Decimal Day (15 February 1971) was the day the United Kingdom and Ireland decimalised their currencies.
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Farthing |
Florin |
Shilling |
Half Crown |
The British currency is the pound sterling. The sign for the pound is 
Since decimalisation in 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 pence.
The pound ( ) is made up of 100 pence (p)
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one penny |
two pence |
five pence |
ten pence |
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fifty pence |
one pound |
two pounds |
Up until 1971, the pound was made up of 240 pence.
There were twelve pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a pound.
Why was the currency decimalised?
Adding up sums of money was more complicated than with a decimal currency.
People outside the countries were confused with how much the following coins were worth:
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Farthing |
Florin |
Shilling |
Half Crown |
1 'farthing' worth one quarter of an old penny
1 'florin' worth 2 shillings (2s)
1 'shilling' (1s) worth 12 pence
'half-crown' - worth two shillings and sixpence, or one eighth of a pound).
Pre-decimal |
Decimal |
Common name |
Amount |
Halfpenny |
½d. |
5⁄24p ≈ 0.208p |
Penny |
1d. |
5⁄12p ≈ 0.417p |
Threepence |
3d. |
1¼p |
Sixpence |
6d. |
2½p |
Shilling |
1/- |
5p |
Florin |
2/- |
10p |
Half crown |
2/6 |
12½p |
Crown |
5/- |
25p |
All British coins have the head of the Queen on one side. Do you know which way she always faces?
On the back of the British bank notes are famous people. Who do you think should be given the honour of having their picture on a bank note? Why?
Understanding old British money
British coins used today
Bank Notes
Also on this day ....
Collop Monday
Named after the traditional dish of the day: collops of bacon served with eggs.
Find out more
Parinirvana / Nirvana Day (Buddhists)
Mahayana Buddhist festival marking the final passing away from this world of Gautama Buddha at Kushinagara, India, at the age of 80.
Multifaith Calendar
Buddhist Religion
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