Decimalisation

[j.sabourn]

It won’t be long before people have to refer to google to understand the old monetary system of the UK as all those that used it will be gone.
Even today most will not have a clue that 4 farthings equaled a penny or two farthings a halfpenny. Three penny’s equaled threepence which was also a threepenny bit, and 6 pennies equaled A sixpenny piece, and 12 pennies equalled a. Shilling or a shilling coin. 24 pennies equalled 2 bob, and 30 pennies equalled half a crown. 60 pennies equalled a crown . And a 120 pennies equalled a 10 bob note. 240 pennies equalled a pound , and a pound and one shilling equalled a guinea.
I well remember returning to the UK being after the change had taken place and travelling from Kings X to Newcastle by British rail and thought I was being ripped off by the catering in the buffet car and causing a bit of a disturbance. At the time it was a rip off and a few fortunes must have been made. That’s why I always deal with Cappy in pounds shilling and pence and in his case as low as farthings , as he will confirm. However this should have been called Nostalgia. Or back in the good old days when a dollar was a dollar, or in this case when a pound was a pound. Cheers JS

[happy daze john in oz]

John, back in the 60's Oz went Decimal and there was a song to help the people to get used to it
Something along the lines of
'Out go the shillings out go the pence, in comes the dollar makes a lot of sense'.

But think of those in the EU, people like my mother in law, got used to decimalization in the 1970's then in came the Euro!!

At the time of decimalization in UK I was working for a company of contract caterers.
We had acquired from the local bank some of the new coinage on on that Monday morning I gave the bus conductor my fare in the new money.
Can still see the puzzled look on his face.

But that was not the only problem, customers in the works cafeteria were convinced it was a scam when we converted from imperial to decimal.
Try telling some hairy a**** plumber his ham roll that was one shilling is now 10 pence!
Not an easy task.

[Keith Tindell]

I worked behind the bar for a short while before the change, what a pain to try and recon the price of the drinks in your head, someone asks for three pints at 1/nine pence halfpenny, then a gin at 2 and threepence halfpenny etc etc, all before the use of calculators , now in the shops or pubs they don't do any mental arithmetic at all, just go to the till and ring it in. The use of mental arithmetic is just not being used at all now, kt

[j.sabourn]

I realize that Keith , but when they rounded up those prices to the new currency they were to my mind all rounded upwards to increase profits. The public were taken for suckers in many cases. What you describe in adding up 3x 1/9d I did for many years as mate on a ship every week , and without a ready reckoner or hand held miniature computer or a self adding cash till. I doubt if the cash girls in supermarkets today could work out 4 x13 in their heads. And they all probably have diplomas in mathematics. Cheers JS

[Harry Nicholson]

Two years after decimalisation I visited a friend in Great Missenden. His dad had a pub. The old fellow was resistant to the new-fangled money. He kept part of the till topped up with old money - threepenny bits and suchlike, and happily traded in it.

[Red Lead Ted]

Pray please someone tell me why they still mint 1p 2p 5p coins there is nothing you can purchase for any one of them, And very little you can purchase for the 3 of them together.

- - - Updated - - -

Just as a matter of interest is anyone collecting the old copper coins, And 50p with all these different celebrations of U.K. History I have a friend who has over £3.000 worth he keeps telling me to check them out on Ebay what there worth, But does anyone actually pay hundreds of pounds for coins that are still in circulation.

[Keith at Tregenna]

Not an expert on coins, much depends on which ones.

It was reported that: Pensioner Ernest Jackson, who invested £70,000 in coins, only to find they were worth less than a third of the price.

Why you shouldn't waste your money on Royal Family commemorative coins.

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/...-money-1116541

K.

[Red Lead Ted]

This is what I am talking Keith,

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-extre...h=item23b509e1

[Bill Morrison]

I know that the decimal system makes calculating much simpler and the use of calculators depends on the decimal point. Vulgar fractions makes you use your mind as you can have many different variations of money, length, weight and others. In the past to help there were ready reconkers books of tables to assist with large amounts.
I still have a booklet which gives metric and imperial tables. The money table attached.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Dollars and cents have been in Aus now for years but you still get the rip off $10 and 99cents especially on car sales $!0,999,as it has to round up to the nearest dollar they are still frightened of putting $11,000 which is what you will pay anyway.
Des