As I've never been to any place in the UK, I've been confused for a long time now regarding your currency. Most of the UK slang I've seen in movies or on TV I've been able to pick up and understand, but the currency denominations I don't get. It's my own ignorance I know, but I was hoping some of you could help me out.

In the US, the denominations pretty much go like this:

Coins:
1 cent = penny = .01 of 1 dollar
5 cent = nickle = .05 of 1 dollar
10 cent = dime = .10 of 1 dollar
25 cent = quarter = .25 of 1 dollar
50 cent = half-dollar = .50 of 1 dollar
1 dollar = dollar

Bills:
1 dollar
2 dollars
5 dollars
10 dollars
20 dollars
50 dollars
100 dollars

There are others that are used, but not in day to day transactions (the half-dollar, dollar coin, and the 2 dollar bill aren't used often either but I thought to include them. Now, in the U.S., the most commonly used slang for the dollar is "buck". In Canada, it goes thusly:

Coins:
1 cent = penny = .01 of 1 dollar
5 cent = nickle = .05 of 1 dollar
10 cent = dime = .10 of 1 dollar
25 cent = quarter = .25 of 1 dollar
1 dollar = "loonie"--slang
2 dollars = "twonie"--slang

Bills:
5 dollars
10 dollars
20 dollars
50 dollars
100 dollars

Notice how there's no 1 or 2 dollar bills here--they're coins. The slang for the Canadian dollar is also "buck" from what I've heard, but when specifically speaking of the coins they are as above.

What are the denominations over there? I've heard of the following:

pound
shilling (I've heard this is outdated now, but not sure)
farthing (I've heard this is also outdated now)
quid (sp?)
pence (sp?) (I've heard this is also outdate now)

I'm sure there's more to it than that, and I'm under the impression that the most common denomination is the pound (like the U.S. and Canada's dollar is their most common denomination). I'm sure there's some slang terms I've heard as well and cannot recall them, but how is your currency set up--slang included? I don't know why this intrigues me so much, but it does. I'm not looking for exchange rates or anything BTW. I figured the best way to find out would be to ask those that use or have used the currency before. Thanks everyone!

100 pennies (more comonly pence) in the pound. The pound is also known as a quid.
Coin:
1p
2p
5p
10p
20p
50p
£1
£2
£5 (usually special edition)

Notes:
£1 (Scotland only)
£5
£10
£20
£50

If there're £100 notes I'm sure somebody will correct me.

Back in the olden days:
4 farthings to a penny
12 pennies to the shilling
20 shillings to the pound
21 shillings to the guinea

well al the shilling stuff was pre-decimalisation when it must have been a complete headfsck with 120 pence in a pound etc... but that all completely changed and now there's nothign at all other than pounds and pence, no names like dimes etc.. just slang like quid for a pound. I could start talking about tons and ponys but that's a different ball game altogether

The only other slang terms we have in regular use up North are fiver for £5, tenner for £10 and ten bob for 50p. As acid_kewpie says there are plenty of others but those three should get you through most situations.

Strange aside and political pimpage, I often wonder why we get so passionate about our currency when we've only had it for a few years. I'm only 38 but still remember the pre-decimalisation days and can use either. Bring on the Euro!!

Anyone else hate the slang series with £1 = 'a bar' etc ... god it's so retarded.

How wrong you are:

Whereas France had a single national currency for a brief period during the reigns of Pepin and Charlemagne, England has enjoyed a relatively stable single national currency with an unbroken history of over 900 years, and the origins of the pound Sterling go back even further still.

The Viking invasions and the need to pay Danegeld or to pay for defence caused an enormous increase in the production of coins in England. Athelstan had no fewer than 30 mints in operation and in order to keep control of them all the Statute of Greatley was passed in 928, stating that there was to be only one single type of money or currency in England, and ever since there has been just one. This was many centuries before the history of the currencies now used in other major European countries started.

