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
Irish pound in the United Kingdom. From 1938, the means of tender was referred to as the "Irish Pound", after the Constitution of Ireland changed the state's name. The Currency Act, 1927, Adaptation Order, 1938 was the actual mechanism by which change took place. The "Report of the Metric System and Decimal Coinage Committee" (1959) was amongst the first formal reports on decimalisation of the currency, discussion continued into the 1960s on the topic. When the British government decided to decimalise its currency, the Irish government followed suit. The legislative basis for decimalisation in the Republic was the Decimal Currency Act, 1969.