British Decimal Coinage

About British Decimal Coinage

On February 15, 1971, Britain switched to decimal currency. Decimal Day or D Day ended over 1,000 years of pounds, shillings, and pence. The new system had 100 pence to the pound instead of 240 old pence. The 50 pence coin was introduced in 1969, followed by the 20p in 1982 and the pound coin in 1983. The 5p and 10p replaced the shilling and florin. The half penny was withdrawn in 1984. Decimalisation was the biggest monetary change in British history.