Irish pound The number of pence in the Irish pound was redefined from 240 to 100, with the penny symbol changing from "d" to "p". The pound itself was not revalued by this act and therefore pound banknotes were unaffected, although the 10 shilling note was replaced by the 50p coin. The new 5 pence coin correlated with the old 1 shilling coin, and the new 10 pence coin correlated with the old 2 shilling coin. New coins were issued of the same dimensions and materials as the corresponding new British coins. The Decimal Currency Act, 1970 made additional provisions for the
British currency in the Middle East British colonies, including Hong Kong from 1863 to 1866; and the British Palestine Mandate from 1926 until 1948. The Palestinian example may in fact have been the impetus to use a pound-mil system in Cyprus as the Palestinian pound was for a brief period accepted as legal tender in Cyprus. Although Cyprus gained independence from Britain in 1960, the Cyprus pound remained pegged to the pound sterling until 1972. The origins of the Egyptian pound date from 1834, when a Khedival Decree was issued providing for the issuing of an Egyptian currency based on a bimetallic base, i.e.: based on