The shilling is a unit of currency in current and former use in many countries. A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is The word is thought to derive from the base skell-, "to ring/resound", and the diminutive suffix -ing. ^[1]

The abbreviation for shilling is s, from the Latin solidus, the name of a Roman coin. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The solidus (the Latin word for solid) was originally a Gold coin issued by the Romans. The main Roman currency during most of the Roman Republic and the western half of the Roman Empire consisted of coins including the Aureus (gold the main - title Coin keywords numismatics coin review Often it was written informally or printed with a slash, e. The slash ( /) is a punctuation mark It is also called a virgule, diagonal, stroke, forward slash, oblique dash, g. , 1/6d as 1 shilling and sixpence (often pronounced "one and six"), or when there were no pence with a slash then a hyphen, e. g. , "11/-". Quite often a triangular shape or (sans serif) apostrophe would be used to give a neater appearance, e. History Ancient usages Sans-serif letter forms can be found in Latin Etruscan, and Greek inscriptions for as early as 5th century BC g. , "1'6" and "11'-". In Africa it is often abbreviated sh.

1956 Elizabeth II UK shilling showing English and Scottish reverses

United Kingdom

Main article: Shilling (United Kingdom)

In the United Kingdom, a shilling was a coin used from the reign of Henry VII until decimalisation in 1971. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Decimal Day ( 15 February Before decimalisation, there were twenty shillings to the pound and twelve pence to the shilling, and thus 240 pence to the pound. Two coins denominated in multiple shillings were also in circulation at this time. They were the florin (2/-), which adopted the value of ten new pence (10p), and the crown (5/-), the highest denominated non-bullion UK coin in circulation at decimalisation.

The word shilling comes from schilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. For their language see Anglo-Saxon language. Anglo-Saxon is the term usually used to describe the invading Tribes in the south Colonial shillings, such as the 1652 pine-tree shilling, were made in Massachusetts when the Puritans settled America. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of Worship and Doctrine, At decimalisation, the shilling was superseded by the new five pence piece, which initially was of identical size and weight and had the same value, and inherited the shilling's slang name of a bob.

Irish shillings

Irish shilling 1954

Main article: Irish shilling coin

In the Republic of Ireland, the shilling was issued as scilling in Irish. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. They had kept the original 12d value on their shilling. It was issued until 1969, and after 1971, like the United Kingdom, the general public often used a shilling to pay 5p to shops, etc. When the Central Bank of Ireland issued a smaller 5p piece, the shilling was withdrawn in 1992. The Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland (Banc Ceannais agus Údarás Seirbhísí Airgeadais na hÉireann is the financial services regulator of Ireland They remain, like all obsolete Irish coinage, redeemable at the Central Bank.

Australian shillings

Further information: Australian coins

Australian shillings, twenty of which made up one Australian pound, were first issued in 1910, with the Australian coat of arms on the reverse and King Edward VII on the face. Australian coins refers to the Coins which are or were in use as Australian Currency. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The pound was the currency of Australia until 1966 It was subdivided into 20 Shillings each of 12 pence. Year 1910 ( MCMX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people The coat of arms design was retained through the reign of King George V until a new ram's head design was introduced for the coins of King George VI. This design continued until the last year of issue in 1963. In 1966 Australia's currency was decimalised and the shilling was replaced by a ten cent coin (Australian), where 10 shillings made up one Australian dollar. The Australian 10 cent coin is the second least valued coin in circulation and also the second most produced coin The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the Currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas

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 the United Kingdom.

