# Please explain the coins used in UK. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 29, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634 "2006-09-29T18:04:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/21 "2006-09-30T11:36:57Z")
The new $10 bill looks like it was left out in the sun too long. ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/22 "2006-09-30T15:17:42Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] Matching with commonly used US coins, in order of value: US - 1c ---- 1p - UK ---- 2p - UK US - 5c ---- 5p - UK [snip] [/QUOTE] Of course, this doesn’t take the conversion rates into consideration. The British pound is currently worth about 1.8 US dollars. Because the high-value coins in common circulation (1 and 2 pounds) are often given back as change, you may discover you’ll get more coins than you know what do to with. I never really understood why they call their currency “pounds”. It wasn’t until I visited and quickly accumulated enough pocket change to make me walk in a tight circle, that I discovered British currency is indeed a cruel and unforgiving unit of weight. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/23 "2006-09-30T15:46:29Z")
[QUOTE=Subway Prophet] Of course, this doesn’t take the conversion rates into consideration. The British pound is currently worth about 1.8 US dollars. [/QUOTE] I think that’s why he ranked the 20p above the 25c. ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/24 "2006-09-30T16:59:54Z")
[QUOTE=kellner] I think that’s why he ranked the 20p above the 25c. [/QUOTE] _sigh_ There’s no head-smacking smiley graphic big enough, some days. ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/25 "2006-09-30T17:14:52Z")
[QUOTE=Subway Prophet] I never really understood why they call their currency “pounds”. It wasn’t until I visited and quickly accumulated enough pocket change to make me walk in a tight circle, that I discovered British currency is indeed a cruel and unforgiving unit of weight. 😉 [/QUOTE] Huh. Ask anyone old enough to remember the pre-decimal coinage and they’ll tell you today’s coins are flimsy wee things by comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/26 "2006-09-30T17:58:48Z")
[QUOTE=Meurglys] I guess you probably won’t see any Scottish notes down in London, but in Scotland we have another three banks who issue currency as well - which leads to us having at least four designs for £5, £10 & £20 notes - plus older versions still in circulation! [/QUOTE] As well as the various Northern Irish bank notes that no-one in England, Scotland or Wales will accept. [QUOTE=Meurglys] there’s also different designs for some of the denominations of coins depending on which country they’re going to be issued in (although they’re completely transferable - expect the odd pound coin with Welsh leeks or Scottish thistles on the reverse as well as the usual English design… ) [/QUOTE] The two pound coin is the coin that most often features anniversary designs, by virtue of the fact that its the largest. There’s also a Northern Irish pound coin with a handful of flax on the back, flax being a crop from days gone by. ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/27 "2006-09-30T18:09:15Z")
[QUOTE=Meurglys] there’s also different designs for some of the denominations of coins depending on which country they’re going to be issued in [/QUOTE] Not true. The “national” designs are issued throughout the UK. For instance, the design of the £1 coin is changed every year. So one year all the £1 coins issued might carry the Welsh leek, the next year they might all have a Scottish thistle, the year after that they might have an English rose, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/28 "2006-09-30T18:26:44Z")
The queen’s on everything? And the Americans get accused of having boring money… ---
**Author:** ![BunnyTVS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BunnyTVS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BunnyTVS)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/29 "2006-09-30T19:18:57Z")
[QUOTE=Pushkin] As well as the various Northern Irish bank notes that no-one in England, Scotland or Wales will accept. [/QUOTE] Not totally true. As long as a Northern Ireland note has the word **sterling** printed on it, it is acceptable tender. Most large store chains _should_ accept them, and you should have no trouble changing them at banks. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/30 "2006-09-30T19:25:25Z")
[QUOTE=BunnyTVS] As long as a Northern Ireland note has the word **sterling** printed on it, it is acceptable tender. Most large store chains _should_ accept them [/QUOTE] Wrong on both counts. > [@](#): > > _Are Scottish & Northern Irish notes legal tender?_ > > In short ‘No’ these notes are not legal tender; only Bank of England notes are legal tender but only in England and Wales. The term legal tender does not in itself govern the acceptability of banknotes in transactions. **Whether or not notes have legal tender status, their acceptability as a means of payment is essentially a matter for agreement between the parties involved.** Legal tender has a very narrow technical meaning in relation to the settlement of debt. If a debtor pays in legal tender the exact amount he owes under the terms of a contract, he has good defence in law if he is subsequently sued for non-payment of the debt. **In ordinary everyday transactions, the term ‘legal tender’ has very little practical application.** [http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/faqs.htm](http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/faqs.htm) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/31 "2006-09-30T19:26:57Z")
