"Decimal Day On 15 February 1971, known as Decimal Day, the United Kingdom and Ireland decimalised their currencies. Under the old currency of pounds, shillings and pence, the pound was made up of 240 pence (denoted by the letter ""d"" for Latin ""denarius"" and now referred to as ""old pence""), with 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings (denoted by ""s"" for Latin ""solidus"") in a pound. The loss of value of the currency meant that the ""old"" penny, with the same diameter as the US half-dollar, had become of relatively low value. The Coinage Act of 1792 had"
"in the United Kingdom. From 1938, the means of tender was referred to as the ""Irish Pound"", after the Constitution of Ireland changed the state's name. The Currency Act, 1927, Adaptation Order, 1938 was the actual mechanism by which change took place. The ""Report of the Metric System and Decimal Coinage Committee"" (1959) was amongst the first formal reports on decimalisation of the currency, discussion continued into the 1960s on the topic. When the British government decided to decimalise its currency, the Irish government followed suit. The legislative basis for decimalisation in the Republic was the Decimal Currency Act, 1969."
"abandoned the £sd system quickly, while others retained it almost as long as the UK itself. Australia, for example, only changed to using a decimal currency on 14 February 1966. Still others, notably Ireland, decimalised only when the UK did. The UK abandoned the old penny on Decimal Day, 15 February 1971, when one pound sterling became divided into 100 new pence. This was a change from the system used in the earlier wave of decimalisations in Australia, New Zealand, Rhodesia and South Africa, in which the pound was replaced with a new major currency called either the ""dollar"" or"
"£sd system, in which the pound was divided into 20 shillings and one shilling was divided into 12 pence, which by the 1950s was considered complicated and cumbersome. Switching to decimal currency had been proposed in New Zealand since the 1930s, although only in the 1950s did any plans come to fruition. In 1957, a committee was set up by the Government to investigate decimal currency. The idea fell on fertile ground, and in 1963, the Government decided to decimalise New Zealand currency. The Decimal Currency Act was passed in 1964, setting the date of transition to 10 July 1967."
"15 February 1971, when the decimal coinage was released into circulation (although 5p, 10p, and 50p coins were released a few years earlier, as they had exact equivalents in old currency units). Decimalisation would have provided an ideal opportunity to break the link with Sterling, but there was not much demand for this at that time. In 1972 however, the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates broke down, and in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis inflation in Britain increased dramatically, and economic theory would suggest that a smaller economy whose currency is pegged to a larger one"
"decimal currency in the United States, France and other nations in the late 18th and early 19th centuries renewed the call, and commissions in 1841 and 1843 called for its adoption. In 1847, a motion was introduced in Parliament by Sir John Bowring calling for the introduction of a decimal currency and the striking of coins of one-tenth and one-hundredth of a pound. Bowring obtained surprisingly strong support for his motion, and the Russell government promised that a coin valued at one-tenth of a pound (two shillings) would be produced to test public opinion, with consideration in future to be"
"Conventionsthaler to the Vereinsthaler standard. Spain introduced its decimal currency unit, the peseta, in 1868, replacing all previous currencies. Cyprus decimalised the Cypriot pound in 1955, which comprised 1,000 mils, later replaced by 100 cents. On Decimal Day, 15 February 1971, the United Kingdom decimalised the pound sterling and Ireland decimalised the Irish pound (see below). Malta decimalised the lira in 1972. The euro, which comprises 100 cents, was introduced in the eurozone, and as of 2015, it replaced 19 national currencies in Europe. In places where £sd was used, the decimalisation process either defined one new penny = pound,"
"every business and every consumer was aware of the implications. Public information films were made and shown on television and leaflets were distributed by the Government. The date for the switch, which became known as 'Decimal Day' or 'D day', was set for Monday 15 February 1971 but the new decimal coins (some of which were the same value as existing pre-decimal coinage) were introduced gradually. In the event, despite some predictions of disaster, D day went off smoothly, with the main concerns being over retailers using the opportunity to round prices up and thereby boost inflation. The Decimal Currency"
