Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne at the age of 25 and went on to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Overseeing a historic change of the United Kingdom’s coinage, she is the only British monarch in history to have had both a pre-decimal and decimal coinage.

This Queen Elizabeth II English shilling had the value of 12 pence, and there were 20 shillings to a pound. Following decimalisation, the coin was redenominated as a 5p coin and it was eventually demonetised in 1990. The English shilling features a heraldic motif of the three lions of England walking passant guardant, looking at the viewer.

This coin is also available as part of The Making of Modern Britain Queen Elizabeth II Pre-Decimal Bundle, which offers collectors the opportunity to own an example of each of Elizabeth II’s pre-decimal coins.

*Packaging Image is for example only