Thought it would be interesting and useful to compile a list of when each country or territory decimalised its currency; some did it right from the start (e.g. Belgium) while others had to introduce a new currency entirely (e.g. France), or go through a switch (the most recent and memorable being that of the pound sterling in 1971).
So, in chronological order, here are the ones I know of; feel free to add to it and/or correct any mistakes you see!
Russia - 1704 (First decimal coins minted 1700) United States - 1792* France - 1795
Haiti - 1813
Sardinia-Piedmont - 1816
Netherlands - 1817
Suriname - 1826
Tuscany - 1826
Greece - 1828*
Belgium - 1830*
Chile - 1835
Papal States - 1835
Portugal - 1835
Monaco - 1837
Venezuela - 1843
Straits Settlements/Malaya - 1845*
Colombia -1847
Hawai'i - 1847
Spain - 1848 (First decimal coin introduced 1808, semi-decimal system until 1858) Switzerland - 1850
Luxembourg - 1854
Sweden - 1855
Paraguay - 1856
Austria - 1857
Hungary - 1857
Philippines - 1857
Canada - 1858
Cambodia - 1860
Finland - 1860
Italy - 1861*
New Brunswick - 1861
Nova Scotia - 1861
Hong Kong - 1863*
Peru - 1863
Bolivia - 1864
San Marino - 1864
Newfoundland - 1865
Romania - 1867*
Serbia/Yugoslavia - 1868*
Cuba - 1869
Japan - 1869
Ceylon/Sri Lanka - 1869
Uruguay - 1869
Ecuador - 1871
Prince Edward Island - 1871
Denmark - 1873
Germany - 1873*
Norway - 1875
Dominican Republic - 1877
French Cochinchina/Indochina - 1878*
Bulgaria - 1881*
China/People's Republic of China - 1889 (Decimal cash coins system used for centuries prior) Eritrea - 1890*
Puerto Rico - 1890
German New Guinea - 1894*
Macau - 1894
Korea - 1897 (Decimal cash coins system used since 10th century AD) Thailand/Siam - 1897
Liechtenstein - 1898
German East Africa - 1904
Montenegro - 1906
Kiau Chau - 1909
Estonia - 1918*
Latvia - 1918*
Lithuania - 1918*
Ukraine - 1918*
Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia - 1919*
Poland - 1923* (decimal Złoty used in (Russian) Congress Poland since 1816, Marek since 1916) Turkey - 1923*
Italian Somaliland - 1925
Mongolia - 1925 (Decimal cash coins system from China used for centuries prior) Albania - 1926 (Decimal notes denominated in French francs introduced 1917) Vatican City - 1929*
Ethiopia/Abyssinia - 1931
Trinidad and Tobago - 1935
Slovakia - 1939* (Decimal currency used since 1919 as Czechoslovakia) Croatia - 1941* (Decimal currency used since 1918-19 as Yugoslavia) Brazil - 1942 (Semi-decimal currency used since 1799) Vietnam - 1945* (Decimal cash coins system from China used since 10th century AD) South Korea - 1945* (Decimal cash coins system from China used since 10th century AD until 1910) North Korea - 1947* (Decimal cash coins system from China used since 10th century AD until 1910) Taiwan/Republic of China - 1949*
Laos - 1952*
Myanmar/Burma - 1952
Cyprus - 1955
Guyana - 1955
India - 1957
Guinea - 1959*
Pakistan - 1961
South Africa - 1961
Ghana - 1965
Australia - 1966
Malaysia - 1967* New Zealand - 1967
Samoa - 1967
Singapore - 1967*
Tonga - 1967*
Zambia - 1968
Fiji - 1969
Jamaica - 1969
Bermuda - 1970
Rhodesia/Zimbabwe - 1970
Gambia - 1971
Ireland - 1971
Malawi - 1971
United Kingdom - 1971 (First decimal coins introduced 1968) Malta - 1972
Nigeria - 1973
North Yemen/Yemen - 1974
Papua New Guinea - 1975*
Belarus - 1991*
Kazakhstan - 1991*
Kyrgyzstan - 1991*
Slovenia - 1991*
Tajikistan - 1991*
Turkmenistan - 1991*
Uzbekistan - 1991*
Macedonia/FYROM - 1992*
Moldova - 1992*
Transnistria - 1994*
South Sudan - 2011*
Madagascar - still using non-decimal currency (pre-1960 colonial Malagasy franc was decimal) Mauritania - still using non-decimal currency
(asterisked countries began using decimalised currency straight after creation/independence/unification.)
