UK coins
A deep dive into decimalisation…
In 1971, Britain officially went ‘decimal’ after a long period of campaigns in preparation for the move.
The transition to decimalisation was the biggest change to the UK’s monetary system in over 1000 years and understably was met with caution by the public.
Rationale presented by decimal enthusiasts was opposed by those who were cautious of the effects of a new decimal coinage system.
In this blog, we take a close look at this controversial monetary move as we take a deep dive into Decimalisation…
The Decimal Debate
For centuries, Britain’s coinage consisted of pounds, shillings, pence, farthings, crowns, half pennies… the list goes on!
This complex system had first been raised for debate in 1847 by Sir John Bowring, who proposed a call for it to be changed to a currency based on units of ten. As a result of his proposal, the nation’s first decimal coin appeared – the florin.
It wasn’t until 1961 however, that the Government set up a special committee to discuss whether Britain should introduce a decimal currency.
On 1 March 1966 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, James Callaghan, announced that pounds, shillings and pence would be replaced by a decimal currency, with a hundred units in a pound.
Making the Change
The changeover was a huge task and the public and businesses of Britain required all the necessary information to make the changeover as smooth as possible.
The volume of coins required to be produced was far greater than The Royal Mint’s production capabilities at Tower Hill and it brought about their move to Llantrisant, South Wales, in 1968. It was here that the first of almost six billion coins required for decimalisation went into production.
In 1968 the new 5p and 10p coins were introduced. They were the same size and value as the existing one and two shilling coins to make the transition easier for the British public.
It was in 1969 that the first seven sided coin – the 50p – was introduced to replace the 10-shilling note as a more economical alternative and then finally, on Monday 15 February 1971, the transition was complete when the half penny, 1p and 2p coins were also introduced.
Our Dear Decimals
From Britannia to the Salmon, the 50p has become the most collected and best loved decimal denomination, with over 75 different designs on our circulating 50p coins since its introduction in 1969, and even more commemorative 50p designs.
There have been over 60 different two pound coin designs since 1986, a redesign of our one pound coin specification to a 12-sided coin from the original round pounds in 1983 and, most recently our coinage underwent a complete overhaul with the introduction of the New UK Coinage for King Charles III – introducing 8 new designs from the 1p to the £2 coin.
Since 1971, there’ve been so many great decimal coins to collect and here’s hoping there’s many more to come! Let us know in the comments which decimal coin is your favourite.
Complete your Queen Elizabeth II Decimal Collection
Are you on a mission to collect every QEII decimal coin? Our Complete Queen Elizabeth II Decimal Coin pages are the perfect way to display your collection!
The 50 Day Countdown to the 50th Anniversary of Decimalisation has BEGUN!
The countdown has begun and in JUST 50 days, our decimal coinage will celebrate its 50th anniversary!
Join in with our celebrations!
To celebrate the anniversary of the biggest change our UK coinage has ever seen, we’ve launched a 50 Day Countdown until the Decimalisation Anniversary!
Every day, for 50 days, we’ll be posting different activities for you to read, watch and get involved in. We’ve got quizzes, giveaways and so much more planned, so make sure you’ve got your eyes peeled across all of our channels so that you can get involved!
The 50th anniversary of Decimal Day marks a significant change in our UK currency which changed the day to day lives of every British Citizen in the United Kingdom.
It was the subject of passionate debate for centuries, so during our 50 Day Countdown, we’ll be taking a closer look at the history and story behind the decimal changeover. To test your knowledge, we’ll even have some quizzes for you to get involved with!
So, will you be joining us on our Countdown?
Make sure you’ve subscribed to the Change Checker Podcast, our Youtube channel and you’ve followed us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to make sure you don’t miss out on some of the exciting prizes up for grabs!
If you have memories of the changeover, or have any interesting facts about Decimalisation, make sure you’re commenting below!
Secure the 14 coins which were affected by the decimal changeover with the Decimalisation Collector Page!
