Decimal Day three of the six new coins. Small booklets were made available containing some or all of the new denominations. The old halfpenny was withdrawn from circulation on 31 July 1969, and the half-crown (2s 6d) followed on 31 December to ease the transition. (The farthing had last been minted in 1956 and had ceased to be legal tender in 1960.) There was a substantial publicity campaign in the weeks before Decimalisation Day, including a song by Max Bygraves called "Decimalisation". The BBC broadcast a series of five-minute programmes, "Decimal Five", to which The Scaffold contributed some specially written tunes. ITV
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 The coins issued under the Decimal Currency Acts were finally withdrawn from circulation in 2002 by the Irish Pound Coinage (Calling In) (No. 2) Order, 2001 which revoked an earlier similar order; the date was set for 10 February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