Definition:Sterling
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Definition
Sterling is the system of monetary units that England (later Britain and the United Kingdom) inherited from the Roman system.
Until $1971$ its main units were pounds, shillings and pence (that is, "pennies").
From $15$ February $1971$ its main units have been pounds and (new) pence.
Pound
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | pound | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 100\) | (new) pence | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 4\) | crowns | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 8\) | half crowns | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 20\) | shillings | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 240\) | old pence |
(New) Penny
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | new penny | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 {100}\) | pound sterling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 5\) | shilling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \dfrac {12} 5 = 2.4\) | (old) pence |
Obsolete Units
The following units are obsolete, and are no longer used.
They are documented here for historical reasons.
(New) Halfpenny
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | new halfpenny | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 2\) | new penny | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 {200}\) | pound sterling |
(Old) Penny
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | old penny | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 {240}\) | pound sterling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 {12}\) | shilling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 2\) | (old) halfpence | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 4\) | farthings | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \dfrac 5 {12}\) | (new) pence |
(Old) Halfpenny
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | old halfpenny | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 2\) | old penny | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 2\) | farthings | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 {480}\) | pound sterling |
Farthing
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | farthing | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 2\) | old halfpenny | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 4\) | old penny |
Threepenny Bit
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | threepenny bit | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \dfrac 1 2\) | a sixpence | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \dfrac 1 4\) | shilling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 {80}\) | pound sterling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 3\) | (old) pence |
Sixpence
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | sixpence | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \dfrac 1 2\) | shilling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 {40}\) | pound sterling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 6\) | (old) pence | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 2 \tfrac 1 2\) | (new) pence |
Shilling
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | shilling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 {20}\) | pound sterling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 12\) | (old) pence | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 5\) | (new) pence |
Florin
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | florin | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 2\) | shillings | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 {10}\) | pound sterling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 24\) | (old) pence | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 10\) | (new) pence |
Half Crown
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | half crown | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 8\) | pound sterling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 2\) | crown | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 2 \tfrac 1 2\) | shillings | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 30\) | (old) pence | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 12 \tfrac 1 2\) | (new) pence |
Double Florin
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | double florin | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 2\) | florins | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 4\) | shillings | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 5\) | pound sterling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 48\) | (old) pence | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 20\) | (new) pence |
Crown
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | crown | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 4\) | pound sterling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 2\) | half crowns | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 5\) | shillings | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 60\) | (old) pence | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 25\) | (new) pence |
Half Sovereign
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | half sovereign | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 2\) | crowns | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \frac 1 2\) | pound sterling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 4\) | half crowns | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 10\) | shillings | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 120\) | (old) pence | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 50\) | (new) pence |
Sovereign
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | sovereign | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 2\) | half sovereigns | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 4\) | crowns | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 1\) | pound sterling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 8\) | half crowns | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 20\) | shillings | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 240\) | (old) pence | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 100\) | (new) pence |
Guinea
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | guinea | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 21\) | shillings | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 252\) | (old) pence | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 105\) | (new) pence |
Talent
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | talent | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 75\) | pounds sterling | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 1500\) | shillings |