Shilling

An English shilling minted in 1955

A Shilling was a coin and unit of currency equal to 1/20 of a pound. It consisted of 12 pence, (in the UK, equivalent to 5 new pence). It is an historic part of the currency of the United Kingdom and Australia.

The shilling ceased to exist in both countries when they decimalised, in 1971 and 1966 respectively.

In the UK, 240 old pence became 100 new pence in the pound, the pound remained the same, while the shilling disappeared altogether. However, many people continued to use the term shilling instead of five new pence for many years and even today it is sometimes heard referred to by older generations.

In Australia, one pound became two dollars, 240 pence became 200 cents, and the shilling coin was replaced by a 10 cent coin.

Other countries, having once been a part of the British Empire, still use shillings as a currency. Among these are Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.