U.K. Coins & Banknotes Trivia

1. In what year was the Sovereign first struck?

From Quiz Coins of England

Answer: 1489

The Sovereign was first struck under Henry VII in 1489 and was valued at 20 shillings and weighed 240 grains. During the recoinage of 1816, the sovereign was reintroduced.

From Quiz British Coins from 1800 to the Present

Answer: Florin

The florin was equal to two shillings, or one tenth of a pound, its name was originally that of an old Florentine coin. Alternative names considered for the new coin were 'decade', 'centum' and 'dime'.

From Quiz Funny Money

Answer: 240

Initially weighing 20 - 22.5 grains of pure silver, the weight of the penny was standardised to one two hundred and fortieth of a Tower pound and later, in 1528, to one two hundred and fortieth of a Troy pound. Both the Tower and Troy pounds were measures used to weigh precious metals. A monetary pound weighed one Tower/Troy pound.

From Quiz A History of the Coinage of England

Answer: Edward I

Edward I introduced the "New Coinage" in 1279 to counter widespread forging. In addition to the penny, new farthings, halfpennies and a fourpence piece called a groat were issued.

From Quiz Pre-Decimal British Coinage

Answer: 240

English money, like the English language, was seemingly designed to baffle foreigners.

From Quiz Coins of England

Answer: 1797

These were so called as they contained one and two ounces of pure copper respectively... Imagine that in your piggy bank!

From Quiz British Coins from 1800 to the Present

Answer: Groat

The groat had been issued at various times since around the 12th century, but it was easily confused with the silver threepence, so it was last issued in 1855, other than the 1888 issue which was only for use in certain British colonies. The name groat derived from 'grosso' meaning large, as the original groats were the largest silver coins in circulation at the time.

From Quiz Funny Money

Answer: the Roman denarius

The denarius was a small silver coin and was the most common Roman coin in circulation. As well as being the abbreviation for the old British penny "d" was the symbol for the French coin the denier, whose name was derived from denarius. The dinar which was (and still is) used by some Arabic nations also has its origins in the denarius. The drachma was the major unit of Greek currency both in Ancient Greece and in more modern times. It was replaced by the Euro in 2002. The dupondius was another Roman coin worth an eighth of a denarius.

From Quiz A History of the Coinage of England

Answer: John

King John's English coins still had Henricus as the monarch's name from the reign of Henry II. John's name did appear on his coinage minted in Ireland.

From Quiz Pre-Decimal British Coinage

Answer: 12

The word shilling derives from the latin "solidus," a gold coin of the Roman Empire. The shilling was a silver coin about the size of a U.S. quarter.

From Quiz Coins of England

Answer: Henry III

The round farthing was first struck between 1216 and 1247 under Henry III.

From Quiz British Coins from 1800 to the Present

Answer: She is standing

Britannia, the personification of Britain, first appeared on copper Roman coins. She is almost always depicted helmeted and seated holding a shield and trident.

From Quiz Funny Money

Answer: 10p

The florin was the former two shilling piece. In 1847 the idea of decimalisation was first mooted in Parliament and as a result it was decided to mint a coin worth a tenth of a pound. The name florin was decided upon as other European countries had similar weight coins with a similar name. The plans for decimalisation were then withdrawn for 120 years but the florin continued to be circulated. In 1968 the first new 10p coins were minted being the same size, weight and composition as the florin. The old florin coins continued to be legal tender until 1993 after the new, smaller 10p piece had been introduced the previous year.

From Quiz A History of the Coinage of England

Answer: Edward III

Edward III was envious of the gold coinage issued by King Philip de Valois in France and decided to mint some of his own.

From Quiz Pre-Decimal British Coinage

Answer: 20

From Quiz Coins of England

Answer: It had no date

The undated 20p became the first coin since the 17th century to not show the date of issue. This 'rarity' initially saw the coin selling for as much as £7000 - however this has now settled to a more realistic £30-40!

From Quiz British Coins from 1800 to the Present

Answer: Birmingham

Pennies were struck at Heaton and King's Norton mints in Birmingham in 1912, 1918 and 1919. They can be distinguished by the small letters 'H' or 'KN' next to the date.

From Quiz Funny Money

Answer: six pence

The sixpenny coin was minted from 1547 right up until 1970. It was a small silver coin. "It is probably best known by those of us who don't remember pre-decimal currency as the coin that you looked for in the Christmas pudding, although some people still baked a threepenny bit into their puddings." Player mjmeggie remembers that sixpence pieces were often made into rings: both she and her sister had one. After a quick internet search it would seem that the origins of this go back to the mid-sixteenth century! In those days the majority of people were too poor to be able to afford a wedding ring so the groom would have a silver sixpence (the lowest denomination coin containing silver) melted down and made into a wedding band. This led to the hope that there would be an increase in the couple's wealth and fortunes. Later this tradition changed to the bride having a sixpence in her left shoe on her wedding day. My thanks to the (non-British!) Lancaster Bridal site for this information.

From Quiz A History of the Coinage of England

Answer: Gold coins

The Ryal was worth 10 shillings. An Angel was worth 6s 8d when first issued, rising to 10 shillings by the reign of Mary. A Laurel was a 20 shilling piece of James I.

From Quiz Pre-Decimal British Coinage

Answer: 21

If you read a lot of 18th century novels, you'll find frequent references to the guinea. It was also used by auction houses; I guess 100 guineas sounded like less than 105 pounds. Horseracing still uses the term in Britain.

From Quiz Coins of England

Answer: Barmaid's Ruin

The double florin (four shilling) coin was nicknamed the Barmaid's Ruin as in dark taverns, they could be mistaken for crown coins (valued at five shillings) and an additional shilling given in change.

From Quiz British Coins from 1800 to the Present

Answer: 1946

Prior to 1920, silver coins were made of Sterling silver, which is 92.5% pure. In 1920 the content dropped to 50% and from 1947 onwards the coins were made from cupro-nickel, other than Maundy coins and special issues.

From Quiz Funny Money

Answer: wren

The farthing was worth a quarter of a penny and was in circulation from the 13th century until 1960. Traditionally the monarch's profile appeared on the obverse and "Britannia" on the reverse. It was the Edward VIII farthing in 1936 (which was designed but never minted due to Edward's abdication) that first featured the wren.

From Quiz A History of the Coinage of England

Answer: William III

Guilielmus is Latin for William.

From Quiz Pre-Decimal British Coinage

Answer: Sixpence

From Quiz British Coins from 1800 to the Present

Answer: Wren

Popularly supposed to be a robin, the bird was in fact a wren, chosen as it was the smallest British bird for the smallest denomination British coin. The last farthings, which were worth a quarter of a penny, were struck in 1956.

From Quiz Funny Money

Answer: crown

The crown was introduced into the British monetary system in 1526 under King Henry VIII's monetary reform. It was originally gold but later was minted in silver. The last was produced in 1981.

From Quiz A History of the Coinage of England

Answer: Charles I

During the Civil War, Charles issued a coinage bearing the "Oxford Declaration" on the reverse promising to uphold "RELIG PROT LEG ANG LIBER PAR" ("The religion of the Protestants, the laws of England and the liberty of Parliament"). This blatant advertising didn't seem to work and he was beheaded in London on 30 Jan 1649.

From Quiz Pre-Decimal British Coinage

Answer: Shilling

From Quiz Coins of England

Answer: Twice

Both Philip and Mary and William and Mary have been portrayed on the coin of the realm - Philip and Mary were shown facing each other whilst William and Mary faced the same way (right).

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