How long should the shilling and florin have circulated after decimalisation ?

[<k>]

One common thread throughout <k>'s discussions on alternative decimal histories seems to be that the authorities were perhaps overly conservative in their estimates of what the public could cope with, and how fast. ... in general people took to the new system far more quickly than anticipated.

Ultimately, people learn the value of money very quickly. It is not in their interests to make too many mistakes, so they subconsciously ensure that they are clued up.

It's also the fact that most people use money every day, and practice makes perfect. Also, there is really no alternative, so if you thought the "tiddler" was too small or thin, tough - there was no alternative. There are limits, of course - if the Treasury issued a scalloped zinc coin with a hole in the middle, there would be uproar, not least in the Daily Mail. The Danish, however, might just sigh and accept such a coin.

[FosseWay]

I believe the round pound was based on the French 10 francs coin,

This reminds me of a far bigger faux pas related to new coin issues than anything the UK has managed since the abortive double-florin, namely the little nickel 10-franc piece, which was issued for one or two years in the mid-1980s. It was so much of a flop that in 1987 they went back to the old, large bronze 10 francs before issuing the better known bimetallic coin which continued in use until the euro. Not even the US's equivalent screw-up - the Susan B. Anthony dollar - necessitated running back in time to the previous issue.

At 21 mm and 6.5 g, the nickel 10 francs was far too close to the ½ franc at 19.5 mm and 4.5g, despite being worth 20 times more.

[<k>]

Apparently the nickel-brass 10 francs, introduced in 1974, was 26 mm in diameter, so somewhat wider than the round pound, but a nice coin, nevertheless. It was 2.54 mm thick, compared to 3.15 mm for the round pound.

[Figleaf]

Well, you have included only three players. What if the US is weak too? After all, it has trillions of dollars' worth of debt and has in the past resorted to huge QE.

Go to the same site and plot 180 days of JPY rates against USD and EUR. You find the same picture: USD is stable around 90, EUR getting a bit stronger lately, from 85 to 84. Thinking from a GBP perspective, I estimate that somewhere between 75 to 95% of its trade is in GBP, EUR and USD. Much of the remainder will be JPY.

Peter

[<k>]

It would of course be nice to think that the UK is no more doomed than any other country. However, with QE and what have you, it seems that there is a lot of game-fixing going on.

[andyg]

This reminds me of a far bigger faux pas related to new coin issues than anything the UK has managed since the abortive double-florin, namely the little nickel 10-franc piece, which was issued for one or two years in the mid-1980s. It was so much of a flop that in 1987 they went back to the old, large bronze 10 francs before issuing the better known bimetallic coin which continued in use until the euro. Not even the US's equivalent screw-up - the Susan B. Anthony dollar - necessitated running back in time to the previous issue.

At 21 mm and 6.5 g, the nickel 10 francs was far too close to the ½ franc at 19.5 mm and 4.5g, despite being worth 20 times more.

Italy did similar with the reduced size 50 and 100 Lire of the early 90's, the older larger coins were in the end not withdrawn (not sure what happened once the copper-nickel versions were introduced.)

[FosseWay]

Yes, of course - I'd forgotten the 50 and 100 lire coins even though I was living in Italy when all three sizes were in use!

When I was there, the 100 lire circulated in 3 sizes at once - the original florin-sized large coin, the tiny new 5p-size and the intermediate Cu-Ni version. The Cu-Ni 50 lire hadn't yet been introduced, but the large and truly microscopic versions were in common use.

Having left Italy in 1996 I didn't then return until after the introduction of the euro, so I don't know whether the steel coins (small and/or large) were removed from circulation in the late 1990s.

[Deeman]

They are still circulating!

I get newspapers for my elderly neighbour. Today, she gave me monies due. Not being able to get to the bank recently, she raided her reserves. I was the recipient of 1953, 1954 and 1948 shillings, and also 1968, 1970 & 1978 five pence pieces - all mistaken for 10 pence.

[<k>]

Here is a letter to the Financial Times (UK), dated 22 August 1974. The writer complains about the shilling and 2 shilling coins still in circulation, which he believed should be withdrawn. He was also keen to see the issue of a 20 pence coin and a 2 pound banknote.