# A question for Britons: what kind of money do you use? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 17, 2006, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703 "2006-03-17T05:03:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/41 "2006-03-18T17:45:18Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > It’s only a few years since they disappeared, but I’m not sure if I’m imagining this - anybody like to confirm or deny that Irish 50p coins were the same shape as British ones? Yes: [http://www.irishcoinage.com/MODCOIN.HTM#decimal](http://www.irishcoinage.com/MODCOIN.HTM#decimal) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/42 "2006-03-18T18:54:44Z")
> [@](#): > > I still haven’t worked out why there’s a picture of Peter O’Toole on the twenty dollar note yet either We felt bad because he never got that Oscar. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/43 "2006-03-18T19:48:37Z")
> [@Pjen](#): > > Yes: > > [Modern Irish Coinage (1928 to date)](http://www.irishcoinage.com/MODCOIN.HTM#decimal) … and they were the same size as the original UK 50p pieces. The 2 other Irish pre-decimal cupro-nickel coins, the 5p and the 10p, were re-issued in a smaller size but they never bothered to shrink the 50p because of the advent of the euro. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/44 "2006-03-18T19:56:03Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > It’s only a few years since they disappeared, but I’m not sure if I’m imagining this - anybody like to confirm or deny that Irish 50p coins were the same shape as British ones? Confirm! Its what has given my girlfriend her dislike of Dubliners. On a trip she accidently included a British 50p in change for a bus and received a surly reply from the bus driver who didn’t at all like getting this foreign coin in his hand. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/45 "2006-03-19T06:14:12Z")
> [@Martini Enfield](#): > > The 50c pieces of each country are different shapes (NZ’s is round, Australia’s is a geometric many-sided shape whose name escapes me at this point) Dodecahedral ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/46 "2006-03-19T10:27:59Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > Dodecahedral :dubious: That must be a nightmare for the Australian vending-machine industry. [Dodecahedron](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodecahedron) ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/47 "2006-03-19T16:21:11Z")
I grew up in Northern Ireland, and having about 4 different types of notes (Ulsterbank, BoI, Northen Bank and the British ones) isn’t a problem. No two notes look like each other (i.e. and Ulsterbank £5 doesn’t look like a BoI £10 or a British £20) and you learn what they all look like, you just have several types of “£5” to remember, not one. It’s not a problem. The only currency (I have at various points used Euros, Italian Lira, French Francs, Spanish Pesetas, Greek Drachmas, Australian Dollars, Indian Rupees, Irish Punts and various interesting currencies from Poland, Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic, so I can make valid comparisons) that seriously confuses me is US Dollars. All the American notes are the same size and colour so you can’t tell what you have at a glance, whereas most other countries use different sizes and colours to differentiate the different coins. Most confusing of all was the fact that US coins are different denominations (5, 10, 25 not 5, 10, 20, 50) to what I’m used to dealing with almost everywhere else! ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/48 "2006-03-19T16:37:36Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > Most confusing of all was the fact that US coins are different denominations (5, 10, 25 not 5, 10, 20, 50) to what I’m used to dealing with almost everywhere else! Agreed. The basic sums for working out, say, 0.85 of xyz are so ingrained that I find dealing with American denominations confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/49 "2006-03-19T21:19:11Z")
> [@Usram](#): > > :dubious: That must be a nightmare for the Australian vending-machine industry. > > [Dodecahedron](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodecahedron) Quite right. My mistake. The word I wanted was dodecagonal. There’s a view [here](http://mintissue.ramint.gov.au/mintissue/product.asp?code=800016) of the shape. ---
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/50 "2006-03-20T09:20:06Z")
