Shilling

This article is about British and Commonwealth coin. For the European coin, seeSchilling (coin).For the Austrian coin, seeAustrian schilling.For other uses, seeShilling (disambiguation).

A 1933 UK shilling

1956 Elizabeth II UK shilling showing English and Scottish reverses

Theshillingis a historical coin, and the name of a unit of moderncurrenciesformerly used in theUnited Kingdom,Australia,New Zealand,otherBritish Commonwealthcountries andIreland,where they were generally equivalent to 12penceor one-twentieth of apoundbefore being phased out during the 1960s and 1970s.

Currently the shilling is used as a currency in five east African countries:Kenya,Tanzania,Uganda,Somalia,and thede factocountry ofSomaliland.TheEast African Communityadditionally plans to introduce anEast African shilling.

History

Further information:Coinage in Anglo-Saxon EnglandandDenarius

English shilling minted under Edward VI,c. 1551

Schilling coin of theimperial cityofZürich,minted inbillon,1640

Silver 4 schilling coin,Hamburg,1728

The wordshillingcomes fromAnglo-Saxonphrase "Scilling", a monetary term meaning literally 'twentieth of a pound', from theProto-Germanicrootskiljanąmeaning literally 'to separate, split, divide', from(s)kelH-meaning 'to cut, split.'The word "Scilling" is mentioned in the earliest recordedGermaniclaw codes, those ofÆthelberht of Kent.

The Germanic root of the term Shilling,(s)kelH-,has been theorized to come from a foreign currency; most probably thePhoenician Shekel.Recent discoveries of antique British tin off the coasts of Israel and Turkey has confirmed probable trade between the middle-east and the British isles.

In origin, the wordschillingdesignated thesolidusof Late Antiquity, thegold cointhat replaced theaureusin the 4th century. The Anglo-Saxonscillingasof the 7th century were still small gold coins.

In 796,Charlemagnepassed a monetary reform, based on the Carolingian silver pound (about 406.5 grams). Theschillingwas one-twentieth of a pound or about 20.3 grams of silver. Oneschillinghad 12denariiordeniers( "pennies" ). There were, however, no silverschillingcoins in the Carolingian period, and goldschillings(equivalent to twelve silverpfennigs) were very rare.

In the 12th century, larger silver coins of multiplepfennigweight were minted, known asdenarii grossiorgroschen(groats). These heavier coins were valued at between 4 and 20 of the silverdenarii.In the late medieval period, states of theHoly Roman Empirebegan minting similar silver coins of multiplepfennigweight, some of them denominated asschilling.

In the 16th century, numerous different types ofschillingwere minted inEurope.TheEnglish shillingwas the continuation of thetestooncoin underEdward VIand was first minted in 1551 minted in 92.5% "sterling" silver.

By the 17th century, further devaluation resulted inschillingsin theHoly Roman Empirebeing minted inbillon(majority base metal content) instead ofsilver,with 48schillingsto oneReichsthaler.The English (later British) shilling continued to be minted as a silver coin until 1946, although the silver content was debased from 1920 onwards.

Countries

Countries	Currency	ISO 4217code
Kenya	Kenyan shilling	KES
Somalia	Somalian shilling	SOS
Tanzania	Tanzanian shilling	TZS
Uganda	Ugandan shilling	UGX

Unrecognized countries

Countries	Currency	ISO 4217code
Somaliland	Somaliland shilling	SOS

British Isles

Kingdom of England

Main article:Shilling (English coin)

A shilling was a coin used in England from the reign ofHenry VII(orEdward VIaround 1550). The shilling continued in use after theActs of Union of 1707created 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.

Kingdom of Scotland

The termshilling(Scots:schilling) was in use in Scotland from early medieval times.

Great Britain, then the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

Main article:Shilling (British coin)

One shilling, 1853 (reign ofQueen Victoria). Silver, weight 5.64 g.

