Posted by Mike Field on June 25, 2009 at 13:20:44 user mikefield.
In Reply to: Re:Pre-decimal currency (was: Absent posters (Trivia) posted by eclrh on June 25, 2009 at 12:06:02:
Robert, 1966 was the date of decimalisation in Oz. I wasn't referring to the UK in that post. There was a two-year changeover period when the old and new currencies were both accepted, but after (February ?)1968, pre-decimal coins here were no longer legal tender.
Our changeover equivalents started from the basis of the old ten shillings (not the pound, which until then had been the base unit of currency) becoming the new dollar.
Then 5/- became 50c, 2/- was 20c, 1/- was 10c, and 6d was 5c. All these were issued as coins. Threepence got dropped, and the new 5c was divisible only by five, with 2c and 1c coins completing the suite.
The original dollar was paper currency, which went up in multiples of two, five, ten, twenty, and fifty dollar notes. Where there were equivalents (everywhere but the $50 note,) the notes were the same colour and size (albeit different designs) to the old equivalent-value £sd notes.
Later, with inflation, a $100 note was also brought in, the 1c and 2c coins were dropped altogether, and the $1 and then $2 notes were replaced with coins.
(There's more, but it's off-AR and I don't want to bore people with it.)