United Kingdom Decimalises its Currency (1971)
On February 15, 1971 the United Kingdom decimalised its currency and switched to the system of pounds and pence that is still in use today.
Decimalisation is the process of converting from a different denomination to a decimal system. Decimalisation is generally favored for use in currency. In currency, the ratio between the basic unit of currency and its sub-unit is a power of 10. For example, in the United States, 100 cents make one dollar.
Before decimalisation, British currency was incredibly confusing. Under the old currency, called the pound Sterling, there were 240 pence to a pound. The system was divided into pence (12 to a shilling) and shillings (20 to a pound), and even the penny was divided into 4 "farthings." A pound could be subdivided in 19 different ways into integral numbers of pence and in 8 additional ways into integral numbers of farthings.
As you can see, this system was not easy to understand! Different groups had been pushing for decimalisation in the UK for years, dating all the way back to 1824. It took until 1960, after the successful decimalisation of South Africa for Britain to form the Committee of the Inquiry on Decimal Currency.
A public awareness campaign ran for two full years before decimalisation finally took place on February 15, 1971. The pound was now divided into 100 pence, and the old coins were quickly taken out of rotation. The transition went incredibly smoothly, and within two weeks the new system of currency was completely in place.
Today, there are only two currencies in the world that are not decimalised - the ouguiya of Mauritania and the ariary of Madagascar.
Decimal Day is still celebrated every year on February 15 in the United Kingdom.