The common currency forGreat Britain,created in 1707 by Article 16 of theArticles of Unionbetween England and Scotland, continued in use untildecimalisationin 1971. During theGreat Recoinage of 1816(following theActs of Union 1800that united the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland), the mint was instructed to coin onetroy pound(weighing 5760 grains or 373 g) ofsterling silver(0.925 fine) into 66 shillings, or its equivalent in other denominations.This set the weight of the shilling at 87.2727 grains or 5.655 grams from 1816 until 1990, when it wasdemonetisedin favour of a new smaller5pcoin of the same value.

At decimalisation in 1971, the shilling coin was superseded by thenew five-pence piece,which initially was of identical size and weight and had the same value. Shillings remained in circulation until the five pence coin was reduced in size in 1991.

Three coins denominated in multiple shillings were also in circulation at this time. They were:

• theflorin,two shillings (2/–), which adopted the value of 10 new pence (10p) at decimalisation;
• thehalf-crown,two shillings and sixpence (2/6) or one-eighth of a pound, which was abolished at decimalisation (otherwise it would have had the value of 12⁠1/2⁠p);
• thecrown(five shillings or one-fourth of a pound), the highest-denominated non-bullion UK coin in circulation at decimalisation (in practice, crowns were commemorative coins not used in everyday transactions).

Irish shillings

Further information:Shilling (Irish coin)

Between 1701 and the unification of the currencies in 1825, theIrishshilling was valued at 13 pence and known as the "black hog", as opposed to the 12-pence English shillings which were known as "white hogs".

In theIrish Free StateandRepublic of Ireland,theshilling coinwas issued asscilling(theIrish languageequivalent). It was worth 1/20 of anIrish pound,and was interchangeable at the same value to the British coin, which continued to be used inNorthern Ireland.The coin featured a bull on the reverse side. The first minting, from 1928 until 1941, contained 75% silver, more than the equivalent British coin. The pre-decimal Irish shilling coin (which was retained for some time after decimalisation) was withdrawn from circulation on 1 January 1993, when a smaller five-pence coin was introduced.

Abbreviation and slang

The price tag on theHatter'shat reads '10/6'

One abbreviation for shilling iss(forsolidus,see£sd). Often it was expressed by asolidus symbol(/) (which may have begun as a substitute forſ('long s')) thus '1/9' means "one shilling and ninepence". A price expressed as a number of shillings with no additionalpencewas often written as the number, a solidus and a dash: thus for example ten shillings was written '10/-'. Two shillings and sixpence (half a crown, or an eighth of a £) was written as '2/6', rarely as '2s6d' ('d' being the abbreviation fordenarius,a penny). The shilling itself was equal to twelve pence. In the traditionalpounds, shillings and pencesystem, there were 20 shillings per pound and 12 pence per shilling, making 240 pence in a pound.

Slang terms for the old shilling coins include "bob" and "hog". While the derivation of "bob" is uncertain,John Camden Hottenin his 1864Slang Dictionarysays the original version was "bobstick" and speculates that it may be connected withSir Robert Walpole.

British Empire

Owing to the reach of theBritish Empire,the shilling was once used on every inhabited continent. This two-shilling piece was minted forBritish West Africa.

Australian shillings

Main article:Shilling (Australian)

Australianshillings, twenty of which made up oneAustralian pound,were first issued in 1910, with the Australiancoat of armson the reverse and KingEdward VIIon the face. The coat of arms design was retained through the reign of KingGeorge Vuntil a new ram's head design was introduced for the coins of KingGeorge VI.This design continued until the last year of issue in 1963. In 1966, Australia's currency wasdecimalisedand the shilling was replaced by aten cent coin (Australian),where 10 shillings made up oneAustralian dollar.

The slang term for a shilling coin in Australia was "deener". The slang term for a shilling as currency unit was "bob", the same as in theUnited Kingdom.

