Irish pound introduced UK versions. When the UK 5p and 10p coins were reduced in size, the Irish followed suit, but the new Irish 10p was smaller than the new UK version introduced in 1992 and the new Irish 5p was slightly larger than the UK version introduced in 1990. The Irish 50p was never reduced in size (as it had been in the UK in 1997). 31 December 1998, the exchange rates between the European Currency Unit and the Irish pound and 10 other EMS currencies (all but the pound sterling, the Swedish krona and the Danish krone) were fixed. The
Decimal Day '2p' in the UK and simply '2' in Ireland. Decimal Day On 15 February 1971, known as Decimal Day, the United Kingdom and Ireland decimalised their currencies. Under the old currency of pounds, shillings and pence, the pound was made up of 240 pence (denoted by the letter "d" for Latin "denarius" and now referred to as "old pence"), with 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings (denoted by "s" for Latin "solidus") in a pound. The loss of value of the currency meant that the "old" penny, with the same diameter as the US half-dollar, had become of