Roy Brown covered most of it.
What he didn't mention was the old turnstiles at places like the toilets
(restrooms) at Waterloo Station, for example, which required you to
insert a large (about half the size of a silver dollar) one penny coin
into a slot to gain access. Hence the origin of the phrase, "to spend a
penny!".

Also, in 1969 the introduction of the 50 pence coin (or "Wilson" as it
was known in my neck of the woods) was the world's first equilateral
curve heptagon coinage. The curved sides of the fifty pence are
calculated so that the diameter at any point on the coin is the same. In
1997, the fifty pence was reduced in size and weight.

Just my two-pee,

Cheers,

John Dunlop

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