The UK unit of currency is pound sterling (£), not the Euro. The pound (1£) is made up of 100 pence (p) exactly like the dollar is split into 100 cents.
Since 2016 and 2018 new note and coin designs have been circulated. Luckily, each note is a different color, so it is easy to tell them apart when you’re looking through your wallet.
The current coins are:
1 penny, 2 pence, 5 pence, 10 pence, 20 pence, 50 pence, 1 pound, and 2 pounds.
The current bank notes are:
The 5 pound note, the 10 pound note, the 20 pound note and the 50 pound note.
Notes
FIFTY POUNG NOTE
The Houblon £50 note was introduced in April 2014 but is no longer legal tender. Instead, the red £50 note with Matthew Boulton and James Watt depicted on it. James Watt invented the modern steam engine, and in 1775, he partnered with Matthew Boulton to start a British engineering and manufacturing firm.
TWENTY POUND NOTE
The Bank of England issued the Adam Smith £20 note in March 2007. The note features Adam Smith, an 18th-century Scottish philosopher, and economist, on the back. It is the same size and predominantly the same color (purple) as the old £20 note that featured English composer, Sir Edward Elgar.
In 2020, a new £20 note featuring famous British painter JMW Turner will enter circulation and replace the Adam Smith bill. It will have a self-portrait (the same 1799 painting that can be seen in London’s Tate Britain museum), the ship depicted in Turner’s work The Fighting Temeraire, and the artist’s quote «light is therefore colour» with his signature.
TEN POUND COIN
As of March 2018, a new yellow-orange £10 note has been introduced, featuring renowned author Jane Austen. On the front, there is a new hologram with the crown, a see-through portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, and Winchester Cathedral in gold foil. The reverse side has a profile of Jane Austen, a Pride and Prejudice quote, an illustration of Elizabeth Bennet, and an image of Godmersham Park. This new bill is also plastic and waterproof.
FIVE POUND COIN
Introduced in fall 2016, the most recent £5 note to go into circulation has a picture of Queen Elizabeth on one side and Sir Winston Churchill on the other. These bright teal blue notes are supposedly cleaner and more difficult to counterfeit thanks to enhanced security features. Like the £10 note, the new £5 note is made of waterproof plastic.
Coins
Local refer to pound coins as «quids“.
TWO POUND COIN
The British £2 coin has a silver colored center and gold colored edge. Since it was introduced in 1997, the £2 coin has featured three different portraits of Queen Elizabeth II. The front was designed by Jody Clark in 2015.
The reverse side of the £2 coin has also changed. Bruce Rushin designed the original coin, which was circulated from 1997 to 2015. It showed a group of connected gears and the inscription «standing on the shoulders of giants» around its edge to symbolize Britain’s technical advancements from the Iron Age and the Industrial Revolution. The newest coin, in circulation today, has Antony Dufort’s Britannia design with the inscription «quatuor maria vindico,» which translates to «I will claim the four seas.»
ONE POUND COIN
At first, the £1 coin may look similar to the £2 coin. They each have Jody Clark’s Queen Elizabeth II design on the front and both are bimetallic. However, the new £1 coin, which was introduced in March 2017, is 12-sided and has a completely new design on the back. As a nod to the United Kingdoms’ four nations, there is an English rose, a Scottish thistle, a leek for Wales, and a shamrock for Northern Ireland, all rising from the top of a crown.
FIFTY PENCE COIN
The 50 pence (50p) coin is a seven-sided, silver coin. Since it was first created in 1969, the coin has had Queen Elizabeth’s profile on the front.
TWENTY PENCE COIN
Twenty pence (20p) coins look very similar to 50p coins in that they’re both seven-sided, silver, and have a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the front and a piece of the Royal Shield on the back. If you get confused, check out the label («20 pence» or «50 pence») on the reverse of each coin to differentiate them.
TEN PENCE COIN
The 10 pence (10p) coin is round and silver, with an image of Queen Elizabeth II on the front and a part of the Royal Shield on the back.
FIVE PENCE COIN
Five pence (5p) coins are similar to 10p coins. They are both round and silver, with Queen Elizabeth II on the front and a part of the Royal Shield on the reverse. However, the 5p coin is much smaller than the 50p, 20p, and 10p coins.
TWO PENCE COIN
Round two pence (2p) coins stand out as they are made of copper. Otherwise, the design remains the same: Queen Elizabeth’s portrait and a section of the Royal Shield.
ONE PENNY COIN
The copper one pence (1p) coin is commonly called a «penny.» It is the lowest value coin to be circulated in the UK.
ENGLAND 