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
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