The shilling was a British coin first issued in 1548 for Henry VIII, although arguably the testoon issued about 1487 for Henry VII was the first shilling.
Shillings had a value of 12 pence; equal to one-twentieth of a pound.
The name shilling is believed to come from old Scandinavian skilling, meaning a mark on a stick.
The abbreviation for shilling is "s.", from the Latin solidus.
A slang name for a shilling was a bob (which was always singular, as in "ten bob note"; "that cost me two bob").
To take the King's shilling was to enlist in the army or navy.
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Withdrawal
The last shillings issued for circulation were dated 1966, although proofs were issued as part of a collectors set dated 1970. From 1968 new decimal coins, "five new pence" with the same weight and specifications, started to replace shillings. They were finally withdrawn in 1990, when a new, smaller, five pence coin was reduced.
Irish shillings
In Ireland, the shilling was issued as 'scilling' in Irish Gaelic. They had kept the original 12-pence value on their shilling. It was issued until 1969, and after 1971, like Britain, the general public often used a shilling to pay 5-pences to shops, etc. When the Central Bank of Ireland issued a smaller five-pence piece, the shilling was finally demonitised in 1992
