Great Britain 1747 Shilling Silver Coin George II ESC-1209 Roses NGC XF45

The British shilling is a historic British coin from the eras of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the later United Kingdom; also adopted as a Scotdenomination upon the 1707 Treaty of Union. The word shilling comes from an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. There counted twelve pence to the shilling, with twenty shillings to the pound. The British shilling had succeeded the English shilling, and it remained in circulation until Decimal Day 1971. Upon decimalisation the British shilling was superseded by the five-pence piece having a comparable value, size and weight. The pre-decimal shilling was withdrawn from circulation in 1990, when the five pence piece was reduced in size.

1706 to 1816

Shillings were minted in every monarch's reign. During the early part of the reign of King George III, very few shillings (like other silver coins) were struck, although there was a large issue in 1787. A small number of coins dated 1763 were distributed by the Earl of Northumberland in Ireland; this issue is now very rare, but the contemporary rumour that the issue limit was £100 (2000 pieces) is probably untrue. In 1787 the hearts were left out of the Hanoverian shield in error, but the error was so minor that it took some time for it to be noticed and corrected, so both types are of similar value. The mint coined a large stockpile of silver belonging to a consortium of London bankers into shillings of 1798, which were subsequently declared illegal, reclaimed and melted down. There may have been over 10,000 pieces minted, but there are currently only about four known to exist and an example could be worth over £10,000 in any condition.