Yes, I usually use the date of first decimalised coins (or notes) appearing rather than the laws/decrees for decimalisation themselves; they're easier to look up for a coin collector and more relevant to everyday life.
Also interesting how all the ones we have right now that decimalised after WWII were affiliated with the British Empire/Commonwealth.
Quote: "CassTaylor"Great stuff, keep it coming!
Yes, I usually use the date of first decimalised coins (or notes) appearing rather than the laws/decrees for decimalisation themselves; they're easier to look up for a coin collector and more relevant to everyday life.
Also interesting how all the ones we have right now that decimalised after WWII were affiliated with the British Empire/Commonwealth.
Sure, the florin worth 1/10th of a pound was first introduced as a dabble in decimalisation, but as a coin worth 24 pennies in a system where 240 pence made £1, it's very much a coin that was part of a pre-decimal system of currency, and thus not a "decimalised coin".
1968 is the earliest date one might contest the UK's entry with.
Sure, the florin worth 1/10th of a pound was first introduced as a dabble in decimalisation, but as a coin worth 24 pennies in a system where 240 pence made £1, it's very much a coin that was part of a pre-decimal system of currency, and thus not a "decimalised coin".
1968 is the earliest date one might contest the UK's entry with.
What's with the stupid memes? Are you forgetting where you are yet again?
The florin was clearly our first decimal coin. You just said it yourself.
Quote: "oggy"What's with the stupid memes? Are you forgetting where you are yet again?
The florin was clearly our first decimal coin. You just said it yourself.
No need for all the hostility, if you found the image so offensive, I've replaced it with another that conveys the same meaning.
But no, I didn't say the florin was our first decimal coin. It's the first British coin issued as a fraction of 10 rather than a fraction of 12, and worth 1/10th of a pound, but not the first British coin issued within a decimal system of currency- I should have clarified that as a qualifier for "first decimal coins" and saved you some confusion.
Getting back on topic, I have added some comments to places like Albania; which became independent in 1912, but didn't start issuing lek coins and notes until 1926; however we find these 1917 Albanian issues denominated in French francs, from the Allied occupation of (southern) Albania in WWI.
Another issue is for countries where decimal currencies were used before their last independence, such as in Ceylon/Sri Lanka, where a decimalised Rupee has been used since 1869, long before independence from the UK in 1948 - and then there are countries in East Asia that have used the cash coins system for centuries....
Trinidad and Tobago - 1966 (even though they issued dollar notes already in the 1930s).
EDIT: A little more complicated than I thought... They were part of the Eastern Caribbean States - British West Indies which adopted a dollar of 100¢ (1935-1965), but became independent in 1962 (August 31st). They adopted their own dollar in 1964 but issued their first coinage only two years later.
Quote: "CassTaylor"Another issue is for countries where decimal currencies were used before their last independence, such as in Ceylon/Sri Lanka, where a decimalised Rupee has been used since 1869, long before independence from the UK in 1948 - and then there are countries in East Asia that have used the cash coins system for centuries....
Madagascar is an interesting case: the pre-independence franc was decimal, but the post-independence ariary wasn't - and, to the best of my knowledge, still isn't!
(As far as I know, the only other modern country still using a non-decimal currency is Mauritania; I think a few others, e.g. Antigua and Barbuda, have technically decimalized but are yet to issue a coin denominated below the main currency unit.)
While the coins the Vandals minted had their values divided into 10s, I do not think the system they used was decimal. I mean, technically, if you are only counting the coins they minted, then it would be a decimal system, but the Vandals also used gold coins (solidus and tremissis pieces, mainly). The Vandals themselves did not mint their own gold coins, but rather used those struck by other tribes. And if I recall correctly, within the Vandal Kingdom, 1 solidus was worth 12,000 nummi or so.
Brazil did not use fractions on their currency till 1942, but they used 5 Reis, 10, 20, 37 1/2, 40, 50, 75, 80, 100, 160, 200, 300, 320, 400, 500, 640, 800, 960, 1,000, 1,200, 2,000, 4,000, 5,000, 6,400, 10,000, and 20,000 Reis from 1799 to 1942. Note there is not a 1 Rei coin. Looks like they used a mix of Real system (x2, x4, x8, x/2, x/4, etc.) and decimal system (x10, x20, x50, x100), and some other between them.
Just 10 options: you understand binary, or you don't.
