Shilling (British coin): Difference between revisions

{{short description|BritishFormer pre-decimalisationofficial coinunit of currency of the United Kingdom and other territories}}

| Value = 12£0.05

| Unit = [[Old penny sterling|pence sterling]]

| Composition = {{plainlist|
* (1503–1816) [[Silver]]<br/>
* (1816–1920) [[Sterling silver|92.5% Ag]]<br/>
* (1920–1946) 50% Ag<br/>
* (1947–1970) [[Cupronickel]]{{#tag:ref|75% [[Copper|Cu]] and 25% [[Nickel|Ni]]|group="nb"}}

The [[United Kingdom|British]] '''shilling''', ('''abbreviated "1s" or "1/-''')", was a unit of currency and a denomination of [[coinCoins of the United Kingdom|sterling coinage]] worth one twentieth{{frac|1|20}} of aone [[poundPound sterling(currency)|pound]], or twelve [[oldPenny pence(British pre-decimal coin)|pence]]. It was first minted in the reign of [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] as the '''testoon''', and became known as the shilling, from the [[Old English]] ''{{lang|ang|scilling''}},<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/coins/british-coinage/pounds-pence-shillings/index.html|title=Pounds, shillings & pence|publisher=Royal Mint Museum|accessdateaccess-date=2 February 2019|archive-date=15 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815200950/http://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/coins/british-coinage/pounds-pence-shillings/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> sometime in the mid-16th century,. It circulatingcirculated until 1990. The word ''bob'' was sometimes used for a monetary value of several shillings, e.g. "ten-bob note". Following [[Decimal Day|decimalisation]] on 15 February 1971 the coin had a value of [[Five pence (British coin)|five new pence]], and a new coin of the same value but labelled as "five new pence" or "five pence" was minted with the same size as the shilling until 1990, after which the shilling no longer remained legal tender.<ref name="EckettPearce2008">{{cite book|author1=Stephen Eckett|author2=Craig Pearce|title=Harriman's Money Miscellany: A Collection of Financial Facts and Corporate Curiosities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=14rNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA19|year=2008|publisher=Harriman House Limited|isbn=978-1-905641-95-6|page=19}}</ref> It was made from silver from its introduction in or around 1503 until 19471946, and thereafter in [[cupronickel]].

Although the coin was not minted until the sixteenth16th century, the value of a shilling had been used for accounting purposes since the [[Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxonearly medieval period]]. The value of one shilling equalling 12d12 pence (12 d) was set by the Normans following the [[Norman conquest of England|conquest]]; prior tobefore this various Anglo-SaxonEnglish coins equalling 4, 5, and 12 pence had all been known as shillings.<ref name="RMM RftS">{{cite web|url=http://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/coins/british-coinage/old-denominations/shilling/requiem-for-the-shilling/index3.html|title=Requiem for the Shilling|publisher=Royal Mint Museum|accessdateaccess-date=14 November 2014|archive-date=29 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129230347/http://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/coins/british-coinage/old-denominations/shilling/requiem-for-the-shilling/index3.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The first coins of the pound sterling with the value of 12d were minted in 1503<ref name="Rees1819">{{cite book|author=Abraham Rees|title=The Cyclopaedia; Or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences and Literature. – London, Longman, Hurst (usw.) 1819–20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tUVRAAAAcAAJ&pg=PT403 |year=1819|publisher=Longman, Hurst|page=403}}</ref> or 1504<ref name="RMM RftS"/> and were known as testoons. The testoon was one of the first English coins to bear a real (rather than a representative){{clarify|date=February 2022}} portrait of the monarch on its obverse, and it is for this reason that it obtained its name from an [[Italy|Italian coin]] coin known as the ''testone'', or ''headpiece'', which had been introduced in [[Milan]] in 1474.<ref name="RMM Shilling">{{cite web|url=http://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/coins/british-coinage/old-denominations/shilling/index.html|title=Shilling|publisher=Royal Mint Museum|accessdateaccess-date=14 November 2014|archive-date=29 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129225344/http://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/coins/british-coinage/old-denominations/shilling/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Between 1544 and 1551 the coinage was debased repeatedly by the governments of [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] and [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]] 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.<ref name="WagnerSchmid2011">{{cite book|author1=John A. Wagner|author2=Susan Walters Schmid|title=Encyclopedia of Tudor England |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EUCY3otvttEC&pg=PA281|date=December 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-298-2|page=281|access-date=2016-10-06|archive-date=2021-02-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204131051/https://books.google.com/books?id=EUCY3otvttEC&pg=PA281|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 I of England|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.<ref name="Pascucci2013">{{cite book|author=Margherita Pascucci|title=Philosophical Readings of Shakespeare: "Thou Art the Thing Itself"|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eRI0AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA103|date=22 May 2013|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-137-32458-0|page=103|access-date=6 October 2016|archive-date=9 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409115128/https://books.google.com/books?id=eRI0AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA103|url-status=live}}</ref>

