British currency in the Middle East pound sterling until 1972, some twelve years after Cyprus gained independence from the United Kingdom. Initially the Cyprus pound was divided into 20 "shillings" ("σελίνι" / "σελίνια", "şilin"), in common with its United Kingdom counterpart. However, unlike the United Kingdom shilling, the Cyprus shilling was divided into 9 "piastres" ("γρόσι" / "γρόσια", "kuruş"), thus establishing a nomenclature link to earlier Ottoman currency. The piastre was itself divided into 40 "para" (like the kuruş). The para denomination did not appear on any coins or banknotes but was used on postage stamps. However, the -piastre coin was equal to 10 para (παράδες)
Decimal Day officially authorized the United States as the first English-speaking nation to have decimalised currency, although Tsar Peter the Great used the concept for the Russian ruble close to a century earlier, in 1704, while China has used such a decimal system for at least 2000 years. The United Kingdom's Parliament rejected Sir John Wrottesley's proposals to decimalise sterling in 1824, which was prompted by the introduction in 1795 of the decimal French franc. After this defeat, little practical progress towards decimalisation was made for over a century, with the exception of the two-shilling silver florin (worth of a pound) first