also appeared on the predecimal penny.

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The reverse of the two pence coin, honouring Wales, showed the ostrich feathers from the emblem of the Prince of Wales. It also included his German motto, "Ich dien", meaning "I serve". I have been told by native Welsh speakers that when this phrase is uttered in German, it sounds like the Welsh for "My arse!" Did the Welsh somehow manage to mock their English prince? 

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The new bronze coins were relatively small in comparison to the old predecimal halfpenny and penny.

The predecimal halfpenny was 25.5mm in diameter and weighed 5.66 grams.
The predecimal penny was 30.9mm in diameter and weighed 9.45 grams.

The decimal halfpenny was 17.14mm in diameter and weighed 1.78 grams.
The decimal penny was 20.32mm in diameter and weighed 3.56 grams.
The decimal two pence was 25.91mm in diameter and weighed 7.12 grams.

You will notice that the decimal two pence was double the weight of the decimal penny, which was itself double the weight of the decimal halfpenny. This was so that the three bronze coins could all be stored together in bank bags and then weighed to determine their value. That is the historical reason why the two pence coin appears so outlandishly large for its worth these days.

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I have already mentioned that the five pence, with its thistle, honoured Scotland, whilst the crowned lion on the ten pence was a symbol of England. The two pence meanwhile, with its emblem of the Prince of Wales, was intended to honour the Welsh.

You will notice the hierarchy here: Wales, a mere principality, had to make do with the lowest denomination; Scotland, being a kingdom, had higher rank than Wales and so occupied the five pence. England, also a kingdom but considerably bigger and more populous than Scotland, had its symbol on the ten pence.

That's all very well, you may think, but what about the Northern Irish? Well, their cause had originally been championed in 1968 by the Duke of Edinburgh himself, no less. It was intended that the Northern Irish would get a special design on the reverse of a separate two pence coin, which would be issued only in Northern Ireland but would be valid throughout the United Kingdom. However, in 1969 political trouble and violence broke out in Northern Ireland, and the proposed designs for Northern Ireland became highly politically controversial and were eventually dropped. To read more about this story and to see some of the proposed designs, click on the link below:

The Strange Story of the Northern Irish Two Pence

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UK 50 pence, 1973.  Membership of the European Economic Community.

Before decimalisation, all the monarchs of the 20th century were present on our UK circulating coinage, back to the bun head and veiled head portraits of Queen Victoria. Some coins came in two versions or more: the George VI coins with and without "IND IMP" (Emperor of India); the Elizabeth coins with "BRITT OMN" (1953) and without it, from 1954 onwards. And the shillings of those both those monarchs also came with separate Scottish and English designs. The sixpences, shillings and florins of those two monarchs did in fact still circulate for years after decimalisation (which must have been confusing for foreign tourists), but the coins issued before 1947, with higher silver content, were rarely to be seen. Compared with the variety of the circulating predecimal coins of the 1960s, the decimal coins of the early 1970s seemed like a desert of dullness.

1973 saw a little extra variety injected into the decimal system, however, with the release of the first commemorative fifty pence, celebrating Britain's entry into the EEC (the European Economic Community, as the European Union was then known), commonly known as the Common Market in Britain. The Conservative Prime Minister of 1973, Edward Heath, had previously headed the unsuccessful negotiations of the early 1960s, when French President de Gaulle had famously said "Non!" to Britain. Heath regarded Britain's entry into the EEC as one of the greatest achievements of his not very distinguished premiership, and had authorised the issue of a commemorative fifty pence.

The reverse design of the commemorative fifty pence depicted nine clasped hands, symbolising the nine member states of the EEC. The coin circulated in considerable numbers for years afterwards and was often to be found in change. Unfortunately, the next commemorative fifty pence would not be released until 1992.

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In 1980 the old predecimal sixpence was demonetised and removed from circulation. In predecimal days it had been popular and loved and given the nickname of a "tanner". As decimalisation wore on, it became very unpopular and less used, as it was rather a small ugly coin with an untidy value of 2½ decimal pence. Most sixpences in circulation after decimalisation were dated 1947 or later, and there were four different types commonly in circulation: the George VI sixpences with and without the "IND IMP" legend, and the Elizabeth II sixpences with and without the "OMN BRITT" in the legend.

As for nicknames for coins, as well as the tanner, the old shilling had been nicknamed a "bob", and the florin was often referred to as a "two bob bit". Nicknames are meant to reflect affection, but the only nickname I ever heard used for a decimal coin - and it was only once - was "tiddler", for the decimal halfpenny, on account of its small size.

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In 1982 a new denomination was introduced: the circulation twenty pence. There was a gap between the ten pence and the fifty pence that needed to be filled. Because the UK already used a two pence coin, a twenty pence coin was a more logical addition than a twenty five pence coin.

The attractive reverse design of the new coin was by William Gardner, who had designed the reverses of some of the predecimal coins of Queen Elizabeth II. He had also designed coins of overseas countries, such as Cyprus and the Falkland Islands. It depicted a crowned Tudor rose, an English symbol with its roots in previous centuries. Curiously, the year also appeared on the reverse. On the other coins, it always appeared on the obverse.

The twenty pence coin itself was seven-sided, like the fifty pence, though considerably smaller and lighter, and it became a popular coin. Unlike the fifty pence, which had a normal narrow rim, the twenty pence had a very wide rim, which made it stand out visually. At the time of its issue, it was probably also physically unique - apart, that is, from those related twenty pence coins that were simultaneously released in British dependencies and overseas territories.

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Most of the related twenty pence coins released at this time had a normal narrow rim, unlike the UK version.

Here is an image of the 1982 twenty pence coin of the Falkland Islands for comparison.

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Also in 1982, coinciding with the introduction of the twenty pence coin, the word "NEW" was removed from the reverse of all the coins and replaced with the denominational figures in words. The first decimal coins had been introduced in 1968, and full decimalisation took place in 1971, so the change was long overdue, as everybody now understood the difference between predecimal and "new" pence.

 

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A half penny without the "NEW".

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A penny without the "NEW".

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A two pence coin without the "NEW".

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A five pence coin without the "NEW".

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A ten pence coin without the "NEW".