Shillings were minted during the reignreigns of every English monarch followingafter Edward VI, as well as during the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth]], with a vast number of variations and alterations appearing over the years. The Royal Mint undertook a [[Great Recoinage of 1816|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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Manville |first1= H. E. |last2=Gaspar |first2=P. P. |date=2004 |title=The 1787 Shilling – A Transition in Minting Technique |url=http://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital%20BNJ/pdfs/2004_BNJ_74_9.pdf |journal=British Numismatic Journal |publishervolume=74 |volumepages=7484–103 |issueaccess-date=2015-01-19 |pagesarchive-date=84–1032014-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006071828/http://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital%20BNJ/pdfs/2004_BNJ_74_9.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> New silver coinage was to be of .925 ([[Sterling silver|sterling]]) standard, with silver coins to be minted at 66 shillings to the troy pound.<ref>{{cite thesis |type=Ph.D. |first=Kevin |last=Clancy |title=The recoinage and exchange of 1816–1817 |publisher=University of Leeds |year=1990 |url=http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/466/ |access-date=2015-01-19 |archive-date=2014-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006150430/http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/466/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Hence, newly minted shillings weighed {{frac|2|11}}&nbsp;[[troy ounce]]<!-- Calculation per [[WP:CALC]]: 66 shillings weighs 1 troy pound (= 12 troy ounces), so 1 troy ounce is 5.5 shillings -->, equivalent to 87.273 [[Grain (unit)|grains]] or 5.655 [[gram]]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.<ref name="Groom2010">{{cite book|author=David Groom|title=The Identification of British 20th Century Silver Coin Varieties|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nd5nAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA44|date=10 July 2010|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-1-4457-5301-0|pages=44|access-date=6 October 2016|archive-date=15 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115080535/https://books.google.com/books?id=Nd5nAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA44|url-status=live}}{{self-published source|date=February 2020}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=February 2020}} 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.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Numismatist|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N0NmAAAAMAAJ|year=1972|publisher=American Numismatic Association}}</ref> The minting of silver coinage of the pound sterling ceased completely in(except for the ceremonial [[Maundy Money]]) at the end of 1946 for similar reasons, exacerbated by the costs of the [[Second World War]]. New "silver" coinage was instead minted in [[cupronickel]], an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel containing no silver at all.<ref name="Challis1992">{{cite book|author=Christopher Edgar Challis|title=A New History of the Royal Mint|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zz89AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA583|year=1992|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-24026-0|pages=583}}</ref>

Beginning with [[John Wrottesley, 1st Baron Wrottesley|Lord Wrottesley's]] proposals in the 1820s there were various attempts to decimalise the pound sterling over the next century and a half.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Bankers' Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=meYzAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA139|year=1855|publisher=Waterlow |page=139}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Revolution in Measurement – Western European Weights and Measures Since the Age of Science |first1=Ronald Edward | last1=Zupko |series=Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society |volume=186 |year=1990 |pages=242–245 |isbn=0-87169-186-8}}</ref> 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.<ref name="RM Decimalisation">{{cite web|url=http://www.royalmint.com/discover/decimalisation/the-story-of-decimalisation|title=The Story of Decimalisation |publisher=Royal Mint|access-date=6 October 2014|accessdatearchive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006124406/http://www.royalmint.com/discover/decimalisation/the-story-of-decimalisation|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Decimal Day]] was set for 15 February 1971, and a whole range of new coins werewas introduced. Shillings continued to be [[legal tender]] with a value of 5 new pence until 31 December 1990.<ref name="EckettPearce2008">{{cite book|author1=Stephen Eckett|author2=Craig Pearce|title=Harriman's Money Miscellany: A Collection of Financial Facts and Corporate Curiosities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=14rNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA19|year=2008|publisher=Harriman House Limited|isbn=978-1-905641-95-6|page=19}}</ref>

