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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

shilling, abbreviated "1s" or "1/-", was a unit of currency and a denomination of sterling coinage worth of one pound, or twelve pre-decimal pence. 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 , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

, 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

decimalisation Decimalisation or decimalization (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by Power of 10, powers of 10. Most countries have ...

. 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" (later removing "new" 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coin was reduced in size in 1990, and the old larger five-pence coins and the pre-decimal shilling coins were both withdrawn from circulation at the end of the year. 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 with nickel, usually along with small quantities of other metals added for strength, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. ( Monel is a n ...

. Before

Decimal Day Decimal Day () in the United Kingdom and in Republic of Ireland, Ireland was Monday 15 February 1971, the day on which each country decimalised its respective £sd currency of pound sterling, pounds, Shilling (British coin), shillings, and pe ...

in 1971, sterling used the Carolingian monetary system ("

£sd file:Guildhall Museum Collection- Drusilla Dunford Money Table Sampler 3304.JPG, A Sampler (needlework), sampler in the Rochester Guildhall, Guildhall Museum of Rochester, Medway, Rochester illustrates the conversion between pence and shillings ...

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

conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

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

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

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 known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

and

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

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. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

, 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 the Kingdom of England in the 15th century and is primarily used in the precious metals industry. The troy weight units are the grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy ounce (20 p ...

, 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 le ...

or 5.655

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

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 Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch or a royal official ceremonially distributes small silver co ...

) 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 Standard of deferred payment, courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment in court for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything ...

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 coat of arms of England is the coat of arms historically used as arms of dominion by the monarchs of the Kingdom of England, and now used to symbolise England generally.: "The three golden lions upon a ground of red have certainly continued ...

, 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, 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 List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

and

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...

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 name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

. Early shillings of James I 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, "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 this has 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 Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, 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 Shillings