"...England became the first of the major countries of Europe to attain a single national currency in post-Roman times. However the renewed incursions of the Danes postponed the uninterrupted establishment of this principle until 1066. Even so the achievement of a uniform national currency in England preceded that of France by more than 600 years, and of Germany and Italy by nearly 900 years: a factor perhaps in Britain's instinctive reluctance to embrace a single European currency today."

Shamelessly stolen from
this page but it shows its more than a 'few years' old.

I really cant understand why people are so keen to destroy the history of our country.

Not wishing to correct a scary moderator, what with being new and all, but I'm going to anyway.
240 old pence to an old pound.
(12(pence in a shilling)*20(shillings in a pound)=240(pence in a pound)

shit of course... i could never remember. well.. i never had to remember as i didn't exist then. i know that a guinea is $1.05 to completely confuse things though.

Very true but I tend to look at it from a different perspective and see decimal and pre-decimal as two entirely different currencies (probably because i'm biased ) I've yet to hear a convincing argument for retaining our present system that I didn't hear when we went decimal.

There is a degree of truth in some of it but not enough imho to prevent us from moving forward. To give an example the question of people taking advantage of the situation will always exist and I remember well one day after the budget going to a local corner shop to see a big notice next to the cigs saying "don't blame us blame the government". This was about 2 hours after the budget announcement of a rise in price and should in no way have been implemented at such an early stage except for the greed of the shopkeeper. People will always take advantage of something and it is for the patronage of each establishment to respond by walking.

In terms of history i'm a great lover of history but see it as something which should not be used to hinder the progression of the future. I am happy and proud to consider myself as European whilst not forgetting either my English or more importantly ( ) Mancunian roots but my view and hope for the future is in a united world (and not only the reds) which I think can only come about in the initial stages, and solely from our perspective as Europeans, by a United Europe. Consider the dominance of America in the world. Americans may see it differently I don't know, but to me their position exists solely due to their size and the ability this gives to dominate market forces and world policy. Without a European market were someone to close the American market then any multi-national company will suffer massively from the loss in revenue. With a European market that effect whilst still having an impact would be lessened. Conversely if America was unable to obtain English goods it would have little if any effect on them. They may notice it a bit more if they were stopped from buying British goods and they would certainly notice it if they were stopped from buying European goods.

In the world of business, size does matter and although other nations are not business enemies we must be able to compete with the Asian & American markets etc and that is something we can only do effectively through being part of a united Europe with a unified currency system.

Oops, sorry, went of on an off topic "imho" style ramble a bit there

Where did 'quid' come from?

We use it too and I can see where our use of it could have come from ('chuid' in Irish, pronounced the same way and meaning part or piece).

Just something that struck me recently, what with the Euro changeover and all.

from from the latin word quid i'd say, meaning "something" i.e. a single unit in this case.

RE: The Ennead

I dont and never will consider my self European. A fully united Europe is somethng that i never want to see. As much as people dont want to see it we are not all the same.
Im sure we both know the arguments for and agaisnt the Euro and we have very different views.
But how long will it take before all decisions, laws, tax rates are set in Brussels by people(foreigners) who dont have the best interests of Britain at heart?
Why should we have to subsidise other countrys when we have so many problems at home?

Any

As long as Britain maintains it's current relationship with the US there is no need for Britain to enter the EU. I personally think that one of the side effects of the EU will be the blending of cultures. And that would be a sad loss for the world.

Long live diversity.

All I'll say is this. After WWI, European states became isolationist, refusing to help each other out economically (increased trade barriers, capital controls, etc.) This basically led to WWII; that is, these conditions allowed the Nazis to become so popular by decreasing unemployment by putting the unemployed to work in a military function.
After WWII, the European states were much more helpful and more integrationist. As a consequence reconstruction went much faster than after WWI and the '50s and '60s were a time of enormous growth of the European economies.
Sure, European peoples are not the same, but only through economic cooperation can all Europe be made better. Isolationism doesn't work.

It's a little late for Britain to not enter the EU