This collector page includes space to display the 14 coins which were affected by the decimal changeover on ‘D-Day’ in 1971 and makes for the perfect heirloom for any aspiring collector, or for those interested in the heritage of British coins.
Using secure push-fit blisters to display each coin in the collection, your collector page is also designed to fit neatly inside the Change Checker Album.
Secure yours for JUST £30.00 (+p&p) when you click here >>
2020 Change Checker Awards – WINNERS Announced!
Since the 2020 Change Checker Awards were opened to celebrate the very best people in the world of change collecting, nominations have been flooding in, and it really has been incredible to hear all of your stories from the last year.
It’s certainly meant we’ve had a really tough job deciding on the winners, but with thanks to our panel of judges from the Change Checker team and AllAboutCoins, our well deserved winners have now been selected…
Change Checker of the Year
Winner:
Ben Osborne
‘Ben the coin collector’, as he is known by to his friends and family, is both an avid collector and supporter of the collecting community. He has built up an extensive collection of coins, whilst also encouraging others to take up the hobby too.
Well done Ben!
Runner-up:
Ann Weaver
Ann has gone above and beyond in helping others complete their collections this year. She has exchanged money for commemorative coins for those who have been unable to visit the banks themselves.
Congratulations Ann!
Junior Change Checker of the Year
Winner:
Emily Jackson
Emily has been collecting coins for over 2 years now, and she has successfully filled 4 Change Checker albums with her impressive collections! She even donated some of her coins to a local care home to encourage residents to take up the hobby.
Congratulations Emily!
Runner-up:
Michael Clough
Michael has become an avid coin collector, who regularly swaps on the Change Checker Community Group and loves hunting through bags of coins for coins he can add to his collection. He’s also made generous donations of coins to others – an attribute that is highly regarded in the collecting community.
Congratulations Michael!
Matt, a panel member at AllAboutCoins, said:
‘Wow, the team at allaboutcoins.co.uk were blown away by the entrants for this year’s awards, with so many heart-warming stories and inspirational collectors. It’s been a heck of a year, and so hearing how coin enthusiasts used their interest in coins to help others was brilliant.
Congratulations to all the winners, and to everyone who entered or simply got some pleasure from our wonderful hobby during 2020. We hope the winners enjoy reading Coin Collector magazine and we will watch their progress with interest!’
Coin Design of the Year
It comes as no surprise that the 2020 Coin Design of the Year is awarded to the Team GB 50p!
This coin has been the talking point of the year in the collecting community, as we saw its initial release be postponed to 2021 as a result of the Olympic Games also being postponed.
However, the coin was available in the Annual Coin Sets, which led collectors to question whether we’d see two versions of this 50p, with different mintage figures.
Later in 2020 it was confirmed that the 2021 issued coin, would have the same design as the 2020 version, but with the new date included – meaning there will definitely be two versions of the Team GB 50p!
Have you got a 2020 dated Team GB 50p in your collection? Let us know below!
Coin Art of the Year
A huge congratulations to Natalie Christie, for her amazing guitar coin art, Gemma Louise for her tribute to the wonderful NHS, and Kerry Taylor’s heart of 50ps. You’ve each won a set of 3 Trading Cards, so send us an email at [email protected] or send us a private message on Facebook with your address to claim your prize.
Coin Story of the Year
The winner of the 2020 Coin Story of the Year Award goes to George Nixon, of This Is Money, for his article on the adorable 2020 Winnie the Pooh 50p series.
Speaking to Change Checker, George said, “[When he] was just a small boy, I like many kids was in love with the Hundred Acre Wood and the stories of Winnie the Pooh. It’s fitting and especially lovely then to have won this award for this particular story.”
A big thank you once again to AllAboutCoins for supporting us this year and of course a huge congratulations to all of our winners and all the fantastic entries we had this year.
We’d like to thank each and every one of you for your continued support in 2020 and hope that 2021 is a fantastic year of Change Checking for you all!
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:
– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app