RAMBLING REPOST: NEW COINS FOR OLD...

Following the previous post, I thought this earlier one on the

same theme might prove interesting to those who've forgotten it

from its first outing.  Remember now, despite the above set being

described as Britain's first Decimal coins, the first one was ac-

tually the florin, first introduced in 1849.  (Like, wow!)

******

If you're around my age, you'll no doubt remember L.s.d. from back in
the 1960s.  No, not the hallucinogenic drug of which hippies were reputed
to be so fond, but Britain's system of currency (pounds, shillings and pence,
from the Latin, 'librae, solidi, denari') before decimalisation was officially
introduced in 1971.  (Although usually pronounced and written as 'L.s.d.',
apparently the proper way to render it is '£sd'.)  



What most of us tend to forget however, is that two years before 'D-

Day', some decimal coins were introduced into our £sd currency.  In 1968,

the five, ten, and fifty 'new' pence coins were issued, mingling quite happily

with the threeppenny (pronounced thruppenny) bit, sixpences, shillings

and florins (two shilling piece), until the decimal system officially took over.

The old sixpence (tanner) continued in circulation until 1980, and shillings

and florins were interchangable with their counterparts for many years

after, until the size of the new coins was reduced in the early '90s.

When I bought the above set around twenty years ago, I was amazed

by how many of my pals claimed to remember it, saying that they were

given one of these little blue plastic wallets at school.  They can't all be

mistaken, so I can only assume that I was off the day they were handed

out because I definitely never received one.  I didn't even know they

existed until I saw them in a coin catalogue back in the early '90s.

So, if you were one of the lucky ones who received a decimal coin

set as a child, enjoy this look back at a moment in time which I never

got to share - and then feel free to reminiscence about it in the ever-

lovin' comments section.

Posted in: Cartoons