This film is part of Free

Decimal Day Five Years On

People attempt to remember the value of old money on the fifth anniversary of decimalisation day.

News 1976 4 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for South West Film and Television Archive

Overview

Del Cooper tests shoppers on the pounds shilling and pence of old on this, the filth anniversary of decimalisation and sees just who is capable of giving him the right change. “How much is that in old money?” is a popular phrase coming from Decimalisation Day or D-Day as it is known. A considerable public information campaign prepared the country for changeover on 15 February 1971 with the date deliberately chosen due to it being a low-trading month for banks and shops.

Lsd or pounds shilling and pence were the Latin currency denominations of librae, solidi and denarii. The UK, Ireland and Malta followed where Russia in 1704 and France in 1795 led, in being among the last to convert currencies to multiples of ten. Slang terms for old money include; a farthing - a mag, threepence - a joey, thruppence or thruppeny bit, sixpence - a tanner, shilling - a bob, a florin or two shillings - a two-bob bit and the first decimal 10p coin introduced in 1848, half crown - thirty pence and a crown is sixty pence and there are 240 pence or 4 crowns in an old pound. A guinea was equivalent to 21 shillings or £1.05 in decimal currency. A nicker was the slang term for a pound and a pair o’ nickers, two pounds!