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 {{small|HENRICUS DI GRA REX ANGL Z FRA}}, or similar, meaning "''Henry, by the Grace of God, King of England and France''".<ref name="RMM Shilling"/> All shillings minted under subsequent kings and queens bear a similar inscription on the obverse identifying the monarch (or Lord Protector during the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth]]), 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]], surrounded by the inscription {{small|POSVI DEVM ADIVTORE MEVM}}, or a variant, meaning "''I have made God my helper''".<ref name="Humphreys1853">{{cite book |author=Henry Noel Humphreys|title=The Coin Collector's Manual, Or Guide to the Numismatic Student in the Formation of a Cabinet of Coins: Comprising an Historical and Critical Account of the Origin and Progress of Coinage, from the Earliest Period to the Fall of the Roman Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SrtwE5MqSZ0C&pg=PA682|year=1853|publisher=Bohn|page=682}}</ref>

[[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] testoons have a different reverse design, featuring a crowned [[Tudor rose]], but those of [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]] return to the Royal Arms design used previously.<ref name="CotUK">{{cite web|url=http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk/pics/onesh.html|title=Shilling|publisher=Coins of the UK|accessdateaccess-date=30 December 2014|archive-date=30 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230193854/http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk/pics/onesh.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Starting with Edward VI the coins feature the denomination {{small|XII}} printed next to the portrait of the king. [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] and [[Mary I of England|Mary I]] 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 II of Spain|Philip]].<ref name="CotUK"/>

Early shillings of [[James VI and I|James I]] feature the alternative reverse inscription {{small|EXURGAT DEUS DISSIPENTUR INIMICI}}, meaning "''Let God arise and His enemies be scattered''", becoming {{small|QVAE DEVS CONIVNXIT NEMO SEPARET}}, meaning "''What God hath put together let no man put asunder''" after 1604.<ref name="Moriesson">{{cite journal |last1=Moriesson |first1=Lieut.-Colonel H. W. |date=1907 |title=The Silver Coins of James I |url=http://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital%20BNJ/pdfs/1907_BNJ_4_10.pdf |journal=British Numismatic Journal |publishervolume=4 |volumepages=4165–180 |issueaccess-date=2015-01-19 |pagesarchive-date=165–1802014-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110193207/http://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital%20BNJ/pdfs/1907_BNJ_4_10.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.psdetecting.com/Inscriptions-ElizabethI-&%26-JamesI.html#JamesI|title=Hammered coin inscriptions and their meanings|publisher=Paul Shields|accessdateaccess-date=29 September 2016|archive-date=9 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009213333/http://www.psdetecting.com/Inscriptions-ElizabethI-%26-JamesI.html#JamesI|url-status=live}}</ref>

In muchthe of [[West Africa]]Gambia, white people are called ''toubabs'', which may derive from the colonial practice of paying locals two shillings for running errands.<ref>[http://www.ebizguides.com/guides/main_guide.php?country=16 The Gambia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080912073713/http://www.ebizguides.com/guides/main_guide.php?country=16 |date=2008-09-12 }}, ''eBizguides''</ref> An alternate etymology holds that the name is derived from French ''toubib'', i.e. ''doctor''.<ref>[https://books.google.co.ukcom/books?id=FjteEhM_MFAC&pg=PA65 ''The Rough Guide to the Gambia''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011054947/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FjteEhM_MFAC&pg=PA65 |date=2016-10-11 }}, p. 65, Emma Gregg and Richard Trillo, Rough Guides, 2003</ref>

To "take the [[King's shilling]]" was to enlist in the army or navy, a phrase dating back to the early 19th century.<ref name="bbch">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/history/trail/wars_conflict/soldiers/soldier_trade_in_world_fact_file.shtml#2|title=The King's Shilling|date=2005-01-28|website=BBC History – Fact files |publisher=BBC |accessdateaccess-date=2009-03-30|archiveurlarchive-url=https://wwwweb.webcitationarchive.org/6PXN9onYEweb/20201126024929/https://www.bbc.com/history/trail/wars_conflict/soldiers/soldier_trade_in_world_fact_file.shtml#2|archivedatearchive-date=20142020-0511-1326|url-status=live}}</ref>

To "cut someone off with a shilling", often quoted as "cut off ''without'' a shilling" means to disinherit. Although having no basis in BritishEnglish 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.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/81/4527.html ''Dictionary of Phrase and Fable''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001202210/http://www.bartleby.com/81/4527.html |date=2016-10-01 }}, E. Cobham Brewer, 1898</ref>