The sixpence (6d), sometimes known as a tanner or half-shilling was a British coin first minted in 1551, during the reign of Edward VI. It was worth 6 pennies or ​2 1⁄2 new pence. Shillings were produced until decimalisation on 15th February 1971. The coin remained in circulation at the value of 2 1⁄2 pence until 1980.

Sixpences were minted during the reign of every British monarch after Edward VI, but it was not until the reign of George II that they gained the nickname 'tanner'. John Sigismund Tanner (1705-1775), the Chief Engraver of the Royal Mint, redesigned the coin, which people referred to as the 'Tanner version'. Thus the nickname developed.

Before decimalisation, twenty pence made a shilling, and twenty shillings made a pound. When something cost less than a pound, prices were written in shillings and pence. £0.42, for example, was written as three shillings and sixpence (3/6) or "three and six". If something had a lower value than a shilling, the amount was written in pence. Whilst today, one pence is written '1p', an old one pence was writted '1d'. The letter 'd' stood for 'denarii'.

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