Coins of the pound sterling of all coins except the £2. The original intention was to exclude both the £1 and £2 coins from the redesign because they were "relatively new additions" to the coinage, but it was later decided to include the £1 coin. This was the first wholesale change to British coinage since the first decimal coins were introduced in April 1968. The new coins were initially to be put into circulation in early 2008, although they did not actually start to appear until mid-2008. The major design feature was the introduction of a reverse design shared across six coins (1p, 2p, 5p,
Coins of the Republic of Ireland coins used the Irish red deer design from the Irish pound coin with a mountain relief in the background and other notable differences such as the 12 stars of the European Flag surrounding the harp, quite similar to the Irish euro coins. The coins issued under the Decimal Currency Acts were finally withdrawn from circulation in 2002 by the Irish Pound Coinage (Calling In) (No. 2) Order, 2001 which revoked an earlier similar order; the date was set for 10 February 2002. The introduction of the euro was overseen by the "Euro Changeover Board of Ireland" which was a special