Meanwhile, the sheer volume of coins needed meant The Royal Mint had to move from Tower Hill to a production facility in South Wales. The BBC broadcast a series of five-minute programmes known as Decimal Five, while on ITV an elderly woman was taught to use the new decimal system by her grandson in Granny Gets The Point. Leaflets were posted through letterboxes, posters were put up in windows and television broadcasts scheduled to explain the new system. Information campaigns ran frequently to help avoid confusion. People were used to way things were and change never comes easy. Under the old system there were 20 shillings in £1, 12 pennies in 1 shilling and 240 pennies in £1, making decimalisation a huge undertaking both in terms of production of new coins and the overarching publicity required. Within five years the nation’s ancient system of coinage would be consigned to the history books.
The momentum was firmly for change and in 1966 parliament decided that Britain should follow suit. Britain’s coinage system had remained unchanged for centuries but a number of Commonwealth countries such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa had already gone decimal. The 50p entered circulation in readiness for the decimal switchover.