Catalog Referee Coins, Banknotes & Exonumia: Uruguay, Cuba, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador, Zamunda, Parva Domus and more.
Eastern Caribbean is a little bit of a grey area, I'm not sure if I should have each of the member countries seperately or have it as just British West Indies - 1935, or even Eastern Caribbean - 1965. Trinidad never used the British West Indies or Eastern Caribbean dollar, so I put it as 1935. (I count pre-independence usage of decimal currency, as long as it's a currency specific to that territory. (e.g. the 1869 Ceylon date, or the 1816 date for Poland))
Vandals doesn't translate into any modern day country, so I'm not sure how to incorporate them into the list.
Trinidad & Tobago: I'm not sure for the 1935 date, but T&T joined other states in 1946 to create a new decimal currency, with the first issue of the BWI$ in 1949. In addition, the British Caribbean Currency Board (BCCB) was set up in Trinidad. It was moved to Barbados after Trinidad & Tobago withdrew from the Union in 1964 to create its own TT$.¹
Brazil: the 75 and 37½ reis are really odd. The only possible relation is to being a quarter and an eighth of the 300 reis denomination. It reminds of "la locha" of Venezuela, which was 12½ centimos, i.e. an eighth of a dollar (just like 1 real was an eight of a Spanish "dollar" or "piece of 8") and survived as late as 1969.
Genuinely unsure whether to count the cash coins system (used by China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam) as decimal; so I've added comments to all of those as well.
Quote: "zakaye"Are there any countries that still don't use decimal currency?
Mauritania still uses the ouguiya, which has it's base fractional unit as 1/5 rather than 1/10 or 1/100; although the 1/5 ouguiya coin is worth so little it's hardly used, so it's non-decimal basis is hardly even perceptible to most. Same story for the Madagascar ariary, mentioned above; also based on a fractional unit of 1/5, I think they must be the only two non-decimal currencies in the modern world.
Oh, so you take it this way? What is decimal then?
Czechoslovakia used 1/5 and 1/3. Soviet union used 1/15... Romania as well , and so on. Although all these currencies had one prime unit divided into 100 subunits.
I rarely disagree with Cass, but I would argue that they are all decimal. The ⅕ ouguiya is just as decimal as the US quarter (¼) dollar.
It has been argued here, in the US and Canada, that the 25¢ or quarter is not a decimal coin because it cannot be divided by 10. What matters is that it is based on a system of 1$ = 100¢. This is true even though the quarter is the direct descendant of the 2 reales coin, or quarter of the Hispano-American "dollar".
More problematic, I suppose, were the 19th- and even early 20th-century "bit" tokens, usually marked 12½¢. They derive their origin from being an eight of an ... 8-bit coin, i.e. the Hispano-American 8 reales coin, or "dollar". Same thing with the Venezuelan "locha" until 1969. But they were all valued "decimally", i.e. at 12½¢.
Likewise, Canada has adopted the metric system back in 1973, but we still have many grocery items weighing, for example, 454 grams (i.e. 1 pound).
By the way, when Canada will get rid of the nickel, or 5¢, it will have to kill the quarter along with it. This means that we're likely to go back to a 20¢ (⅕ of a dollar!) and a 50¢ coins!
Quote: "Jarcek"Oh, so you take it this way? What is decimal then?
Czechoslovakia used 1/5 and 1/3. Soviet union used 1/15... Romania as well , and so on. Although all these currencies had one prime unit divided into 100 subunits.
Yes, divided into 100 subunits is exactly what I was looking for as a qualifier.
There are some decimal currencies that are worth so little that coins for representing fractional units were never bothered with at all (e.g. the Franc Guinéen) but so long as the 100 [subunit] = 1 [prime unit] equation is applicable to that currency, I consider it decimal.
Quote: "CassTaylor"Yes, divided into 100 subunits is exactly what I was looking for as a qualifier.
This will complicate things....
On 19th. century, at Uruguay, and some other countries, like Argentina and Paraguay, the unit was "Peso" (or "Peso Fuerte" = Strong Peso).
Also there was the "Real"(=Royal), 8 Reals were equal to 1 Peso Fuerte, and the coins were of "Centésimos" (hundredths) of Reals with values of 1, 2, 4, 5, 20, 40. This made 1 Peso= 800 hundredths (of Real).
My point is: Decimal means tenth, therefore hundredths (1/100) are tenths of tenths (1/10/10).
