Coins of the pound sterling coins' designs. As of 31 March 2016, there were an estimated 30.14 billion coins circulating in the United Kingdom. The first decimal coins were circulated in 1968. These were the five pence (5p) and ten pence (10p), and had values of one shilling (1/-) and two shillings (2/-), respectively, under the pre-decimal £sd system. The decimal coins are minted in copper-plated steel (previously bronze), nickel-plated steel, cupronickel and nickel-brass. The two-pound coins, and, as from 28 March 2017 the new one-pound coins, are bimetallic. The coins are discs, except for the twenty pence and fifty pence pieces, both of which
British currency in the Middle East Chairman of the Cyprus Currency Board was held by the Accountant General, also known as the Auditor General, of the British colonial Government of Cyprus. The Board could issue notes and coins, initially denominated in the Cypriot pound, shillings and piastres, and later, following decimalization in 1955, in Cyprus pounds and mils. However, the local currency remained pegged at one Cyprus pound to one pound sterling meaning ultimate fiscal control still rested with the Bank of England in London and the Government of the United Kingdom. This link was maintained by the requirement that for every Cyprus pound issued by