Non-decimal currency in the 19th century envisaged a system of 1 Pound = 10 florins = 100 dimes = 1000 cents. However the only step taken at that time was the introduction in 1849 of a florin (two shillings) coin (the earliest examples bore the inscription "One Tenth of a Pound"). A partial listing of former non-decimal currencies (giving only units of account): In the Eurozone, in the interval between fixing the conversion factors between national currencies and the euro and the introduction of euro coins, the national currencies were non-decimal subdivisions of the euro. Non-decimal currency A non-decimal currency is a
Penny (British decimal coin) mid-2000s caused the value of the copper in the pre-1992 coins (which are 97% copper) to exceed the coins' face value. For example, in May 2006, the intrinsic metal value of a pre-1992 1p coin was about 1.5 pence. During 2008, the value of copper fell dramatically from these peaks. As of 31 March 2016 there were an estimated 11,430 million 1p coins in circulation, with an estimated total face value of £114.299 million. The penny is the lowest value coin in circulation in the United Kingdom. The purchasing power of previous lowest-value coins is: The original reverse of the