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Shilling

The shilling was an English coin first issued in 1548 for Henry VIII Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England [i] and Lord of Ireland [i] from ... 

, although arguably the testoon issued about 1487 for Henry VII Henry VII of England

Henry VII , King of England [i], Lord of Ireland [i] , was the fo ... 

 was the first English shilling. These English issues were preceded by Scots coins, groats valued at twelvepence, issued in the reign of James III.

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Timeline

1684   The British East India Company British East India Company

The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as "John Company", was a joint-stock company [i] ... 

 receives Chinese China

China is a cultural region [i] and ancient civilization [i] in East Asia [i]. ... 

 permission to build a trading station at Canton Guangzhou

Guangzhou is the capital [i] of Guangdong [i] Province [i] in southern [i] ... 

. Tea Tea

Tea is the second most popular beverage [i] in the world . ... 

 sells in Europe Europe

Europe is one of the seven traditional continent [i]s of the Earth [i]. ... 

 for less than a shilling a pound, but the import duty of 5 shillings makes it too expensive for most English England

England is the largest and most populous constituent country [i] of the United Kingdom [i]. ... 

 people to afford

1922   The broadcasting license fee Television licence

A television licence is an official licence [i] required in many countries for all owners of television [i] ... 

 of ten shillings introduced in the United Kingdom United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country and sovereign state [i] tha ... 



Encyclopedia

The shilling was an English coin first issued in 1548 for Henry VIII Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England [i] and Lord of Ireland [i] from ... 

, although arguably the testoon issued about 1487 for Henry VII Henry VII of England

Henry VII , King of England [i], Lord of Ireland [i] , was the fo ... 

 was the first English shilling. These English issues were preceded by Scots coins, groats valued at twelvepence, issued in the reign of James III.

History


Before decimalisation Decimal Day

On February 15 [i], 1971 [i], variously known as Decimal Day, Decimalisation Day and D-Day, ... 

 in 1971, a shilling had a value of 12d , and was equal to 1/20th of a pound Pound sterling

The pound, divided into 100 pence, is the official currency [i] of the United Kingdom [i] and the ... 

: there were 240 pence to the pound. Post-decimalisation, "shilling" refers to the 5p coin, which is still worth 1/20th of a pound, because there are 100 new pence in a pound.

The name shilling is believed to come from the old Scandinavian word skilling, meaning a division, or a mark on a stick.

The abbreviation for shilling is "s", from the Latin solidus, the name of a Roman Roman currency

The main Roman currency during most of the Roman Republic [i] and the western half of the Roman Empire [i]... 

 coin. Often it was written informally or printed with a slash, e.g., "1/6" as 1 shilling and sixpence, or when there were no pence with a slash then a hyphen, e.g., "11/-". Quite often a triangular shape or apostrophe Apostrophe

The apostrophe is a punctuation [i] mark, and sometimes a diacritic [i] mark, in language [i]s written ... 

 would be used to give a neater appearance, e.g., "1'6" and "11'-".

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

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Elizabeth II is the Queen [i] of 16 independent sovereign [i] state [i] ... 

 shillings were minted featuring both the English "three lions", technically three leopards couchant, coat of arms, and the Scottish lion rampant coat of arms .

A slang name for a shilling was a "bob" .

To "take the King's shilling" was to enlist in the army or navy, a phrase dating back to the early 1800s; specifically in the context of kissing the image of the sovereign in general, a shilling being a convenient object carrying the likeness. Supposedly the practice of press gang Press Gang

Press Gang was a British [i] children's television [i] comedy-drama, which ran for fo ... 

s whereby they would drop a shilling into a tankard Tankard

A tankard is a form of drinkware [i] consisting of a large drinking cup that usually features a single h ... 

, and thus trick the unwary patron to touch his lips to the shilling, supposedly enough to submit to conscription, led to the development of glass bottomed tankards. In a modern context, to say someone has "taken the King's shilling" implies in a derogatory way that they are in the pocket of another.

To "cut someone off without a shilling" means to disinherit.

The shilling coin issued in most of the twentieth century was virtually identical in size and weight to the German 1 Deutsche Mark German mark

The Deutsche Mark or German Mark was the official currency [i] of West [i] and, from 1990 [i] ... 

 coin . This reflected the pre-First World War exchange rate of 20 marks to one pound; by the end of the shilling's circulation, the mark was worth six times as much.

Withdrawal

The last shillings issued for circulation were dated 1966, although proofs were issued as part of a collectors' set dated 1970. From 1968 new decimal coins, "five new pence British Five Pence coin

The British [i] decimal five pence coin – often pronounced "five pee" – was f ... 