Then, we call decimal when subunits used a currency divided into 100 or into 10? Should be centesimal, as I see.
The definition I found is: "Decimal fraction, a fraction whose denominator is a power of ten"
Also found an explanation telling is a positional notation, where each digit is worth 10 times as the next to right (example: 123= 3x1 + 2x10 + 1x100).
My problem is numismatics call decimal system at Uruguay from 1869, when Peso was divided on 100 Centésimos (100 hundredths), and Real system when Peso was divided on 800 centésimos (800 hundredths).
both systems use hundredths, but older was of hundredths of eighth of unit (Real), and newer was hundredth of unit itself (Peso).
Yes, is complicated, I know.
Just 10 options: you understand binary, or you don't.
Catalog Referee Coins, Banknotes & Exonumia: Uruguay, Cuba, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador, Zamunda, Parva Domus and more.
Mexico. like much of Mexican history, the decimalization of the coinage is unclear and drawn out. Prior to 1861 the coinage was in the units of the Spanish real, including 1/4ths, 1/8ths and 1/16ths, much of which was produced by state mints. The first decimalization came during the French intervention and Empire of Maximiliano, 1861-1867. Decimal coinage was issued during this period by the central government, but state operated mints not under the control of the empire continued to mint reals.
The Restored Republic, beginning around 1868 appears to be the beginning of the decimal peso in the smaller denominations and the end of fractional real coins, and the consolidation of mintage under the federal government. However coins denonimated in 2, 4 and 8 reals continued to be minted for many years concurrently with, and circulated beside 25c., 50c., and 1 Peso coins, with which they shared value and dimensions. the 1897 8 Real was the last Mexican coin struck denominated in real.
Incidentally, in the United States a quarter dollar is still called "2 bits" by many older people, recalling that the US silver dollar had its origins in the Spanish 8 Real coin divisible into 8 bits.
Jamais l'or n'a perdu la plus petite occasion de se montrer stupide. -Balzac
I'm fairly sure that all the various British Dependencies (Falkland Islands, Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, etc.) went over to decimalisation in 1971, at the same time as mainland GB.
Quote: "CassTaylor"Another issue is for countries where decimal currencies were used before their last independence, such as in Ceylon/Sri Lanka, where a decimalised Rupee has been used since 1869, long before independence from the UK in 1948 - and then there are countries in East Asia that have used the cash coins system for centuries....
Madagascar is an interesting case: the pre-independence franc was decimal, but the post-independence ariary wasn't - and, to the best of my knowledge, still isn't!
(As far as I know, the only other modern country still using a non-decimal currency is Mauritania; I think a few others, e.g. Antigua and Barbuda, have technically decimalized but are yet to issue a coin denominated below the main currency unit.)
You're right according to wikipedia:
The ariary (sign: Ar;[1]ISO 4217 code MGA) is the currency of Madagascar. It is notionally subdivided into 5 iraimbilanja and is one of only two non-decimal currencies currently circulating (the other is the Mauritanian ouguiya). The names ariary and iraimbilanja derive from the pre-colonial currency, with ariary (from the Spanish word "real") being the name for a silver dollar. Iraimbilanja means literally "one iron weight" and was the name of an old coin worth 1⁄5 of an ariary. However, as of 2021 the unit is effectively obsolete, since one iraimbilanja is worth less than US$0.005 and the coins have fallen into disuse
Rhodesia/Southern Rhodesia toyed with decimalisation in 1964 when a series of coins were issued in 1964 with values in cents and pence like this half crown/quarter dollar
Despite these coins, they decided to remain sterling until early 1970. I think they may have tried this system to keep up with South Africa which went decimal in February 1961 (Before the Republic was declared in May).
Ceylon/Sri Lanka along with Mauritius went decimal in 1876 when they converted to a decimal rupee made up of 100 cents, rather than 16 Annas. The Seychelles also in 1880 and British East Africa in 1920, first with a decimal florin and then shilling from 1927 with Tanganyika added.
Mauritania/Madagascar went semi decimal as they have superunits worth 5 x the normal units. Ougiyas are made up of 5 Khoums and Ariary are 5 Francs. Belgium tried the same thing around 1925 when they introduced a Belga worth 5 Francs or 500 centimes, but by 1950 the Belga had gone.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
By the way, does anyone know a website or article that describes in detail some pre-decimal system at a particular point in time? For example, what was in circulation in the city of Aachen in the 1770s: what monetary units existed, how they correlated with each other, could copper be freely exchanged for silver and gold or there was some kind of exchange rate between them. And what problems did a resident of Aachen experience if he was going to go to a neighboring German land: how much the coins of other lands differed from those familiar to him.
