Editing Decimal Day (section)

===Background===

The [[Russian ruble]] was the first decimal currency to be used in Europe, dating to 1704, though China had been using a decimal system for [[History of Chinese currency|at least 2000 years]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ikhebeenvraag.be/vraag/38053/Welk-land-voerde-als-eerste-het-decimale-stelsel-voor-zijn-valuta-in |title=Welk land voerde als eerste het decimale stelsel voor zijn valuta in |last=Heeffer |first=Albrecht |date=24 May 2016 |access-date=30 May 2016 |language=nl |trans-title=Which country was the first to introduce a decimal system for their currency |archive-date=30 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630094009/https://www.ikhebeenvraag.be/vraag/38053/Welk-land-voerde-als-eerste-het-decimale-stelsel-voor-zijn-valuta-in |url-status=live }}</ref> Elsewhere, the [[Coinage Act of 1792]] introduced decimal currency to the United States, the first English-speaking country to adopt a decimalised currency. In France, the decimal [[French franc]] was introduced in 1795.

Before the 1970s, earlier efforts in the United Kingdom to introduce decimalised currency had failed; in 1824, the [[United Kingdom Parliament]] rejected [[John Wrottesley, 1st Baron Wrottesley|Sir John Wrottesley]]'s proposals to decimalise sterling, which were prompted by the introduction of the French franc three decades earlier. Following this, little progress towards decimalisation was made in the United Kingdom for over a century, with the exception of the two shilling silver [[British coin Florin|florin]], first issued on 1849, worth <small>{{sfrac|1|10}}</small> of a pound. A [[double florin]] or four shilling piece, introduced in 1887, was a further step towards decimalisation, but failed to gain acceptance and was struck only between 1887 and 1890.

Though little further progress was made, The Decimal Association, founded in 1841 to promote decimalisation and [[metrication]], saw interest in both causes boosted by a growing national realisation of the importance of ease in international trade, following the 1851 [[Great Exhibition]]; it was as a result of the growing interest in decimalisation that the florin was issued. In a preliminary report issued in 1857 by the [[Royal Commission]] on Decimal Coinage, the benefits and drawbacks of decimalisation were considered, but the report failed to draw any conclusions on the adoption of a change in currency.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929084225/http://www.bopcris.ac.uk/bopall/ref4003.html |title=Preliminary report of the Decimal Coinage Commissioners |publisher=Royal Commission on Decimal Coinage, 1857 |archive-date=29 September 2007 |url=http://www.bopcris.ac.uk/bopall/ref4003.html}}</ref> A final report in 1859 from the two remaining commissioners, [[Samuel Jones-Loyd, Baron Overstone|Lord Overstone]] and Governor of the [[Bank of England]] [[John Hubbard, 1st Baron Addington|John Hubbard]], came out against the idea, claiming that it had "few merits".<ref>BOPCRIS. [http://www.bopcris.ac.uk/bopall/ref4004.html Final Report of the Decimal Coinage Commissioners] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050428053600/http://www.bopcris.ac.uk/bopall/ref4004.html |date=28 April 2005}}</ref>

In 1862, the ''[[Select committee (United Kingdom)|Select committee]] on [[Weights and Measures]]'' favoured the introduction of decimalisation to accompany the introduction of [[metric weights and measures]].<ref>[[Department of Trade and Industry (United Kingdom)|Department of Trade and Industry]]. [http://metric.org.uk/Docs/DTI/met1862.pdf Report (1862) from the Select Committee on Weights and Measures] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216035221/http://metric.org.uk/Docs/DTI/met1862.pdf |date=16 February 2008}}</ref>

The ''Royal Commission on Decimal Coinage'' (1918–1920), chaired by [[Alfred Emmott, 1st Baron Emmott|Lord Emmott]], reported in 1920 that the only feasible scheme was to divide the pound into 1,000 [[mill (currency)|mills]] (the ''pound and mill'' system, first proposed in 1824), but that it would be too inconvenient to introduce. A minority of four members said that the disruption would be worthwhile. A further three members recommended that the pound should be replaced by the royal, consisting of 100 [[History of the halfpenny|halfpennies]], with there then being 4.8 royals to the former pound.<ref>Royal Commission on Decimal Coinage [http://www.bopcris.ac.uk/bopall/ref7833.html Decimal coinage] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060212042358/http://www.bopcris.ac.uk/bopall/ref7833.html |date=12 February 2006}}</ref>

