Understand that 1 pound is 100 pence

Key Rules:

• 1. 1 pound is worth exactly 100 pence: £1 = 100p.
• 2. When you count pence and reach 100, you have made one whole pound.
• 3. Any coins that add up to 100p can be swapped for one £1 coin.
• 4. A £1 coin is worth the same as 100 pennies, even though it is only one coin.

Remember:

• •£1 = 100p. One pound and one hundred pence are the same amount of money.

Don’t Forget...

• •Thinking 1 pound is 10 pence. A pound holds 100 pence, not 10. It takes ten 10p coins, or one hundred 1p coins, to make £1.
• •Thinking a pile of pennies must be worth more than one £1 coin because there are more coins. Value comes from what the coins are worth, not how many there are. One £1 coin is worth the same as 100 pennies.
• •Counting 99 pence as a whole pound. A pound needs exactly 100 pence, so 99p is still 1p short of £1.

Worked Example:

Poppy has ten 10p coins. Can she swap them for a £1 coin?

Count the coins in tens: 10p, 20p, 30p, 40p, 50p, 60p, 70p, 80p, 90p, 100p.

Ten 10p coins make 100 pence.

100 pence is exactly 1 pound.

Answer: Yes. Her ten 10p coins are worth £1.

Why It Works:

Pounds and pence measure the same money in different sized units, and the rate never changes: 100 pence always make exactly 1 pound. That is why counting up to 100p and holding one £1 coin give you the very same value.

Another Example:

A comic costs £2. How many pence is that?

Every pound is 100 pence.

£2 is 2 lots of 100 pence.

100 + 100 = 200.

Answer: 200 pence