There were four farthings to the old penny making it worth 1/960 of a pound sterling. It was first minted in the 13th Century but inflation meant it was little use in post-war Britain. It was withdrawn in 1960. Images courtesy of the Royal Mint.

The half penny became the smallest value coin after withdrawal of the farthing. It was withdrawn in 1969, two years before full decimalisation.

The penny was written as 1d. There were 12 pennies to the shilling and 240 pennies to the pound. The old penny ceased to be legal tender after August 31st 1971.

The three penny piece was known as the 'thrupenny bit' and written as 3d. It dated back to the 16th Century. It ceased to be legal tender after 31st August 1971.

The sixpence managed to survive until 1980. It was a much loved coin and there was a campaign to save it. Its decimal value of 2.5p gave it some use in the decimal purse.The 6d was also called "a tanner".

The name shilling came from the Latin word solidus - a Roman coin. It was written as 1/-. There were 20 to the pound. In slang the coin was known as "a bob".

The florin or 2/- piece was introduced in 1849 and was a kind of early decimal coin being the value of one tenth of a pound. Like the shilling, which was the same size as a 5p, the florin was the same size as the new 10p, so survived for a time after 1971.