£sd in the context of British one penny coin (pre-decimal)

⭐ Core Definition: £sd

£sd (occasionally written Lsd) is the popular name for the pre-decimal currencies once common throughout Europe. The abbreviation originates from the Latin currency denominations librae, solidi, and denarii. Under this system, there were 12 denarii in a solidus and 20 solidi (or 240 denarii) in a libra. In the countries of the (former) British Empire, these were called pounds, shillings, and pence (pence being the plural of penny), with 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a pound.

Although the names originated from popular coins in the classical Roman Empire, their definitions and the ratios between them were introduced and imposed across Western Europe by Emperor Charlemagne. King Offa of Mercia adopted the Frankish silver standard of librae, solidi, and denarii into Britain in the late 8th century.

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👉 £sd in the context of British one penny coin (pre-decimal)

The British pre-decimal penny was a denomination of sterling coinage worth 1⁄240 of one pound or 1⁄12 of one shilling. Its symbol was d, from the Roman denarius. It was a continuation of the earlier English penny, and in Scotland it had the same monetary value as one pre-1707 Scottish shilling, thus the English penny was called sgillin in Scottish Gaelic. The penny was originally minted in silver, but from the late 18th century it was minted in copper, and then after 1860 in bronze.

The plural of "penny" is "pence" (often added as an unstressed suffix) when referring to an amount of money, and "pennies" when referring to a number of coins. Thus 8d is eightpence or eight pence, but "eight pennies" means specifically eight individual penny coins.

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⭐ Core Definition: £sd
👉 £sd in the context of British one penny coin (pre-decimal)
£sd in the context of Pennyweight
£sd in the context of Australian pound
£sd in the context of Decimal Day

£sd in the context of Pennyweight

A pennyweight (dwt) is a unit of mass equal to 24 grains, 1⁄20 of a troy ounce, 1⁄240 of a troy pound, 48⁄875 avoirdupois ounce and exactly 1.55517384 grams. It is abbreviated dwt, d standing for denarius – (an ancient Roman coin), and later used as the symbol of an old British penny (see £sd).

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£sd in the context of Australian pound

The pound (sign: £, £A for distinction) was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. Like other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 shillings (denoted by the symbol s or /–), each of 12 pence (denoted by the symbol d).

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£sd in the context of Decimal Day

Decimal Day (Irish: Lá Deachúil) in the United Kingdom and in Ireland was Monday 15 February 1971, the day on which each country decimalised its respective £sd currency of pounds, shillings, and pence.

Before this date, both the British pound sterling and the Irish pound (symbol "£") were subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 (old) pence, a total of 240 pence. With decimalisation, the pound kept its old value and name in each currency, but the shilling was abolished, and the pound was divided into 100 new pence (abbreviated to "p"). In the UK, the new coins initially featured the word “new”, but in due course this was dropped.

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