After 1966, shillings continued to circulate, as they were replaced by ten-cent coins of the same size and weight.

New Zealand shilling

New Zealandshillings, twenty of which made up oneNew Zealand pound,were first issued in 1933 and featured the image of a Maori warrior carrying a taiaha "in a warlike attitude" on the reverse.In 1967, New Zealand's currency wasdecimalisedand the shilling was replaced by a ten-cent coin of the same size and weight. Ten-cent coins minted through the remainder of the 1960s included the legend "ONE SHILLING" on the reverse. Smaller ten-cent coins were introduced in 2006.

Maltese shillings

The shilling (Maltese:xelin,pl.xelini) was used inMalta,prior todecimalisationin 1972, and had a face value of five Maltesecents.

Ceylonese shillings

InBritish Ceylon,a shilling (Sinhala:Silima,Tamil:Silin) was equivalent to eightfanams.With the replacement of therixdollarby therupeein 1852, a shilling was deemed to be equivalent to half a rupee. On the decimalisation of the currency in 1969, a shilling was deemed to be equivalent to 50 Ceylon cents. The term continued to be used colloquially until the late 20th century.

East African shillings

Countries inAfricawhere the currency is called shilling.

TheEast African shillingwas in use in theBritishcoloniesandprotectoratesofBritish Somaliland,Kenya,Tanganyika,UgandaandZanzibarfrom 1920, when it replaced therupee,until after those countries became independent, and inTanzaniaafter that country was formed by the merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar in 1964. Upon independence in 1960, the East African shilling in theBritish Somalilandand theSomali somaloin theTrust Territory of Somaliawere replaced by theSomali shilling.

In 1966, the East African Monetary Union broke up, and the member countries replaced their currencies with theKenyan shilling,theUgandan shillingand theTanzanian shilling,respectively.Though all these currencies have different values at present, there were plans to reintroduce theEast African shillingas a new common currency by 2009,although this has not come about.

North America

One-shilling note from Georgia, United States, 1776. The twelve dark circles indicate that there are twelve pence in a shilling.

In thethirteen British coloniesthat became the United States in 1776, British money was often in circulation. Each colony issued itsown paper money,withpounds, shillings, and penceused as the standardunits of account.Some coins were minted in the colonies, such asthe pine tree shillingin theMassachusetts Bay Colony.After the United States adopted thedollaras its unit of currency and accepted thegold standard,one British shilling was worth 24 UScents.Due to ongoing shortages of US coins in some regions, shillings continued to circulate well into the nineteenth century. Shillings are described as the standard monetary unit throughout the autobiography ofSolomon Northup(1853)and mentioned several times in theHoratio Alger Jr.storyRagged Dick(1868).Prices in an 1859 advertisement in a Chicago newspaper were given in dollars and shillings.

InCanada,£sd currencies were in use both during the French period (New France livre) and after theBritish conquest(Canadian pound). Between the 1760s and 1840s inLower Canada,both French and British-based pounds coexisted as units of account, the French livre being close in value to the British shilling. A variety of coinage circulated. By 1858, a decimalCanadian dollarcame into use. Other parts ofBritish North Americadecimalized shortly afterwards andCanadian confederationin 1867 passed control of currency to the federal government.

Somali shilling

Main article:Somali shilling

The Somali shilling is the officialcurrencyofSomalia.It is subdivided into 100cents(English),senti(Somali, also سنت) orcentesimi(Italian).

The Somali shilling has been the currency of parts of Somalia since 1921, when theEast African shillingwas introduced to the formerBritish Somalilandprotectorate.Following independence in 1960, thesomaloofItalian Somalilandand the East African shilling (which were equal in value) were replaced at par in 1962 by the Somali shilling. Names used for the denominations were cent, centesimo (plural: centesimi) and سنت (plurals: سنتيمات and سنتيما) together with shilling, scellino (plural: scellini) and شلن.

