n pre-decimalisation U.K. unit of currency – worth a twentieth of a pound, which was then twelve pence.
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A poorly-researched dictionary of British Slang words and phrases, written by some guy off the internet.
The expression ‘which was then twelve pence’ appears to be a bit confusing. A shilling was indeed a twentieth of a pound, but a shilling was made up of 12 (old) pence, or pennies. Hence a pound was worth 240 (old) pennies. The UK decimalized its currency in 1971, whereupon shillings became obsolete and a pound was made up of 100 new pence. The old one- and three-penny coins were withdrawn, but higher value coins had decimal equivalents, so that an old shilling was worth 5 new pence. New coins were produced, but with the same characteristics as their pre-decimal equivalents, so that old and new coins could co-exist.