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£sd (occasionally written Lsd), spoken as "pounds, shillings and pence", is the popular name for the pre-decimal currencies once common throughout Europe. The abbreviation originates from the Latin currency denominations librae , solidi , and denarii . [ 1 ]
Amounts over a pound are normally spoken thus: "five pounds forty". A value with less than ten pence over the pound is sometimes spoken like this: "one pound and a penny", "three pounds and fourpence". The slang term "bit" has almost disappeared from use completely, although in Scotland a fifty pence is sometimes referred to as a "ten bob bit".
Prior to 1971, the United Kingdom had been using the pounds, shillings, and pence currency system. Decimalisation was announced by Chancellor James Callaghan on 1 March 1966; one pound would be subdivided into 100 pence, instead of 240 pence as previously was the case. [8] This required new coins to be minted, to replace the pre-decimal ones.
The British pre-decimal penny was a denomination of sterling coinage worth 1 ⁄ 240 of one pound or 1 ⁄ 12 of one shilling. Its symbol was d, from the Roman denarius. It was a continuation of the earlier English penny, and in Scotland it had the same monetary value as one pre-1707 Scottish shilling. The penny was originally minted in silver ...
Australian currency was originally based on British pounds, shillings and pence. That changed in 1966, when the country converted to Australian dollars and cents, similar to the U.S. system ...
Converts the pre-1971 subunits of the pound sterling to its modern decimal subunits. Also supports conversion of guineas (21 shillings) and marks (13s 4d; or 160d); if the main units (pounds, shillings, and pence), guineas, and marks are all used at once it returns the (decimalised) sum of all units.
Prior to decimalisation in 1971, there were 12 pence (written as 12d) in a shilling (written as 1s or 1/-) and 20 shillings in a pound, written as £1 (occasionally "L" was used instead of the pound sign, £). There were therefore 240 pence in a pound. For example, 2 pounds 14 shillings and 5 pence could have been written as £2 14s 5d or £2/14/5
A "pound sterling" was literally a tower pound (weight) of sterling silver. [24] [25] In the British pre-decimal currency system, the term £sd (or Lsd) for pounds, shillings and pence referred to the Roman libra, solidus, and denarius. [15]