By the way, does anyone know a website or article that describes in detail some pre-decimal system at a particular point in time? For example, what was in circulation in the city of Aachen in the 1770s: what monetary units existed, how they correlated with each other, could copper be freely exchanged for silver and gold or there was some kind of exchange rate between them. And what problems did a resident of Aachen experience if he was going to go to a neighboring German land: how much the coins of other lands differed from those familiar to him.
Good day fellow collector.
Yes, exchange rates existed -they were issued both by free cities and also by the sovereign of each country.
It was the 18th century that already introduced new rules of barter in the history of Germany. Medieval Europe was connected by trade and it was important to compare by this standard due to the purity of silver and gold.
It was the previous equivalent of the Middle Ages, however, that was marked by a mutual deliberate reduction of the metal's purity and thus the enrichment of individual cities and rulers, therefore the standard was -order and order were firmly established by the monarch.
for ordinary people and life in the marketplaces, there was always a written directive issued by the cities among merchants, how many pieces of silver could be exchanged for their own circulation-there was no such tourism then and people did not leave the districts.
It concerned merchants and the high nobility who carefully guarded it.
There are a lot of bachelor's and doctoral theses on the Internet for every state, "monetary history", just google it.
If you are interested in a specific city or time period - I recommend asking the local museum or the mint museum of a specific country- they all have websites and contact e-mails- ( I have experience that they always answer and are happy for communication and curiosity) -they have available exchange rates and historical facts for a given territory and time period.
Quote: "Ecapoe"Hello, I think Austria was 1857, not 1892. The Guden was then decimalized worth 100 kreuzer.
Corrected, danke schön!
Also added a bunch of post-Soviet and post-Yugoslav nations; not sure about Bosnia though.
If you mean the singular country not part of say yugoslavia or the likes then it was when they adopted the bosnian herzegovinian dinar during the civil war so
By the way, does anyone know a website or article that describes in detail some pre-decimal system at a particular point in time? For example, what was in circulation in the city of Aachen in the 1770s: what monetary units existed, how they correlated with each other, could copper be freely exchanged for silver and gold or there was some kind of exchange rate between them. And what problems did a resident of Aachen experience if he was going to go to a neighboring German land: how much the coins of other lands differed from those familiar to him.
Good day fellow collector.
Yes, exchange rates existed -they were issued both by free cities and also by the sovereign of each country.
It was the 18th century that already introduced new rules of barter in the history of Germany. Medieval Europe was connected by trade and it was important to compare by this standard due to the purity of silver and gold.
It was the previous equivalent of the Middle Ages, however, that was marked by a mutual deliberate reduction of the metal's purity and thus the enrichment of individual cities and rulers, therefore the standard was -order and order were firmly established by the monarch.
for ordinary people and life in the marketplaces, there was always a written directive issued by the cities among merchants, how many pieces of silver could be exchanged for their own circulation-there was no such tourism then and people did not leave the districts.
It concerned merchants and the high nobility who carefully guarded it.
There are a lot of bachelor's and doctoral theses on the Internet for every state, "monetary history", just google it.
If you are interested in a specific city or time period - I recommend asking the local museum or the mint museum of a specific country- they all have websites and contact e-mails- ( I have experience that they always answer and are happy for communication and curiosity) -they have available exchange rates and historical facts for a given territory and time period.
Ahoj Ivan
In the 16th-18th centuries there were books known in French as “comptes-faits” which provided tables of all major European currencies and their value in French (or other) money. There should be some of them on line.
Here is a big 19th-century two-volume set, Le cambiste universel (= “The universal changer”):
CassTaylor China/People's Republic of China - 1889 (Decimal cash coins system used for centuries prior)
As I understand, the ancient Chinese system was not decimal. There is an error in Numista catalog: it says that "1 Qian = 100 Cash", but actually qian and cash are just two different names for the same coin. Qian in Chinese, cash in English. It is like saying that "1 dollar = 100 dollars".
Qian/cash coins were kept on strings, each string had to contain 1000 coins but sometimes contained 970 or 990 coins due to local customs. So this 1000-coin string was just a conventional counting unit, not a currency unit. If we take counting units into account, then Russian currency should be called decimal not since 1704 (and not since 1654 when the first rouble coin was actually minted) but much earlier, because a counting rouble was equal to 100 kopeks already in the XV or maybe XIV century.
