This year saw the introduction of the new pound coin, twelve-sided with a design featuring the English rose, Scottish thistle, Welsh leek and Northern Ireland's shamrock. It has been 20 years since the pound coin last changed, this change occurring due to the facility by which people could create counterfeit pound coins. There are also several hidden features to the new coin that allow it to be distinguished from any copies, but due to obvious reasons these features are unknown to the public.

However looking back to nearly 80 years ago, to 1945, it is apparent a lot has changed about the currency we use. During the reign of George VI, the two shilling coin (also known as the florin) was still distributed; a coin around twice the size of the new pound coin. It feels noticeably heavier than our new coin, possibly due to the fact it is 50% silver and weighs around 2g more. The inscription on the coins has changed a lot too, detailing on the "heads" side: "GEORGIUS VI D:G: BR : OMN : REX." The letters stand for the Latin "dei gratia rex" that translates to "By the grace of God, King." The inscription seen on our current coin is "ELIZABETH II D.G. REG . F . D." The "dei gratia" remains, with this new inscription translating to "By grace of God, the Queen, defender of our faith."

The shilling was eventually removed from our currency system following the introduction of decimalisation. It was then replaced by the ten pence coin.

In just under 100 years, our currency has changed massively, leaving us with the question of what it will look like in the next 100, 50 or even 10 years.