What Country Uses Pence?

William Warby/CC-BY 2.0

The United Kingdom uses pence in its currency system. The basic unit of U.K. currency is the pound, which divides into 100 pence. U.K. currency includes the following pence coins: 1 penny, 2 pence, 5 pence, 10 pence, 20 pence and 50 pence.

Before Feb. 15, 1971, the system of British currency included pence, shillings and pounds. Twelve pence were equivalent to one shilling, and 20 shillings equaled one pound. To simplify matters and bring the currency into line with Europe’s metric systems, the United Kingdom changed their currency system to decimalization on Feb. 15, 1971. The new system eliminated shillings from British currency.