{{anchor|Decimal Currency Act 1967|Decimal Currency Act 1967}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Decimal Currency Act 1967{{efn|Section 7(1).}}
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to provide for the introduction of a decimal currency in the year 1971; and to regulate the constitution and functions of the Decimal Currency Board.
| year                  = 1967
| citation              = [[List of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1967|1967]] c. 47
| territorial_extent    = {{ubli|[[England and Wales]]|[[Scotland]]|[[Northern Ireland]]}}{{efn|Section 7(2).}}
| royal_assent          = 14 July 1967
| commencement          = 15 February 1971{{efn|The [[The Decimal Currency (Appointed Day) Order 1968]]}}
| repeal_date           = 2 May 1986
| amends                = {{ubli|[[Coinage Act 1870]]|[[House of Commons 1957 Disqualification Act 1957]]}}
| amendments            = [[Coinage Act 1971]]
| repealing_legislation = [[Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1986]]
| related_legislation   = [[Decimal Currency Act 1969]]
| status                = Repealed
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1967/47/contents/enacted
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Decimal Currency (Appointed Day) Order 1968
| type = Statutory Instrument
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| year = 1968
| si_made_date = 15 February 1968
| si_laid_date = 15 February 1968
| primary_legislation = [[Decimal Currency Act 1967]]
| status = Current
| original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1968/195/contents/made
| collapsed = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Decimal Currency Act 1969
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to make further provision in connection with the introduction of a decimal currency, and to impose restrictions on the melting or breaking of metal coins.
| year                  = 1967
| citation              = [[List of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1969|1969]] c. 19
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = {{ubli|[[England and Wales]]|[[Scotland]]|[[Ireland]]}}{{efn|Section 18.}}
| royal_assent          = 16 May 1969
| commencement          = {{ubli|15 February 1971 (Section 1,section 15(1), 15(2), 15(3), 15(6) and 15(8))|16 May 1969 (Remainder of act){{efn|The [[Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793]].}}}}
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = {{ubli|[[Habeas Corpus Act 1679]]|[[Coinage Act 1870]]}}
| replaces              = {{ubli|[[Gold and Silver (Export Control, &c.) Act 1920]]}}
| amendments            = {{ubli|[[Coinage Act 1971]]|[[Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973]]|[[Friendly Societies Act 1974]]|[[Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1989]]|[[Financial Services Act 2012]]}}
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = [[Decimal Currency Act 1967]]
| status                = Amended
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1969/19/contents/enacted
| revised_text          = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1969/19/contents
| use_new_UK-LEG        = Decimal Currency Act 1969
| collapsed             = yes
}}
In 1960, a report prepared jointly by the [[British Association for the Advancement of Science]] and the Association of [[British Chambers of Commerce]], followed by the success of decimalisation in South Africa, prompted the Government to set up the ''Committee of the Inquiry on Decimal Currency'' (Halsbury Committee) in 1961, which reported in 1963.<ref>''The American Economic Review'' Vol. 54, No. 4 (June 1964) [https://www.jstor.org/pss/1810753 pp. 481–485]</ref> The adoption of the changes suggested in the report was announced on 1 March 1966.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1966/mar/01/economic-situation#column_1120 |title=Speech by Chancellor of the Exchequer to the House of Commons 1 March 1966 |access-date=2 June 2017 |archive-date=8 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308075017/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1966/mar/01/economic-situation#column_1120 |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=1 March 1966 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Decimal Currency Board (DCB) was created to manage the transition, but the plans were only approved by Parliament with the Decimal Currency Act 1967 (c. 47). The former [[Greater London Council]] leader [[Bill Fiske]] was named as the chairman of the Decimal Currency Board.

Consideration was given to introducing a new major unit of currency worth ten shillings in the old currency. Suggested names included the ''new pound'', the ''royal'' and the ''[[Noble (English coin)|noble]]''. It would have resulted in the "decimal penny" being worth only slightly more than the old penny, an approach adopted in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand in the 1960s, adopting respectively the [[South African rand]], [[Australian dollar]] and [[New Zealand dollar]] equal in value to 10 shillings. However, Halsbury decided that the pound sterling's importance as a [[reserve currency]] meant that the pound should remain unchanged.