Decimal Day Board. Consideration was given to introducing a new major unit of currency worth ten shillings in the old currency: suggested names included the "new pound", the "royal" and the "noble". This would have resulted in the "decimal penny" being worth only slightly more than the old penny (this approach was adopted, for example, when South Africa, Australia and New Zealand decimalised in the 1960s, adopting respectively the South African rand, Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar equal in value to 10 shillings). But Halsbury decided, in view of the pound sterling's importance as a reserve currency, that the pound should
Penny (British decimal coin) Penny (British decimal coin) The British decimal one penny (1p) coin, usually simply known as a penny, is a unit of currency equaling one one-hundredth of a pound sterling. The penny’s symbol is p. Its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coin’s introduction on 15 February 1971, the day British currency was decimalised. Four different portraits of the Queen have been used on the coin, with the latest design by Jody Clark being introduced in 2015. The second and current reverse, featuring a segment of the Royal Shield, was introduced in 2008. The correct plural