Coins of the pound sterling Coins of the pound sterling The standard circulating coinage of the United Kingdom is denominated in pounds sterling (symbol "£"), and, since the introduction of the two-pound coin in 1994 (to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Bank of England 1694–1994), ranges in value from one penny to two pounds. Since decimalisation, on 15 February 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 (new) pence. From the 16th century until decimalisation, the pound was divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 (old) pence. British coins are minted by the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Wales. The Royal Mint also commissions the
Royal Canadian Mint mint produced 615 Olympic and 399 Paralympic medals at their headquarters in Ottawa for the 2010 Winter Games. The mint also designed and produced the 4,283 medals for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am games. In 1979, the Mint began producing its own branded bullion coins, which feature a maple leaf on the reverse. Since 1979, the fineness of the gold used to strike the Gold Maple Leaf (GML) coins has increased from .999 to .9999, and finally, to .99999 (for a special series from 2007 to 2009). In addition, GMLs are produced in fractional sizes: 1 ounce,