A shilling is a historical coin and a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries, and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or 1/20 of a pound). The word shilling comes from Old English "Scilling," a monetary term meaning twentieth of a pound, from the Proto-Germanic root skiljaną meaning to separate, split, divide, from (s)kelH- meaning to cut, split. The shilling was first minted in the reign of Henry VII as the testoon and became known as the shilling from the Old English scilling sometime in the mid-16th century).
Some key points about the shilling are:
- A shilling was a coin used in England from the reign of Henry VII.
- The shilling continued in use after the Acts of Union of 1707 created a new United Kingdom from the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, and under Article 16 of the Articles of Union, a common currency for the new United Kingdom was created.
- The British shilling was a unit of currency and a denomination of sterling coinage worth 1/20 of one pound, or twelve pence).
- The shilling circulated until 1990).
- A slang name for a shilling was a "bob").
- To "cut someone off with a shilling" means to disinherit).
- The shilling was part of the British currency system before the decimalisation in 1971. It had a value of 1/20 of a pound and was further divided into twelve pence.
- The value of a shilling today is 5/6 pence, but it is no longer in circulation in the UK or its former colonies.
- One shilling was divided into 12 pennies, and one penny was divided into two halfpennies or four farthings.