[QUOTE=Cardinal] The queen’s on everything? And the Americans get accused of having boring money… [/QUOTE] Now, a decision to put Darwin onto an American note, _that_ would be interesting 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/32 "2006-09-30T19:41:57Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] Now, a decision to put Darwin onto an American note, _that_ would be interesting 😉 [/QUOTE] Strange-but-true fact: Dickens was replaced on the £10 note by Darwin, partly because Darwin’s beard is bushier and thus harder to forge. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/33 "2006-09-30T19:44:14Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] Strange-but-true fact: Dickens was replaced on the £10 note by Darwin, partly because Darwin’s beard is bushier and thus harder to forge. [/QUOTE] I’ve heard a similar story about Elgar on the £20. However, I’m not convinced - Elizabeth Fry isn’t all that hairy! ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/34 "2006-09-30T19:53:38Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] Strange-but-true fact: Dickens was replaced on the £10 note by Darwin, partly because Darwin’s beard is bushier and thus harder to forge. [/QUOTE] I recently received two £5 notes in my change with George Stephenson on them (he’s since been replaced by Elizabeth Fry, presumably because her beard is bushier than Stephenson’s 😉 ). I’ve tried to spend them in a number of shops but nobody will take them. But surely they’re still valid currency? Do banknotes really cease to be valid if the design is changed? Coins don’t, after all. I realise a bank would exchange these notes, but that’s not my question. If a shopkeeper says “I can’t accept those notes”, is he/she telling the truth? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/35 "2006-09-30T20:01:36Z")
I confess, I heard my Darwin “fact” on _The News Quiz_, so its provenance might not actually be the best. Could I be any wronger in this thread? Sometimes it’s not worth getting out of bed, is it? Another wrong fact: Sterling is thus called because it was invented by Joshua Sterling in 1913 to replace the “pound”, the name of which which offended Suffragettes who were worried about their weight. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/36 "2006-09-30T20:49:43Z")
[QUOTE=Alive At Both Ends] I recently received two £5 notes in my change with George Stephenson on them (he’s since been replaced by Elizabeth Fry, presumably because her beard is bushier than Stephenson’s 😉 ). I’ve tried to spend them in a number of shops but nobody will take them. But surely they’re still valid currency? Do banknotes really cease to be valid if the design is changed? Coins don’t, after all. I realise a bank would exchange these notes, but that’s not my question. If a shopkeeper says “I can’t accept those notes”, is he/she telling the truth? [/QUOTE] As **GorillaMan** said earlier (and which I confess I didn’t know until it came up in a similar thread a while back), the concept of legal tender only applies to the settling of debts, not to transactions where you pay for something before you receive it. Shopkeepers are under no obligation to sell you anything, and may decline for any reason (unless maybe by doing so they would violate anti-discrimination laws), including that they prefer not to receive discontinued banknotes. ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/37 "2006-09-30T20:52:22Z")
[QUOTE=MrFloppy] Also…the bills are all different colours and sizes. [/QUOTE] I wonder why that isn’t done in the U.S.? Great way not to mistake bills. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/38 "2006-09-30T22:31:59Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] Another wrong fact: Sterling is thus called because it was invented by Joshua Sterling in 1913 to replace the “pound”, the name of which which offended Suffragettes who were worried about their weight. [/QUOTE] Is it just me, or do stories like this just make you want to pat the recounter on the head and say “well done”? [QUOTE=Alive At Both Ends] I recently received two £5 notes in my change with George Stephenson on them (he’s since been replaced by Elizabeth Fry, presumably because her beard is bushier than Stephenson’s 😉 ). I’ve tried to spend them in a number of shops but nobody will take them. But surely they’re still valid currency? Do banknotes really cease to be valid if the design is changed? Coins don’t, after all. I realise a bank would exchange these notes, but that’s not my question. If a shopkeeper says “I can’t accept those notes”, is he/she telling the truth? [/QUOTE] Nope, they’re not valid currency. As already noted, any transaction is a private matter, and so you’ve chosen to accept these as (re)payment of £10. However, nobody is obliged to accept them. You can exchange any outdated notes with the Bank of England itself, in person - because they’re who the ‘promise to pay’ line refers to. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/39 "2006-09-30T23:23:58Z")
[QUOTE=The Dumbest Guy in the Room] 10p medium silver coloured coin 20p -\*\*heptagonal \*\*coin slightly smaller than 10p [/QUOTE] When did they change the shape of the 20p coin? When I was last in the UK it was round and confused the heck outta me because the 10p coin was larger than the 20p. Mind you, we in Oz, have since then introduced gold(ish) coins to replace our $1 and $1 notes and the two dollar coin is smaller than the one dollar. That took ages to get used to. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634/40 "2006-09-30T23:24:03Z")
[QUOTE=Caridwen] I wonder why that isn’t done in the U.S.? Great way not to mistake bills. [/QUOTE] Colors, I’ll concede, though imagining Hoyt Axton writing “I don’t give a damn about a rainbow dollar” just doesn’t cut it. Different sizes is inconvenient. The smaller bills insist on getting lost among the larger ones in your billfold. BTW, historical US currency wasn’t always as uniformly green as more recent bills. Some of the old gold certificates were predominantly red or orange. (Some of the late 19th early 20th century designs had things on the obverse other than portraits of dead politicians, too. The [1896 “educational” series](http://www.fahrneyspens.com/item--i-C7013--m-574_581.html) was interesting, but not well received. “Electricity” was too scantily clad on the 5, and people objected.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-the-coins-used-in-uk/374634.md?page=3)