Sure, the florin worth 1/10th of a pound was first introduced as a dabble in decimalisation, but as a coin worth 24 pennies in a system where 240 pence made £1, it's very much a coin that was part of a pre-decimal system of currency, and thus not a "decimalised coin".
1968 is the earliest date one might contest the UK's entry with.
The 1849 godless florin IS the UK’s first decimal coin, yes it was a florin but it was based on a decimal system which never came to fruition but it was absorbed into the LSD monetary system.
Sure, the florin worth 1/10th of a pound was first introduced as a dabble in decimalisation, but as a coin worth 24 pennies in a system where 240 pence made £1, it's very much a coin that was part of a pre-decimal system of currency, and thus not a "decimalised coin".
1968 is the earliest date one might contest the UK's entry with.
The 1849 godless florin IS the UK’s first decimal coin, yes it was a florin but it was based on a decimal system which never came to fruition but it was absorbed into the LSD monetary system.
The Florin was NOT a decimal coin, but there was proposals early in Queen Victoria's reign for a decimal currency system.
The same goes for the Double Florin of 1887-90 as well.
It was only in the 1960's that the final proposal of decimalising the Pound Sterling was decided.
It was decided to keep the Pound Sterling at the same value, but it was the number of Pence that was changed.
The Decimal Currency Boards in both Ireland & the U.K. worked together - as both British Isles' currencies were in a de-facto currency union (until early 1979).
Sure, the florin worth 1/10th of a pound was first introduced as a dabble in decimalisation, but as a coin worth 24 pennies in a system where 240 pence made £1, it's very much a coin that was part of a pre-decimal system of currency, and thus not a "decimalised coin".
1968 is the earliest date one might contest the UK's entry with.
The 1849 godless florin IS the UK’s first decimal coin, yes it was a florin but it was based on a decimal system which never came to fruition but it was absorbed into the LSD monetary system.
The Florin was NOT a decimal coin, but there was proposals early in Queen Victoria's reign for a decimal currency system.
The same goes for the Double Florin of 1887-90 as well.
It was only in the 1960's that the final proposal of decimalising the Pound Sterling was decided.
It was decided to keep the Pound Sterling at the same value, but it was the number of Pence that was changed.
The Decimal Currency Boards in both Ireland & the U.K. worked together - as both British Isles' currencies were in a de-facto currency union (until early 1979).
Aidan.
I have to correct you. It was the pre cursor to a decimal currency system which was cancelled at the behest of the public
I got an idea for this topic, maybe someone could do a timeline of countries in the order of when the last pre decimal coins were demonitized. For example, here in New Zealand we went decimal in 1967 but pre decimal sixpences, shillings and florins kept circulating until 2006, I know the UK kept using pre decimal florins as late as 1993, but other countries I wouldn't know about
During the period 1688-1835, according to Law 04AGO1688, gold & silver coins had a value ~20% above the mark (XXXX=50, LXXX=100, 200=240, 400=480, etc.)
Papua New Guinea was using Australian Dollars from 1966 to 1975.
Aidan.
True, but auscoins list was full of mistakes with many of the “stan” countries being listed as 1991, when in fact the Russian Rouble essentially went decimal in 1700 and the Soviets carried it on 1918.
The last proper place to use Predecimal sterling currency was actually Nigeria, which only ditched its pound on 1January 1973 and Malta ditched theirs on May 16 1972.
I suspect Yemen and some other Arab places were using some medieval Islamic counting system with their coins well into the 1970s though.
Also before January 1972, it was known as Papua and New Guinea as it started in 1952 after the joining of Australian administered Papua (Southern part) and British run Territory of New Guinea, which was Australian after 1945 as one super colony in 1952 - a great set of stamps came out.
Both colonies go back further to 1884 when the New Guinea part in the North was Deutsch New Guinea and Papua was British New Guinea. 1915 with war saw the German part annexed and it was administered by Australia referred to as North Western Islands and then Territory of New Guinea in 1921 and Papua in the South. Papua was the name given to the land by the Arawa people who lived near Port Moresby.
On Feb 14 1966, the Australian pound was replaced by the Australian Dollar and one Sep 16 1975, Independence day, the new currency of the Kina made up of 100 Toea was issued. It was originally pegged to the Aussie dollar, but has lost value and now is $2.5 Kina to to $1 AUD.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