"February, 1963. In July 1961 the Commonwealth Government confirmed its support of a decimal currency system, but considered it undesirable to make final decisions on the detailed arrangement that would be necessary to effect the change. On 7 April 1963 the Commonwealth Government announced that a system of decimal currency was to be introduced into Australia at the earliest practicable date, and gave February 1966, as the tentative change-over date. On 14 February 1966, a decimal currency, the dollar of one hundred cents, was introduced. Under the implementation conversion rate, £1 was set as the equivalent of $2. Thus, 10s"
"coins' designs. As of 31 March 2016, there were an estimated 30.14 billion coins circulating in the United Kingdom. The first decimal coins were circulated in 1968. These were the five pence (5p) and ten pence (10p), and had values of one shilling (1/-) and two shillings (2/-), respectively, under the pre-decimal £sd system. The decimal coins are minted in copper-plated steel (previously bronze), nickel-plated steel, cupronickel and nickel-brass. The two-pound coins, and, as from 28 March 2017 the new one-pound coins, are bimetallic. The coins are discs, except for the twenty pence and fifty pence pieces, both of which"
"It is still in force unamended. Currency Act 1982 The Currency Act 1982 (c 3) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Following Decimal Day in 1971, when the British monetary system changed from pound/shilling/penny to the metric £1 = 100p system, the new currency was known as the ""new pound"" and therefore the ""new pence"". By 1982, the use of ""new pence"" was out of use, and replaced with ""penny"". The Act sanctions the use of ""penny"" rather than ""new penny"" in common usage, such as on coins produced by the Royal Mint. The Act covers"
"Advancement of Science and the Association of British Chambers of Commerce, followed by the success of decimalisation in South Africa, prompted the Government to set up the ""Committee of the Inquiry on Decimal Currency"" (Halsbury Committee) in 1961, which reported in 1963. The adoption of the changes suggested in the report was announced on 1 March 1966. The Decimal Currency Board (DCB) was created to manage the transition, although the plans were not approved by Parliament until the Decimal Currency Act in May 1969. Former Greater London Council leader Bill Fiske was named as the Chairman of the Decimal Currency"
"Commons and announced the historic decision that the UK would adopt decimal currency. (It was actually not until 1971, under a Conservative government, that the United Kingdom moved from the system of pounds, shillings and pence to a decimal system of 100 pence to the pound.) He also announced a short-term mortgage scheme which allowed low-wage earners to maintain mortgage schemes in the face of economic difficulties. Soon afterwards, in the 1966 general election Labour won 363 seats compared to 252 seats against the Conservatives, giving the Labour government a large majority of 97. Callaghan introduced his next Budget on"
"currency more suited to simple monetary calculations became pressing. The decision to decimalise was announced in 1966, with the pound to be redivided into 100, rather than 240, pence. Decimal Day was set for 15 February 1971, and a whole range of new coins were introduced. Shillings continued to be legal tender with a value of 5 new pence until 31 December 1990. Testoons issued during the reign of Henry VII feature a right-facing portrait of the king on the obverse. Surrounding the portrait is the inscription , or similar, meaning """"Henry, by the Grace of God, King of England"
"are most commonly 100 sub-units to the base currency unit, but currencies based on 1,000 sub-units also exist, especially in Arab countries. The Chinese Yuan is widely considered to be the first to use decimal currency . For example: Historically, non-decimal currencies were much more common: such as the British pound sterling before decimalisation in 1971. Until 1971, the pound sterling had sub-units of account of shillings (20 to a pound) and pence (12 to a shilling). Like other currencies, it also had coins with other names (ha'pence, guineas, and crowns); and in addition, until 1960 the penny was divided"
"Currency Act 1982 The Currency Act 1982 (c 3) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Following Decimal Day in 1971, when the British monetary system changed from pound/shilling/penny to the metric £1 = 100p system, the new currency was known as the ""new pound"" and therefore the ""new pence"". By 1982, the use of ""new pence"" was out of use, and replaced with ""penny"". The Act sanctions the use of ""penny"" rather than ""new penny"" in common usage, such as on coins produced by the Royal Mint. The Act covers England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland."
