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There are only eight common coins in the UK, these being:

2 pounds
A large, thick, round coin with a silver middle and goldish coloured rim

1 pound
A smaller thick, round coin with in a goldish colour

50p
A large thin coin in silver with seven sides

20p
A small thin coin in silver with seven sides

10p
A medium sized round silver coin

5p
A tiny round silver coin

2p
A medium round copper or brown coin

1p
A small round copper or brown coin

The "p" stands for pence or pennies and one hundred of these make a pound. The smallest denomination coins maybe be referred to as coppers due to their colour and the metal they are made of, and likewise one might refer to some silver if they have coins of larger denominations. Pound coins and two pound coins don't have a colloquial name as yet.

There are some five pound coins in circulation but the are rare and are only released to commemorate big events at the moment. You are unlikely to see these being passed around in normal currency.

As a rough guide to what these coins will buy, here are some common items and rough prices for them.

A packet of crisps would set your back about 40p.
A chocolate bar such as a Mars retails for about 50p.
A tabloid newspaper is likely to cost about 35p - large Sunday papers with supplements will be around a pound.
A pound will buy a soft drink in a pub, or you might buy a 75cl bottle of coke for around 90p.

For further information and some excellent illustrations of currency, take a look at the Royal Mint website at http://www.royalmint.com/

Learn more about this author, Max Lehmann.
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