The [[United Kingdom|British]] '''shilling''', abbreviated "1s" or "1/-", was a unit of currency and a denomination of [[Coins of the United Kingdom|sterling coinage]] worth {{frac|1|20}} of one [[Pound (currency)|pound]], or fivetwelve [[Penny (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|access-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 circulated 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 1946, and thereafter in [[cupronickel]].
Before [[Decimal Day]] in 1971, sterling used the [[Carolingian monetary system]] ("[[£sd]]"), under which the largest unit was a pound (£) divided into 20 shillings (s), each of 12 pence (d).