That same year, theBanca Nazionale Somalaissued notes for 5, 10, 20 and 100 scellini/shillings. In 1975, theBankiga Qaranka Soomaaliyeed(Somali National Bank) introduced notes for 5, 10, 20 and 100 shilin/shillings. These were followed in 1978 by notes of the same denominations issued by theBankiga Dhexe Ee Soomaaliya(Central Bank of Somalia). 50 shilin/shillings notes were introduced in 1983, followed by 500 shilin/shillings in 1989 and 1000 shilin/shillings in 1990. Also in 1990 there was an attempt to reform the currency at 100 to 1, with new banknotes of 20 and 50 new shilin prepared for the redenomination.

Following the breakdown in central authority that accompanied thecivil war,which began in the early 1990s, the value of the Somali shilling was disrupted. The Central Bank of Somalia, the nation's monetary authority, also shut down operations. Rival producers of the local currency, including autonomous regional entities such as theSomalilandterritory, subsequently emerged.

Somalia's newly establishedTransitional Federal Governmentrevived the defunct Central Bank of Somalia in the late 2000s. In terms of financial management, the monetary authority is in the process of assuming the task of both formulating and implementing monetary policy.Owing to a lack of confidence in the Somali shilling, the US dollar is widely accepted as a medium of exchange alongside the Somali shilling.Dollarizationnotwithstanding, the large issuance of the Somali shilling has increasingly fueled price hikes, especially for low value transactions. This inflationary environment, however, is expected to come to an end as soon as the Central Bank assumes full control of monetary policy and replaces the presently circulating currency introduced by the private sector.

Somaliland shilling

TheSomaliland shillingis the official currency ofSomaliland,a self-declared republic that is internationally recognised as anautonomous regionofSomalia.The currency is not recognised aslegal tenderby the international community, and it currently has no officialexchange rate.It is regulated by theBank of Somaliland,Somaliland'scentral bank.Although the authorities in Somaliland have attempted to bar usage of the Somali shilling, Somalia's official currency is still in circulation in some regions.

Other

Elsewhere in the former British Empire, forms of the wordshillingremain in informal use. InVanuatuandSolomon Islands,selenis used inBislamaandPijinto mean "money"; inMalaysia,syiling(pronounced likeshilling) means "coin". InEgyptandJordantheshillin(Arabic:شلن) is equal to 1/20 (fiveqirshes—Arabic:قرش,English:piastres) of theEgyptian poundor theJordanian dinar.InBelize,the termshillingis commonly used to refer to twenty-five cents.

Other countries

A SwedishSkillingfrom 1802

• TheAustrian schillingwas the currency of Austria between 1 March 1924and 1938 and again between 1945 and 2002. It was replaced by theeuroat a fixed parity of €1 = 13.7603 schilling. The schilling was divided into 100groschen.
• In the principalities covering present Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg, the cognate termschellingwas used as an equivalent 'arithmetic' currency, a 'solidus' representing 12 'denarii' or 1/20 'pound', while actual coins were rarely physical multiples of it, but still expressed in these terms.
• Shillings were issued in the Scandinavian countries(skilling)until theScandinavian Monetary Unionof 1873, and in the city ofHamburg,Germany.
• InPolandszelągwas used.
• Thesoll,later thesou,both also derived from the Romansolidus,were the equivalent coins inFrance,while thesol(PEN) remains the currency ofPeru.
• As in France, the Peruvian sol was originally named after the Roman solidus, but the name of the Peruvian currency is now much more closely linked to the Spanish word for the sun (sol). This helps explain the name of its temporary replacement, theinti,named for theIncansun god.

Further reading

• Mays, James O. "The Romance of the English Shilling",History Today(December 1971), Vol. 21 Issue 12, pp 848–855, online. Covers 1504 to 1971.

External links

• Media related toShillingat Wikimedia Commons
• British Coins– information about British coins.
• The History of the Shilling