"Later, in 1966, the British government decided to include in the Queen's Speech a plan to convert the pound into a decimal currency. As a result of this, on 15 February 1971, the UK decimalised the pound sterling, replacing the shilling and penny with a single subdivision, the new penny. For example, a price tag of £1 12s 6d became . The word ""new"" was omitted from coins minted after 1981. With the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system, the pound floated from August 1971 onwards. At first it appreciated a little, rising to almost $2.65 in March 1972 from"
"Day to enable them to give change immediately after the changeover. Banks were closed from 3:30 pm on Wednesday 10 February 1971 to 10:00 am on Monday 15 February, to enable all outstanding cheques and credits in the clearing system to be processed and customers' account balances to be converted from £sd to decimal. In many banks the conversion was done manually, as most bank branches were not yet computerised. February had been chosen for Decimal Day because it was the quietest time of the year for the banks, shops, and transport organisations. Many items were priced in both currencies"
"the costs of the Second World War. New ""silver"" coinage was instead minted in cupronickel, an alloy of copper and nickel containing no silver at all. Beginning with Lord Wrottesley's proposals in the 1820s, there were various attempts to decimalise the pound sterling over the next century and a half. These attempts came to nothing significant until the 1960s when the need for a currency more suited to simple monetary calculations became pressing. The decision to decimalise was announced in 1966, with the pound to be divided into 100, rather than 240, pence. Decimal Day was set for 15 February"
"officially authorized the United States as the first English-speaking nation to have decimalised currency, although Tsar Peter the Great used the concept for the Russian ruble close to a century earlier, in 1704, while China has used such a decimal system for at least 2000 years. The United Kingdom's Parliament rejected Sir John Wrottesley's proposals to decimalise sterling in 1824, which was prompted by the introduction in 1795 of the decimal French franc. After this defeat, little practical progress towards decimalisation was made for over a century, with the exception of the two-shilling silver florin (worth of a pound) first"
"of parity with the US dollar, due to the sterling/dollar rate then being fixed at £1 = $2.80. To aid in decimalisation, three-dollar bills and fifteen-cent coins were created, as three dollars was roughly equivalent to one pound, and fifteen cents to a shilling, at the time of transition. In 1966, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 15, 25, 50 cents, 1 and 2 dollars. The 1 cent was struck in nickel-brass, the 5, 10, and 15 cent in cupronickel, the 25 cent in nickel, and the 50 cent and 1 dollar in silver. The 10 cent"
"other silver coins were demonetized. The British government in principle allowed for a decimal coinage but nevertheless held out the hope that a sterling unit would be chosen under the name of ""royal"". However, in 1857, the decision was made to introduce a decimal coinage into the Province of Canada in conjunction with the U.S. dollar unit. Hence, when the new decimal coins were introduced in 1858, the colony's currency became aligned with the U.S. currency, although the British gold sovereign continued to remain legal tender at the rate of £1 = right up until the 1990s. In 1859, Canadian"
"were issued in several millions of copies, and circulated as regular currency. In the United Kingdom, before decimalisation of the money system in 1971, the usual commemorative coin was a crown, or five shilling piece. These were issued to mark coronations of monarchs; one was also issued on the occasion of the death of Winston Churchill. Some decimal crowns (worth 25 pence) were issued, but since 1990 the £5 has been the usual non circulating commemorative coin. Other denominations such as the 50 pence and £2 are issued as circulating commemoratives. The number of independent nations has grown rapidly since"
"some controversy at the time, with questions being asked in the British House of Commons as to the legality of the British government issuing coinage in territory which was still, legally, part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1955, Cyprus decimalized with 1000 ""mils"" (""μιλς"", ""mil"") to the pound. The system was based on a proposal, presented to the British parliament in 1881, to introduce a decimal currency system into the United Kingdom. The political debate on decimalising British coinage had been going on since 1824, but the 1881 motion failed to gain parliamentary approval and so the mil-system was never"
"where the main unit (the pound) was unchanged, or introduced a new main unit (such as the dollar for Australia and New Zealand), equivalent to ten shillings (half a pound), with one cent = dollar. The following table shows the conversion of common denominations of coins of the £sd system. The farthing, at penny, was never converted, as it ceased to be legal tender a decade prior to decimalisation. In 1971, a new penny would have been worth 9.6 farthings (making a farthing slightly more than 0.104 new pence). In 1784, Thomas Jefferson proposed a decimal currency system based on"
