The pound is split into 100 smaller units called pence (singular: penny). So £1 is 100p. Simple enough, right? You’d think so, but humans love to make things interesting.
You’ll hear people say “quid” all the time. That’s the friendly, slangy word for a pound. “That bus fare was five quid,” or “I found a tenner on the street!” (A tenner is a £10 note, in case you find one, lucky you.)
Coins come in a delightful array of sizes that are completely illogical at first. The 5p coin is tiny, the 10p is bigger, but the £1 coin is chunky and gold-ish. The 20p is a weird seven-sided shape. Honestly, your fingers will learn to trust the weight before your eyes do.
The Great Banknote Debate
Here’s where it gets really fun. England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland all print their own banknotes. Yes, really. So you might get a purse full of Scottish £20 notes that look totally different from English ones.
Pound Coins Currency Bank · Free photo on Pixabay
Don’t panic! They are legal currency in London—ish. Most shops will take them with a shrug, but some grumpy cashiers might squint at them like they’re alien artifacts. My advice? Spend the fun, different notes quickly, or swap them for English ones at a bank just to keep life simple.
The most famous British note right now features King Charles III (it used to be Queen Elizabeth II). But the £5 note also has Winston Churchill on it, and the £10 note has Jane Austen. That’s right—you can pay for a coffee with Jane Austen’s face. Literature never felt so transactional.
