British coin Five Pence - Definition and Overview

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.

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3.25 grams and with a diameter of 18.00 millimetres was introduced, and all the older 5p and shilling coins were withdrawn from circulation and demonetised from 1 January 1991.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 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.

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.