British currency denominations ?

[MCC retired]

We will be in London for a few days prior to our QM2 TA.

Probably get some pounds from our US bank before we leave.

 

All that I know about are Pounds.:confused:

What are the other denominations below the pound (paper or coins ?)and what do they equal relative to the pound ?:rolleyes:

[newport dave]

Right easiest thing to do is list all notes and coins.

 

First of all, there are 100p (pence) in £1.

 

Notes.

£50

£20

£10

£5

 

Coins

£2

£1

50p

20p

10p

5p

2p

1p

[sddsddean]

Further to Daves post, heres a pic. To give you an idea, the 10p (top right) is about 1" dia. The 1p and 2p are the only copper coins (the 1p is obviously new!) and 20p and 50p are both septagons.

 

 

 

£50 notes aren't that common and many shops won't accept them. These are the £20, £10 and £5. Smaller denomination, smaller note. This shows the colours. The current pictures on the reverse are £5 (Elizabeth Fry), £10 (Charles Darwin), £20 (Adam Smith)

 

Simon

[Sauer-kraut]

Britian gave up their funny money system back in the 1970's. My mom can still do the math though, I think she was a bit sad when the money converted.

 

So, their money now is based on the decimal system, JUST LIKE IN THE U.S.A.

 

50 pence = 1/2 pound

10 pence = 1/10 of a pound

100 pence = 1 pound

 

and so on .....

just keep saying that the pence are like pennies and you'll have no problem! Just make sure to look at each coin so you know you're not giving out a pound for a fifty pence piece!

[MATHA531]

Everybody's covered the basics....when they decimalized the currency in April 1971, they tried to make it easy to understand by retaining some of the old coins....the pound was originaly broken into 20 shillings and each shilling was 12 old pennies (pence)....the 1 shilling coin 1/20 of a pound became 5p and the two shilling coin became 10p and I'll tell you...the first time I visited Britain just after decimal day, I had to buy an underground ticket for 5p (hard to believe)....gave them a £1 bank note and got back 9 10p and 1 5p coin and then I understood why the currency was called the pound...almost tore a hole in my pocet. Since then, the coins have become a more normal size so to speak.

 

As far as paper money, in the countries that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, different banks have the right to issue paper bank notes. The biggest and most often encountered and pictured above, are the bank notes issued by the Bank of England. But several Scottish banks issue bank notes in Scotland. In theory, they are worth the same as their counterparts issued by the Bank of England but except near the border areas, many English merchants will not accept Scottish bank notes for some reason. If you leave Scotland with any Scottish bank notes, try to get them to exchange them for Bank of England notes (interestly enough, I've never encountered a Scottish merchant not taking a Bank of England bank note). The same is true in Northern Ireland. Coins, though, are exactly the same. Banks in Wales do not issue bank notes and or the most part, they use Bank of England bank notes (don't know if that's the official).

 

Also just for historical purpose....in 1975 when I first visited the Republic of Ireland, they still used an Irish pound tied to the British pount although it was a separate currency they were very close in value and British coins and Irish coins were identical and sort of circulated freely. A year or two later, the Irish govenment unhinged their currency from the British pound and the new currency was called the punt and it was indeed a completely separate currency. The Republic of Ireland is now on the euro ending all such confusion.

[MTElkwhistle]

.

 

But several Scottish banks issue bank notes in Scotland. In theory, they are worth the same as their counterparts issued by the Bank of England but except near the border areas, many English merchants will not accept Scottish bank notes for some reason.

 

I love going to England with Scottish money - it really winds some shopkeepers up.

My (English) cousin insists we swap him his English notes for Scottish ones so that when he goes home he can have some fun.:rolleyes:

[SteveH2508]

Further to Daves post, heres a pic. To give you an idea, the 10p (top right) is about 1" dia. The 1p and 2p are the only copper coins (the 1p is obviously new!) and 20p and 50p are both septagons.

 

 

 

£50 notes aren't that common and many shops won't accept them. These are the £20, £10 and £5. Smaller denomination, smaller note. This shows the colours. The current pictures on the reverse are £5 (Elizabeth Fry), £10 (Charles Darwin), £20 (Adam Smith)

 

Simon

 

The notes in this picture are now all out of circulation. They are not acceptable in shops but can be changed at banks I believe.

 

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/current/index.htm

[sddsddean]

Do you know Steve, I hadn't noticed that! The colours are still the same though. Its just the Queen's picture that is a bit different and some of the lettering.

 

Simon

[SteveH2508]

Do you know Steve, I hadn't noticed that! The colours are still the same though. Its just the Queen's picture that is a bit different and some of the lettering.

 

Simon

 

The main giveaway is the denomination figure in the top left corner - the new ones are multicoloured. The new notes also have a much more complex foil strip. Apparently they are now designed to try to defeat colour photocopiers.

[MCC retired]

Thanks for all the replies .

This quick lesson is what I needed.:)