Cash Money

While England might have the same Queen on their money, the cash money here is a bit different - notably in the denominations of the coins, and in the size of the notes.

One of the hardest parts of moving to Scotland was having to go back to using the penny... sorry, one pence coin. About the same size and colour as the penny, its also probably the easiest coin to deal with.

The singularly stupidest thing in this country is the two pence coin. Bad enough to have to go back to using a one pence coin, but a TWO PENCE COIN? I get that it makes it easier to give change, but my god... what a stupid denomination.

Next is the five pence, which is probably the most confusing coin for me, as it is about the same size as a dime.

The ten pence coin is one of the largest coins...

While the twenty pence coin goes down in size, but up in thickness.

The fifty pence coin is actually quite useful, especially since bus fares are generally £1.50.

The one pound coin is quite thick, probably about two coins pressed together. There is also a two pence coin which I didn't have one of, much like the toonie, they are less common, and appear to be one coin pressed inside a second one.

All of the coins next to a Canadian quarter for size comparison.

The bills here are also very interesting. They are issued by the individual banks, so while they are all the same size and close to the same colour (blue for £5, brown for £10, and purple for £20), they have different bank names and pictures on them. In terms of size, they are taller and less long than Canadian bills.

You also end up with notes from the Bank of England in the mix. Fun fact: while English pounds are accepted universally in Scotland, Scottish pounds, while technically legal currency, are often either scoffed at or outright refused in England, depending on where you are. Another fun fact: no bank notes, including Bank of England notes, are considered legal tender in Scotland.

The bills all also have something to the effect of "the bank promises to provide the bearer of the bill with £__ sterling when presented with the bill" - so the bank issues their own notes, on the condition that they can guarantee that they can provide pounds sterling in exchange, on demand. You can read more about the system here if you want.