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
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