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
Pound sterling in the South Atlantic and the Antarctic Islands used sterling currency as in the United Kingdom until 1899 when it began to issue its own banknotes at par with the pound sterling. In 1974, this territory also began to issue its own coinage, similar to the coinage of the United Kingdom but with different designs on the reverse. South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands has a very small population, with no permanent residents. Government officials there use UK currency. Although nominally British, the British Antarctic Territory is subject to international agreements which limit British authority there and allow other countries to maintain scientific research bases there.