Why is the two pence piece so big compared to the other coins in Britain?
When the decimal coins were first introduced into this country on 14 February 1971 (I was 22 then and I remember it!) they issued a 1/2 penny coin plus 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, and 50p. £1 was a paper note at that time. The 1/2 penny was the size of the current 5p and was a nuisance and was phased out quite quickly. The original 5p was the size of the current 10p! The original 10p was the size (almost) of the current 50p. The original 50p was much thicker than the current 50p. (I hope you’re keeping up!). Because of cost, the 5p, 10p and 50p were changed from about 1990 to the much smaller coins that we have now. If you are younger than about 20 or so, then you would never have seen the original decimal coins. If you put the current 5p next to the original 5p. you’d have a shock! The current one is TINY compared to the old one. However, the 1p and the 2p were NOT made smaller and are the same size as they were in 1971. You can prove this by looking at the dates – you’ll find plenty of 1971 1p
