The British decimal Five Pence (5p) coin was issued in 1968 in preparation for the forthcoming decimalisation of the coinage. As at that time it had the same value, size, and weight as the pre‐existing Shilling coin it may be viewed as a continuation of the older coin. 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... The shilling was a British coin first issued in 1548 for Henry VIII, although arguably the testoon issued about 1487 for Henry VII was the first shilling. ...

The coin is minted from an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel. The 1968 version of the coin weighed 5.65 grams and had a diameter of 23.59 millimetres. In 1990 a smaller version weighing 3.25 grams and with a diameter of 18.00 millimetres was introduced, and all the older 5p and shilling coins were withdrawn from circulation and demonetised from 1 January 1991. The old 5p coin had the same size as the 1 Deutsche Mark coin but was worth less than a fifth of a Deutsch Mark. Vending machines could not distinguish between the two, so the 5p coin was sometimes fraudulently used for the 1 DM coin. Five Pence File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Deutsche Mark (DM, DEM) was the official currency of West and, from 1990, unified Germany. ...

The reverse of the coin, designed by Christopher Ironside, is a crowned Thistle (formally, The Badge of Scotland, a thistle royally crowned), with the numeral "5" below the thistle, and either NEW PENCE (1968‒1981) or FIVE PENCE (1982-date) above the thistle. 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

During the history of the coin, three different obverses have been used so far - between 1968 and 1984 the head of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin was used, between 1985 and 1997 the head by Raphael Maklouf was used, and since 1998 one by Ian Rank-Broadley has been used. In all cases, the inscription used is ELIZABETH II D.G.REG.F.D. date. In logic (and usually without being paired with reverse), obverse has a meaning close to contrapositive. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... This page is about the year 1984. ... Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor), born 21 April 1926, is the Queen regnant of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and... Arnold Machin (30 September 1911 _ 9 March 1999) was a British artist, sculptor, coin and stamp designer. ... This article is about the year. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Raphael Maklouf (born 10 December 1937) is a sculptor, best known for designing the effigy of Queen Elizabeth used on Commonwealth coinage from 1985 to 1997. ... 1998(MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Ian Rank-Broadley (born 1952) is a British sculptor who has produced many acclaimed works, among which are several designs for British coinage. ... This article concerns British coinage, the coinage of the United Kingdom. ...

External links

• Royal Mint – 5p coin