" with the same weight and specifications, started to replace shillings. Shillings remained in circulation alongside the 5p coins until 1990, when a new, smaller, 5p coin was produced.

Irish shillings


See also: Irish shilling coin

In Ireland Ireland

Ireland is the third largest [i] island [i] in Europe [i]. ... 

, the shilling was issued as "scilling" in Irish language Irish language

Irish , a language [i] spoken in the Republic of Ireland [i] and ... 

. They had kept the original 12d value on their shilling. It was issued until 1969, and after 1971, like Britain, the general public often used a shilling to pay 5p to shops, etc. When the Central Bank of Ireland Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland

The Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland is the central bank and financial services ... 

 issued a smaller 5p piece, the shilling was withdrawn in 1992. They remain, like all obsolete Irish coinage, redeemable at the central bank.

Australian shillings


The Australian Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere [i] c ... 

 Shillings were first issued in 1910, with the Australian Coat of Arms Coat of arms

A coat of arms or armorial bearings , in Europe [i]an tradition, is a design belonging to a partic ... 

 on the reverse and King Edward VII on the face. The Coat of Arms design was retained through the reign of King George V until a new ram's head design was introduced for the coins of George VI. This design continued until the last year of issue in 1963. In 1966 Australia's currency was decimalised and the shilling was replaced by a 10 cent coin Australian coins

Australian coins refers to the coins [i] which are or were in use as Australian currency [i] ... 

, where 10 shillings made up one Australian Dollar Australian dollar

The Australian dollar has been, since 1966 [i], the currency [i] of the Commonwealth of Australia [i], i ... 

.

The slang term for a shilling coin in Australia was "deener". The slang term for a shilling as currency unit was "bob", the same as in the United Kingdom.

East Africa East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easternmost [i] region [i] of the Africa [i]n continent [i] ... 

n shillings


The East African shilling was also in use in Kenya Kenya

The Republic of Kenya is a country in Eastern Africa [i]. ... 

, Uganda Uganda

Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a country in East Africa [i], bordered in the east b ... 

, Tanzania Tanzania

Tanzania , officially the United Republic of Tanzania , is a country on the east coast of Africa [i] ... 

 and Somalia Somalia

Somalia , formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a coastal nation at the Horn of Africa [i] ... 

 during colonial times. By the mid-1960s, these countries had become independent and replaced their currencies with the Kenyan shilling, the Ugandan shilling, the Tanzanian shilling and the Somali shilling respectively. Though all these currencies have different values at present, there are plans to reintroduce the East African shilling as a new common currency by 2009.

Other countries' shillings



Shillings were also issued in Australia Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere [i] c ... 

 and New Zealand New Zealand

New Zealand is a country in the south-western Pacific Ocean [i] consisting of two large islands and many ... 

 before decimalisation in the 1960s, in Austria Austria

Austria is a landlocked [i] country in central Europe [i]. ... 

 ' until the advent of the euro Euro

The euro is the official currency [i] of the European Union [i] member states of Austria [i], Belgium [i]... 

, in the Scandinavian countries
' until the Scandinavian Monetary Union of 1873, and in the City of Hamburg Hamburg

Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany [i] and with Hamburg Harbour [i], its principal port, Ham ... 

.

The Sol , both also derived from the Roman Solidus, were the equivalent coins in France France

France, officially the French Republic, is a country [i] whose metropolitan territory [i] ... 

, while the Sol  remains the currency of Peru Peru

Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America [i], bordering Ecuador [i]... 

 .

Shillings were also used in Malta Malta

Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is a small and densely populated island nation [i] consis ... 

, prior to decimalization in 1972, and had a face value of five Maltese cents.

Other countries that were formerly in the British Empire still use the term Shilling or the local variant informally as a unit of currency among the local populace. For Example in Egypt Egypt

[i] country in [[North Africa]... 

 and Jordan Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , is an Arab [i] country in the Middle East [i] ... 

 the Shillin Arabic Arabic language

The Arabic language , or simply Arabic , is the largest member of the Semitic [i] branch of the Afro-Asiatic [i] ... 

: is equal to 1/20th of the Egyptian Pound Egyptian pound

The Egyptian pound is the current legal currency of Egypt [i]. ... 

 or the Jordanian Dinar Jordanian dinar

The Jordanian dinar is the official currency of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [i] and the first offici ... 

.

See also

  • Austrian schilling Austrian schilling

    The Schilling was the currency [i] of Austria [i] until 1999 [i], and the circulating currency until 2002 [i] ... 

  • Australian coins Australian coins

    Australian coins refers to the coins [i] which are or were in use as Australian currency [i] ... 

  • British coinage British coinage

    This article concerns British coinage, the coinage [i] of the United Kingdom [i].

... 




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