Left over currency in Ramsgate

On May 16, 1969, the Decimal Currency Act was passed that signaled the end of the Carolingia system of pounds, shillings and pence to be replaced by a decimal system. The Act followed a planned build by the Decimal Currency Board to set February 15, 1971, for the changeover date.

Prior to the Act, plans were already in place to prevent coin hoarding. The Royal Mint had ceased production of pre decimal coinage with the last issues in 1967. The new ten pence and new five pence coins had already been introduced in 1968. The new coins had the dual value of two shillings (florin) and one shilling. These were minted for the public to become accustomed to the new coinage.

On July 31, 1969, the pre decimal halfpenny ceased being legal tender followed by the half-crown on January 1, 1970. Following decimal day on February 15, 1971, the old penny and three pence coins remained in circulation at their decimal values until August 31, 1971. The sixpence remained in circulation as 2 ½ pence until June 30, 1980. The shilling remained in circulation as 5 pence until December 31, 1990 and the two shilling (florin) remained in circulation as 10 pence until 1993.

The planned phase in of decimal currency was intended to suppress the hoarding of pre decimal currency. However, this was not to be, as millions of coins were hoarded on the pretext that one day they would be valuable.

The silver pre decimal coins: sixpence, shilling, two shillings and the half-crown that were dated pre 1947 contained 50 per cent silver and were hoarded in great quantity. Within years the silver content exceeded the face value of the coin. Today, pre 1947 silver coins are traded on eBay proving to be a worthwhile investment.

The other coins like bronze pennies, three penny bits and cuprous nickel half-crowns that were hoarded by the millions have never reached any of the projected values. In fact, today they are now curios of a bygone era.

I often wonder collectively how many pre decimal coins still exist in Ramsgate households. Fifty years on, the metal value has now exceeded the original face value of the coin. There are specialist companies on the internet that now buy them at about 75% of the original face value for the metal content. The coins in bulk are then returned to the Royal Mint as part of the cuprous nickel recovery programme, with the larger demonetised ten and five pence pieces recycled for new coins.

Written by:
Councillor Tony Ovenden, Sir Moses Montefiore Ward