Old British coins and their values
A guide to the coins and notes of pre-decimal Britain: what each was worth, what people called it, and what it equals in decimal money.
| Coin | Value | Nickname | Decimal | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farthing | ¼d | – | 0.10p | Ceased to be legal tender at the end of 1960. |
| Halfpenny | ½d | ha'penny | 0.21p | The old halfpenny was withdrawn in 1969. |
| Penny | 1d | – | 0.42p | Withdrawn after decimalisation in 1971. |
| Threepence | 3d | thruppenny bit | 1.25p | Twelve-sided brass coin from 1937. Withdrawn in 1971. |
| Fourpence (groat) | 4d | groat | 1.67p | A medieval coin revived in the 1800s; survives only as Maundy money. |
| Sixpence | 6d | tanner | 2½p | Kept in use after 1971 at 2½p until 1980. Still a lucky coin in Christmas puddings. |
| Shilling | 1s | bob | 5p | Used alongside 5p coins until 1990. |
| Florin | 2s | two bob bit | 10p | Introduced in 1849 as a first step towards decimals. Used as 10p until 1993. |
| Half crown | 2s 6d | half a dollar | 12½p | Withdrawn at the start of 1970. |
| Crown | 5s | dollar | 25p | Mainly a commemorative coin in the 20th century. |
| Ten-shilling note | 10s | ten bob note | 50p | Replaced by the 50p coin and withdrawn in 1970. |
| Half sovereign | 10s | half a quid | 50p | Gold coin. |
| Sovereign | £1 | quid | £1 | Gold coin; still minted for collectors and investors. |
| Guinea | £1 1s | – | £1.05 | Last struck in 1814 but used for prices of horses, art and professional fees long after. |
Decimal values are the exact face-value equivalents, rounded to two decimal places. Collectors' values for old coins are a different matter and depend on date and condition.
The slang of old money
Everyday speech had a nickname for almost everything. A shilling was a bob (“two bob”, never “two bobs”), sixpence was a tanner, and a pound was a quid, a word that outlived decimalisation. Five shillings was sometimes called a dollar, and so half a crown was “half a dollar”.
Why was there a florin?
The two-shilling florin was introduced in 1849 as a tenth of a pound, an early experiment towards decimal money that took another 122 years to finish. When decimalisation finally came, the florin simply carried on as the 10p coin.
Guineas
The guinea was worth 21 shillings, a pound and a shilling. The coin stopped being made in 1814, but the guinea lived on as a way of quoting prices for posh or professional things: doctors' and lawyers' fees, tailoring, racehorses and paintings. Racehorses are still often sold in guineas today.
Need to convert an amount? Try the old money converter or the £sd calculator.