> [@Martini Enfield](#): > > The smaller Australian silver coins (5c, 10c, and 20c) can be used in New Zealand and vice versa- they’re the same size and shape, and so are generally accepted to be freely exchangeable. The 50c pieces of each country are different shapes (NZ’s is round, Australia’s is a geometric many-sided shape whose name escapes me at this point), and our respective $1 and $2 coins are different sizes too… in Australia, the $1 is big and the $2 coin is small, whereas in NZ it’s the other way around. I’m inclined to say the Kiwis got it right on that one, unfortunately. This is all about to change: NZ is eliminating the 5 cent coin (thank goodness), and making the remaining silver coins smaller and lighter (and, I think, cheaper to produce), and thus no longer interchangable. I’ll miss coming across stray monotremes glinting up at me as I’m cashing up my tills. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/51 "2006-03-20T11:29:09Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > Quite right. My mistake. The word I wanted was dodecagonal. There’s a view [here](http://mintissue.ramint.gov.au/mintissue/product.asp?code=800016) of the shape. We had those from about 1937 to 1971 - threepenny bits. They were brass and similar in size to the modern £1 coin. Trivia question: Why are 2006 £1 coins worth more than 1983 £1 coins? Because 2006 £1 coins are worth £2006… ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/52 "2006-03-20T12:03:03Z")
> [@Alan Smithee](#): > > Even as a foreigner\*, it wasn’t confusing, though. I mean, they all have the number printed on them and come, like I said, in standard colors. Less confusing, really, than the different styles of bills in circulation right now in the US. They also have lots of hard-to-forge official looking things like watermarks and microprinting, too, if that’s what you’re concerned about. > > \*[sub]Well, not really. I mean, I was _born_ there.[/sub] Wayyyyyyyyyy back in the 80’s I was a barmaid in a pub in London (like all good kiwis should be :D), my second night on the job (3rd night in the country) I recieved a note in payment. The note had naked Africans on it. “We don’t accept foreign currency sorry” I said. What followed was a full on tirade of insults delivered in a thick Scottish accent, I was pulled aside by the boss and given a quick lesson in Scottish currency. The fuming Scotsman was given a free pint. Maybe I’m easily confused. ---
**Author:** ![paulmarkj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9e8a1a/32.png) [@paulmarkj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulmarkj)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/53 "2006-03-20T16:44:36Z")
£1 does not = 440d. £1 = 240d = 960 farthings 2/3d = 108 farthings So 22s and 3d = 1068 farthings I miss the old names: half a crown, tanner, guinea, bob, florin, ha’penny, thruppenny bit, which were all very common - you always heard them in everyday use. Though even I am not old enough for the groat. The word crown (for 5s) was rarely used, more common in London was the ‘dollar’. And the ten-bob note! > [@Tevildo](#): > > £1 = 440d = 1760 farthings > 2/3 = 27d = 108 farthings > Total 1868 farthings. > > 1/3. > > 21/- + 2/6 = 23/6 > 23/6 - 22/3 = 1/3. Not difficult, even for me. 🙂 Imperial money was much _easier_ to work with for day-to-day transactions than decimal, although young people today never believe that… ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/54 "2006-03-20T18:37:30Z")
This thread seems to have kind of veered off topic without really addressing the main thrust of the OP, “What kind of money do we use?”, so this is the everyday answer. Coins: we have 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p, £1 and £2 coins. The £1 coin has a different design each year (although some designs have been repeated), while the 50p and £2 coins also come in special commemorative designs each year, in addition to the standard issue. The special issues are, of course, the same size and shape as the standard designs. I believe you have the same thing in the USA, with state quarters, etc. Notes: we have £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes, although in practice £50 notes are very rarely encountered - I’ve probably had one in my possession less than half a dozen times in my life - and lots of businesses refuse to take them, because of worries over counterfeit notes, and also probably because it would risk cleaning them out of change. As mentioned above, £1 notes still circulate in Scotland alongside £1 coins. From my perspective in southern England, I very rarely (maybe once every couple of years) encounter a Scottish note. I’ve never seen a Northern Irish note at all. If you do get one, it is no problem at all, it’s worth exactly the same as a Bank of England note. There’s no such thing as a “Scottish pound” or “Northern Irish pound” - the notes are denominated in pounds sterling. When I have visited Scotalnd I haven’t really given a second thought to the money situation - it’s certainly not like using a “foreign currency”, other than thinking “Hey, these notes look cool!”