British equivalent of a quarter, in the 70's and today?

Question

More specifically, what sort of coin would a phone booth have accepted back then? Roughly how much did it cost to make a call? Was there a British equivalent of a quarter?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Quarter is an American thing.

Back in the 70s I seem to recall using a 20p coin.

Answer 2

Not exactly.

Phone boxes in the UK used a 2 pence piece to make calls back then.

And clearly a 2p isn't equivalent to a quarter.

Since the phone boxes have been updated they now take various coins, including the 20p coin which is only about 20 years old.

Since the pound is made up of 100 pence like the dollar is made up of 100 cents then the 20p coin is the closest British currency to the quarter.

Answer 3

In terms of value: the 10 pence piece.

In the 70's (like today in fact) the pound was worth about two bucks, so 10p = about 20 cents.

Phone booths would accept 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 50p coins