A shilling was a British unit of money equal to 12 old pence. There were 20 shillings in one pre-decimal pound, making 240 old pence to the pound.
The shilling began as a unit of account before it became the name of a coin. Early silver shillings, then known as testoons, were introduced during the reign of Henry VII. The denomination remained part of British coinage for centuries.
How do you identify a shilling?
Start with the basic details rather than a price list:
- Read the date if it is visible.
- Identify the monarch on the obverse.
- Copy the surrounding legend carefully.
- Inspect the reverse design and denomination.
- Note the edge, metal colour and any lettering.
- Record the coin’s condition without cleaning it.
The monarch and date usually narrow the possibilities, but they do not prove a coin’s authenticity or market value. Similar-looking denominations include the sixpence, florin and crown. A groat was another pre-decimal denomination, worth four old pence; see our guide to the groat for that comparison. A testoon is an earlier name connected with the development of the shilling, not a label that should be applied to every old silver coin.
What happened to shillings after decimalisation?
The shilling had a decimal equivalent of 5p. Shillings continued to circulate alongside 5p coins during the change to decimal currency and were finally demonetised in 1990. That historical relationship explains why an old shilling can appear in discussions of both pre-decimal money and early decimalisation.
It does not mean that every shilling has a market value of 5p today. Face value, historical conversion and collector value are separate questions. For a market assessment, you would need the exact issue, condition and comparable evidence. A date or portrait alone is not enough. For the separate collector-value question, see our guide to how much a shilling is worth.
For more identification help, compare your notes with how to read a UK coin and our guide to UK coin edges. We do not identify individual coins from photographs or provide personal valuations.