. You just hand over whatever note happens to be in your wallet, be it a Bank of England note, Clydesdale Bank, Bank of Scotland or whatever. As for euros, they are not an issue at all, simply because we don’t use them! The UK has so far not joined up to the single currency., and shows no sign of doing so in the near future. The only places that accept euros are certain shops in tourist areas, which probably accept US$ as well. But in general, you could no more spend euros in your local shop than cowrie shells. If you want a good picture of what Londoners have in their pockets (!) then click here [http://hhollick.com/v-web/b2/index.php/2004/07/](http://hhollick.com/v-web/b2/index.php/2004/07/) and scroll down to July 26 (and July 23 for banknotes). ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/55 "2006-03-21T09:47:46Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > Wayyyyyyyyyy back in the 80’s I was a barmaid in a pub in London (like all good kiwis should be :D), my second night on the job (3rd night in the country) I recieved a note in payment. The note had naked Africans on it. “We don’t accept foreign currency sorry” I said. What followed was a full on tirade of insults delivered in a thick Scottish accent, I was pulled aside by the boss and given a quick lesson in Scottish currency. The fuming Scotsman was given a free pint. > > Maybe I’m easily confused. No, you were well within your rights to knock it back and demand to be paid in something that is backed by the Bank of England. That’s the whole “legal tender” thing again. Accepting Scottish currency is purely an act of courtesy. The fuming Scotsman wanted to learn some manners. (Not that the pub would suffer for condescending to accept this toy money the Scottish banks print, as English banks will humour them by taking it off your hands. Although not strictly “legal tender” it’s near enough for all practical purposes.) ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/56 "2006-03-21T12:36:46Z")
> [@Celyn](#): > > That reminds me of when the U.K. had PROPER sized (i.e.old 🙂 ) shilling/5p coins. It happened that machines that wanted those would also take Deutschemarks - a very useless fact because a Dmark was worth more than a 5pence/shilling, but what the hell … Heh - I remember noticing that when my dad gave me a DMark. Of far more personal interest was the fact that an old Ugandan 5-shilling piece was stamped on the same blank as a 50-pence piece. For some obscure reason my parents had ended up keeping quite a few of these coins when they left Uganda, so when we moved to the UK we would periodically come across one and dispose of it in a parking meter. Must have baffled the folks at Teinbridge council no end… ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/57 "2006-03-21T13:07:52Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > Maybe I’m easily confused. Maybe so. 😉 The important question, of course, is whether you remained calm. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/58 "2006-03-21T13:19:24Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > No, you were well within your rights to knock it back and demand to be paid in something that is backed by the Bank of England. That’s the whole “legal tender” thing again. Accepting Scottish currency is purely an act of courtesy. The fuming Scotsman wanted to learn some manners. > > (Not that the pub would suffer for condescending to accept this toy money the Scottish banks print, as English banks will humour them by taking it off your hands. Although not strictly “legal tender” it’s near enough for all practical purposes.) Actually, legal tender has nothing to do with whether a shop or pub can accept or refuse payment. “Legal tender” refers only to the settlement of debts, i.e. if the debtor offers to pay in legal tender then the creditor must accept or waive the debt. If the pint is still sitting there on the counter, then no debt has been incurred, and the pub can refuse whatever currency it likes. It’s the pub owner’s property, so his rules. If he wants to refuse £50 notes (which most pubs do, in fact) then that’s his prerogative. Likewise if he choose to accept only 1p coins or Hungarian forints. It won’t do much for his turnover, but it’s perfectly legal. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703/59 "2006-03-21T18:10:24Z")
Thanks, **Colophon** - funny how some things get explained in the very first reply, yet are still being misunderstood on page 2 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-britons-what-kind-of-money-do-you-use/348703.md?page=2)