On Monday 15 February 1971, Britain went decimal, however 40 years after the first decimal coins entered circulation it was time for rejuvenation. Discover the inspiration behind Matthew Dent's new designs.

Why did UK go decimal?

Currency converters were available for everyone, and prices in the shops were shown in both currencies. This went some way to alleviate the feeling many people had, that shopkeepers might use the conversion from old money to new to increase prices! 'Decimal Day' ran without a hitch.

Why did Decimalisation take so long?

Why did decimalisation take so long? The country had been considering changing the way currency worked for around 150 years, with other countries having already adopted decimalisation. Part of the reason that the process took so long was that Parliament kept voting down proposals for the change.