"event of Australia’s change to its own, unique decimal currency in February 1966 – and before and afterwards in the direction and expansion of Australia’s overseas economic and financial relations, especially in Asia.” On 10 August 2015 the Director-General of the National Archives of Australia, David Fricker, referred to Davey’s thesis as the “foundation document” upon which the national change to decimal currency was based. Davey was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours. Neil Davey Dr. Neil William Davey is an Australian public servant who oversaw Australia's transition from pounds, shillings and"
"the adoption in 1971 of a decimal currency. In 1965, the then Federation of British Industry informed the British Government that its members favoured the adoption of the metric system. The Board of Trade, on behalf of the Government, agreed to support a ten-year metrication programme. There would be minimal legislation as the programme was to be voluntary and costs were to be borne where they fell. Work on adapting specifications started almost as soon as the government first gave its approval in 1965. The BSI took the lead in coordinating the efforts of industry, and where appropriate working with"
"designs as ""iconic themes that are quintessentially British"". Ten pence (British coin) The British decimal ten pence (10p) coin – often pronounced ""ten pee"" – is a unit of currency equalling ten one-hundredths of a pound sterling. Its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coin's introduction in 1968, replacing the florin coin in preparation for decimalisation in 1971. Four different portraits of the Queen have been used on the coin, with the latest design by Jody Clark being introduced in 2015. The second and current reverse, featuring a segment of the Royal Shield, was introduced"
"was resisted, although the florin coin, re-designated as ""ten new pence"", survived the transfer to a full decimal system in 1971, with examples surviving in British coinage until 1993. John Benjamin Smith, MP for Stirling Burghs, raised the issue of full decimalisation again in Parliament in 1853, resulting in the Chancellor of the Exchequer, William Gladstone, announcing soon afterwards that ""the great question of a decimal coinage"" was ""now under serious consideration"". A full proposal for the decimalisation of sterling was then tabled in the House of Commons in June 1855, by William Brown, MP for Lancashire Southern, with the"
"Halfpenny (British decimal coin) The British decimal halfpenny (p) coin was introduced in February 1971, at the time of decimalisation, and was worth one two-hundredth of a pound sterling. It was ignored in banking transactions, which were carried out in units of 1p. The decimal halfpenny had the same value as 1.2 pre-decimal pence, and was introduced to enable the prices of some low-value items to be more accurately translated to the new decimal currency. The possibility of setting prices including an odd half penny also made it more practical to retain the pre-decimal sixpence in circulation (with a value"
"mandate of keeping full foreign exchange cover to ensure convertibility at $4.80 per pound sterling. In 1951, the British Virgin Islands joined the arrangement, but this led to discontent because that territory was more naturally drawn to the currency of the neighbouring U.S. Virgin Islands. In 1961, the British Virgin Islands withdrew from the arrangement and adopted the U.S. dollar. Until 1955, the BWI$ existed only as banknotes in conjunction with sterling fractional coinage. Decimal coins replaced the sterling coins in 1955. These decimal coins were denominated in cents, with each cent worth one halfpenny in sterling. In 1958, the"
"world's first decimal currency. France introduced the franc in 1795 to replace the livre tournois, abolished during the French Revolution. France introduced decimalisation in a number of countries that it occupied during the Napoleonic period. Dutch guilder decimalised in 1817 (became equal to 100 centen instead of 20 stuivers = 160 duits = 320 penningen), with last pre-decimal coins withdrawn from circulation in 1848. Sweden introduced decimal currency in 1855. The currency riksdaler was divided into 100 öre. The riksdaler was renamed krona in 1873. The Austro-Hungarian Empire decimalised the Austro-Hungarian gulden in 1857, concurrent with its transition from the"
"denominations of 5s, 10s, £1, and £5. On January 30, 1968, the Jamaican House of Representatives voted to decimalize the currency by introducing the dollar, worth 10 shillings, to replace the Jamaican pound. Coins and banknotes went into circulation on September 8, 1969. The introduction of a decimal currency provided the opportunity for the introduction of a complete Jamaican coinage as formerly, the coins (with the exception of the penny and halfpenny), were the same as those used in the United Kingdom. The reverse of the decimal coinage was designed by Christopher Ironside, O.B.E.. These coins were in circulation from"