East African shillings

The East African shilling was in use in the British colonies and protectorates of British Somaliland, Kenya, Tanganyika, Uganda and Zanzibar from 1920, when it replaced the rupee, until after those countries became independent, and in Tanzania after that country was formed by the merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar in 1964. The shilling was the Currency issued for use in British controlled areas in East Africa from 1921 until 1969 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This article is about a type of political territory For other uses see Colony (disambiguation. In International law, a protectorate is a autonomous territory that is "protected" by a stronger state or entity hense the protector which engages to protect British Somaliland was a British Protectorate in the north part of the Horn of Africa. The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south Tanganyika is the name of an East African territory lying between the largest of the African great lakes Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika The Republic of Uganda is a Landlocked country in East Africa. Zanzibar ( is part of the East African republic of Tanzania. It consists of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya Upon independence in 1960, the East African shilling in the Northern Region of Somalia (former British Somaliland) and the Somali Somalo in the Southern Region (former Italian Somaliland) were replaced by the Somali Shilling. Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known Italian Somalia (also known as Italian Somaliland) was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy ( Regno d'Italia) from the 1880s until 1942 in the territory The shilling ( English) shilin ( Somali, also شلن or scellino ( Italian) has been the Currency of Somalia ^[2] In 1966 the East African Monetary Union broke up, and the member countries replaced their currencies with the Kenyan shilling, the Ugandan shilling and the Tanzanian shilling respectively. The shilling ( ISO 4217 code KES, also often used KSh) is the Currency of Kenya. The shilling ( sign: USh; code: UGX) is the Currency of Uganda. ^[3] Though all these currencies have different values at present, there are plans to reintroduce the East African shilling as a new common currency by 2009. The shilling was the Currency issued for use in British controlled areas in East Africa from 1921 until 1969 ^[4]

Countries where the currency is called Shilling

Other countries' shillings

Due to the reach of the British Empire, the shilling was once used on every inhabited continent. The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. This two-shilling piece was minted for British West Africa. British West Africa was the collective name for British colonies in West Africa during the Colonial period, either in the general geographical sense or

Shillings were also issued in New Zealand before decimalisation in the 1960s, in Austria (Schilling) until the advent of the Euro, in the Scandinavian countries (skilding) until the Scandinavian Monetary Union of 1873, and in the city of Hamburg, Germany. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island In the management of currencies, decimalisation (or decimalization) is the process of converting from traditional denominations to a " Decimal " Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Please update other articles as well to avoid contradiction within Wikipedia e The Scandinavian Monetary Union (Skandinaviska myntunionen Skandinaviske møntunion Skandinaviske myntunion was a Monetary union formed by Sweden and Denmark Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany

The Sol (later the sou), both also derived from the Roman solidus, were the equivalent coins in France, while the (nuevo) sol (PEN) remains the currency of Peru. The solidus (the Latin word for solid) was originally a Gold coin issued by the Romans. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. 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, the inti, named for the Incan sun god. According to the Inca mythology, Inti was the Sun god, as well a patron deity of Tahuantinsuyu.

Shillings were also used in Malta, prior to decimalization in 1972, and had a face value of five Maltese cents. Malta, officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta is a European Microstate, comprising an Archipelago of three islands In the management of currencies, decimalisation (or decimalization) is the process of converting from traditional denominations to a " Decimal " In many national currencies, the cent is a monetary unit that equals 1/100 of the basic monetary unit

Other countries that were in the British Empire still use the term shilling or the local variant (Shillin) informally as a unit of currency among the local populace. In Vanuatu and Solomon Islands, the word "selen" (shilling) is used in Bislama and Pijin to mean "money" and in Egypt and Jordan the Shillin (Arabic: شلن) is equal to 1/20th of the Egyptian pound or the Jordanian dinar. Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu ( French: République de Vanuatu, Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu) is an Island The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands Bislama is a Creole language, one of the official languages of Vanuatu. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language The Egyptian pound or gineih (الجنيه المصرى el-Gineih el-Miṣrī) The dinar ( ISO 4217 code JOD; unofficially known as JD) is the currency of Jordan. In the United States during colonial times, British money was used, and references to shillings are often seen in early American literature.

References

External links

• The Shilling
• British Coins - Free information about British coins. Events 314 - Roman Emperor Licinius is defeated by his colleague Constantine I at the Battle of Cibalae, and loses Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 314 - Roman Emperor Licinius is defeated by his colleague Constantine I at the Battle of Cibalae, and loses Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 314 - Roman Emperor Licinius is defeated by his colleague Constantine I at the Battle of Cibalae, and loses See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar.