Australian pound became $1 and 1s became 10c. The conversion rate was problematic for the pre-decimal penny since the shilling was divided into twelve pence. An exchange rate of $2.40:£1 would have allowed for accurate conversion down to the penny, with one penny becoming one cent; however, the Government thought it more important that the new currency unit be more valuable than the United States dollar which it would not have been under a 2.4:1 ratio. Amounts less than a shilling were converted as follows: In 1855, gold full and half sovereigns (worth respectively one pound sterling and ten shillings) were first
Coins of the Rhodesian pound Coins of the Rhodesian pound The coins of the Rhodesian pound were part of the currency of Southern Rhodesia, which changed its name to Rhodesia, following the break-up of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, when the Rhodesian pound replaced the Rhodesia and Nyasaland pound. In 1964, a series of coins was struck for the Reserve Bank of Rhodesia at the South African Mint in Pretoria. They consisted of These coins are interesting in two respects. First, Rhodesia was the first of two countries to utilise Arnold Machin's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on pre-decimal coinage (the other country was