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The British decimal two pence coin (often shortened to 2p in writing and speech) is a denomination of sterling coinage equalling 2 ⁄ 100 of a pound. Since the coin's introduction on 15 February 1971, the year British currency was decimalised , its obverse has featured four profiles of Queen Elizabeth II . [ 1 ]
Two pence: 2p Five pence: 5p A direct replacement for the shilling. The coin was reduced in size in 1990. Six pence: 6p Minted uniquely in 2016 as a commemorative coin. [7] Ten pence: 10p A replacement for the florin (two shillings). The coin was reduced in size in 1992. Twenty pence: 20p Introduced in 1982. Twenty-five pence: 25p
The introduction of decimal currency caused a new casual usage to emerge, where any value in pence is spoken using the suffix pee: e.g. "twenty-three pee" or, in the early years, "two-and-a-half pee" rather than the previous "tuppence-ha'penny". Amounts over a pound are normally spoken thus: "five pounds forty".
2014: A petrol station owner found a silver two pence in a new packet of coins minted in 1988. The coin sold for £1,200 at the Charterhouse Auction house in Sherborne. [3] 2015: A 1971 silver two pence was found in the donation box for unwanted foreign currency at a hospital in Reading. [3] 2016: A silver two pence was found in a Poppy Appeal tin.
Under the new system, the pound was retained, but was divided into 100 new pence, denoted by the symbol p. New coinage was issued alongside the old coins. The 5p and 10p coins were introduced in April 1968 and were the same size, composition and value as the shilling and two shilling coins in circulation with them.
UK: When the new threepence coin replaced the fourpence coin in circulation in 1845, it took over its nickname. The coin was silver or silver alloy from 1845 to 1937 and a 12-sided bronze coin from 1937 to 1971. Fourpenny bit (value: four pence) ˈfɔːp(ə)ni: Joey: UK: Also known as "groat", from the mediaeval four-penny silver coin of the ...
As it was a requirement that a coin's face value should correspond to the value of the base metal, each was made from two pence worth of copper (2 ounces), making the coins significantly larger than earlier pennies which had been struck in silver. Their large size, combined with the thick rim, led to the nickname "cartwheels".
The possibility of setting prices including an odd half penny also made it more practical to retain the pre-decimal sixpence in circulation (with a value of 2 + 1 / 2 new pence) alongside the new decimal coinage. The halfpenny coin's obverse featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II; the reverse featured an image of St Edward's Crown ...