Decimal Day

Decimal Day, the day in which the UK switched from £sd to decimal coinage, took place on 15th February 1971. The government prepared for the massive change by withdrawing some denominations of coins and notes prior to the 1971 launch day. They also introduced fifty pence coins a couple of years earlier, in 1969.

In order to acquaint the general public to the new denominations of coins, special packs were issued featuring the new half penny, penny, two pence, five pence and ten pence coins.

The bronze coins did not become legal tender until 15th February 1971 but the 5p and 10p were released in 1968 and had the same weight, size and metal content as the shilling and florin and were interchangable with them.

The information card seen in the photos has other interesting facts on it such as the fact that the sixth decimal coin was to be the 50p to replace the 10s note.

Obverse

The classic portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin

Reverse

The reverses are all by Christopher Ironside and are as follows;

1/2p The Royal Crown

1p Crowned portcullis with chains either side

2p Prince of Wales badge consisting of three ostrich feathers within a coronet of cross pattee and fleurs de lys, with the motto 'Ich Dian.'

5p A crowned thistle to represent Scotland

10p Lion passant crowned. This is usually seen in the crest of England

Specification

Metal	Base Metal
Date	1971
Obverse Designer	Arnold Machin
Reverse Designer	Christopher Ironside
Issuing Monarch	Elizabeth II (1952-2022)
Mint / Brand	The Royal Mint
Country	United Kingdom

Terms of Sale - Key Points

You can find more information on payment and identification requirements.

Bullion coins are provided as is and on occasion may have some minor scratches or edge knocks. These are not regarded as faulty or damaged goods as their precious metal content and value as a bullion coin is not affected. Any coin sold for a value less than a 180% intrinsic is considered a bullion coin.

Gold investment products are VAT free. Silver investment products are inclusive of VAT at the current rate unless otherwise stated.

All investment products are based on the live precious metal price. Prices will be fixed once the item has been added to the basket and recalculates just before checking out.

If your product is not a graded coin and is considered a bullion item, it should be noted that these are bought and sold on low premiums over their precious metal content and not solely for aesthetic purposes; therefore, some products may have edge knocks and/or marks. These edge knocks and marks do not alter the specifications of the coins.

Please note that all investment products are exempt from the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and therefore customers do not have the right to cancel their order once the order has been accepted. If customers no longer wish to go ahead with their investment purchase, there is an option to sell the products back to Chard (1964) Ltd instead. View our current buy back prices.

View our full Terms & Conditions.

Delivery Information

We aim to dispatch orders within 48 hours of receiving cleared funds. Our standard delivery methods are as follows.

Orders over £60 - Fully Insured Delivery.

Within the UK and BFPO - Next day fully insured and tracked. Delivery starts from £6.

Orders under £60

Within the UK and BFPO - Royal Mail 2nd Class. Your order will normally arrive within 2-3 working days. Delivery starts from £3.50.

If you wish to have your order sent by an alternative method (e.g., Saturday Guaranteed) please contact +441253343081 for more information. Please note, we will not dispatch high value orders over a bank holiday weekend.

For international delivery, please check with your local customs office for more information on custom duty and taxes.

Full delivery information can be found by clicking here.

Postal Insurance

We offer fully insured delivery on all special delivery options. We do need to pass on the cost of this insurance as it soon adds up shipping high value gold and silver products.

Orders under £1500 there is no additional fee.
Orders over £1500 we charge a fee in order to cover the increasing costs of insurance. For every £1500 we apply a £1 fee.

If you require any assistance, please do not hesitate to call the showroom on +441253343081 and one of our team can discuss your purchase.

Tess Ryan

“Easy to order and arrived promptly, very pleased with my Flopsy Bunny coin, perfect present for a new first granddaughter. ”

16 hours ago

George Wolfenden

“Arrived on time and as ordered. Silver coins looked brilliant will be future gifts to family and friends. ”

19 hours ago

Andy Wallis

“Great service. Thank you :-)”

a day ago

Laurence

“Good, clear advertising. Staff member very helpful, told me "as it is", no fancy wording or terminology that may baffle !”

Alan

“Easy to order and delivered when expected.”

Customer from Scotland

“Excellent service - lovely coin collection... ”

Jeff Egglestone

“Great service I ordered two coronation sovereigns 2023 coins beautiful condition well worth the money I paid very quick delivery would definitely recommend chards ”

colin

“Excellent price and delivery as usual. My favourite bullion supplier in the UK. Thank you ”

2 days ago

Derek Henderson

“A fantastic service weather on phone or in person in the business quality coins and bullion at fair prices if anyone reading this is thinking... Read More”

andy t

“Great quality,helpful great comms love dealing with them. Well packaged too”

5 days ago