Steve, the reason why there was a 1/2np. after the U.K. currency change over of February 15th 1971, was because the change over program was carried out by a bunch of crackpots.
Before it even started, the U.K. regime announced that it was necessary for the U.K. to adopt ''decimalized'' currency so that U.K. currency would be the same as the currency over on Europe. Far from trying to cover up this lunatic statement, the U.K. regime printed the statement up on leaflets and posted them to every household in the U.K.
Even a three-legged junkyard dog knew that every single currency in the world, let alone the europe continent, was different from every other currency. The real reason for the currency change over was the horrendous 75% devaluation, which had made even the down-sized copper/bronze coinage worth more than its' face value, encouraging folks to start making plans to melt it all down.
If a government thinks it necessary for a currency change over, then it is quite legitimate for it to also consider whether the new currency should be sexagesimal, or duodecimal, or decimal, or binary, or something else.
The U.K. regime decided to go for a decimal currency. Nothing right or wrong in that. But then the U.K. regime lied about the reasons for it, on the jesuitical grounds that "The end justifies the means.'' Bums like that just can't see that such an attitude automatically converts a good end into a bad end.
After that the U.K. regime set about screwing up its' so-called ''decimalization'' program.
You would have thought that a ''decimalization'' program was pretty simple; change a 960 unit currency into a 1000 unit currency. The task had been made even easier by the 75% devaluation of the U.K. currency. So even a schoolkid could figure it out, with a new 1 av.oz. sterling 5s. piece (or 2 dime 5 cent piece) assumed to be worth about old 17/11 1/4, for sterling, with 1 av.oz. silver being old 19/4 3/4, as of February 1st 1971.
New 1£ = old 4£
1 dime = 8s.
1 cent = 9 3/5d.
1 mill = 3 21/25f.
Yeah Steve, pretty simple. But U.K. politicians knew better, and so they decided to improve it.
Firstly they decided not to have a full value 1£, but to keep the old 75% debased 1£.
Secondly, because the the old 1£ was too small to be divided into 1000 units, (because it was 75% debased) U.K. politicians decided to divide the old 1£ into 200 units. No, not 216 units, but 200 units. Yeah, yeah, Steve, I know. The program was called ''decimalization'', but logic is not a trait of socialism. The deceit was so blatant that you have to call it looniness, not lying.
1£ = 6 wrapies
1£ = 36 trapies
1£ = 216 crapies
Thirdly, just to make sure the ''decimalization'' program was confused in addition to being crazy, the U.K. politicians decided not to use the term ''dime'', but to use the term ''cent'', but not to call it a ''cent''. Instead they decided to call the ''cent'' a ''penny'' instead. Yup, you guessed it, ''decimalization'' was supposed to replace the 960 units of ''shilling'', ''penny'', and ''farthing'', with 1000 units of ''dime'', ''cent'', and ''mill''. So what do U.K. politicians do? They threw in a ''decimalization penny''. Still, I guess the U.K. folks should be grateful that politicians didn't go on to throw in a ''decimalization shilling'', and a ''decimalization farthing''. At the last moment the U.K. politicians panicked and bolted on the term ''new'', making the new denomination a ''decimalization new penny''. The result was as follows:
It was all so sad, Steve, because decimal currency is a legitimate concept. But whether a decimal currency or not, a government must still construct its' currency simply, clearly, and honestly.
Well, in the end it was all a waste of time, as U.K. politicians continued to allow inflation to rip up to the moon and beyond. Today the U.K. has a currency exactly like the currency that the neanderthal britanic islanders used.
One, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, and so forth.
In 2004 in the U.K., neither a 960 farthing, or half-assed 240 pence, or half-assed 20 shilling, or 1000 mill, or half-assed 100 cent, or half-assed 10 dime currency can be used. All prices in the U.K. are priced in 1£ units, and no sexagesimal denomination, or decimal denomination, or any other denomination is used.
Info @
http://www.weights-and-measures.com
And topics:
Common Currency
United States Bank of North America Currency
''Even as it stands the Home Guard could only exist in a country of free men. The Communist Party, the Independent Labour Party, and the totalitarian states can do great things, but there is one thing they cannot do, they cannot allow the laborer to own a rifle and keep it in his bedroom. The rifle hanging on the wall of the laborer's cottage or the pistol by the bed of the working-class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see it stays there.''
George Orwell
London Evening Standard
January 8th, 1941