Derek Peschel wrote: Basically correct. The old sixpence was used as 2.5 new pence for a few years. Shillings and florins (2 s. - see below) were used as 5p and 10p coins right up until the early 1990s. The 5p and 10p coins introduced in 1968 (yes, three years _before_ decimalisation) were the same weight as the shilling and florin of the time, so this made sense. In the early '90s - I'd have to look up the exact years - smaller 5p and 10p coins were introduced, and the shillings and florins finally withdrawn. Unfortunately the new 10p is only slightly larger than a shilling, which caused some confusion. FWIW the 1p coin is the same size, weight and until recently composition as the farthing, and the 2p coin the same as the (old) halfpenny. The new halfpenny (which endured until the early 1980s) was very small. Metals (slightly simplified). All the coins until recently were alloys of copper and nickel. The colour was varied by changing the copper content, from about 98% for "copper" coins to ?90% for "silver". The copper coins - 1/2p, 1p, 2p have smooth edges. Originally made out of an alloy mostly copper, recent ones are steel, copper plated. The old silver coins (shilling, florin) had rough edges. The new 5p and 10p have edges slightly less rough. The 20p and 50p coins have seven sides and slightly more copper than the 5p and 10p (still silvery but the difference is just visible); the sides are smooth and curved so that the coin has a constant diameter. In 1997 the original 50p went the way of the shilling and florin, and a smaller (but otherwise identical) coin replaced it. The L1 and L2 coins are yellow in colour, twice as thick as the others and have rough edges with a motto incised into it. Since 1997, when they were first minted for general circulation, L2 coins have been bimetallic but they are the same size as the comemorative L2 coins from before. Comemorative L5 coins exist, which are confusingly the same size and silver colour as the comemorative 25p coins of the 1970s (imitating the crown = 5 shilling piece). True, since there are only 2 coins to each of what you call sets. But yes, it is a lot easier than I found the US coinage, where nickels are bigger than dimes but apparently the same metal. Having 1,2 and 5 in each decade helps, too... I said a few years ago that the L5 note is worth no more now than the 10 shilling note was when that was withdrawn (1969?). But no regular L5 coin is forthcoming. There used to be a system of sorts. But it seems to have been well messed up... Stamps are not my field, I'm afraid, so I sha'n't comment. Fun! Also ObCC (almost): as I mentioned the 20p and 50p are curves of constant diameter. Our first multi-sided coin was a 3d piece, which took over slowly therefore not of a constant width. This meant some negotiations with slot machine (both vending and gambling) manufacturers. Some coins were minted a year early for test purposes. Then the King was forced to abdicate (over a sex scandal - plus ca change...) and a new king took the throne in the year before that printed on the coins alongside the old king's name! The coins were withdrawn and melted down, of course. A few 3d pieces bearing the name of Edward VIII still exist, however. The last one to be auctioned fetched L60 000. so I don't think that space in my collection will be filled at all soon. ***** Joe Rigdon wrote: I think it was. I was only 3 when decimalisation happened, so I never had to learn pre-decimal currency at school. I think in mediaeval times, when your total income was a couple of pounds a year, and you did all the calculation in your head, it wasn't too bad. But in the 20th century, with formal methods of decimal calculation on paper widely known, at routine calculations in hundreds of pounds, it was an anachronism. ***** M K Peirce wrote: The guinea was still used as a unit for some transactions (=21 s.) but it had ceased to exist as a coin 100 years and more earlier. My guess is that for the sort of transactions that Lyons were interested in, the guinea was not used. The florin was introduced in the mid 19th century as Britain's first decimal coin - one tenth of a pound. But by the mid 20th century, florin coins all actually bore the legend "two shillings" (you Americans wouldn't be at all confused if your dimes said "ten cents", would you?), and "florin" was no more than the name of the coin. Philip.