I was in London recently when someone said something was 50p. It got me thinking: do they still have half pence or shillings any more in England? With a bit of research I quickly discovered that a) they do not b) they got rid of all of that currency and went with a decimal system, much like Canadians did when we got rid of imperial measures and moved to the metric system in the second half of the 20th century.

The old money, like the imperial units, had a certain charm that their newer counterparts lack. Charm aside, the new replacements are easier to work with. (Although leave it to Canadians to invent the Loonie and the Twonie as coins!) I’m glad for the decimal units of money when I go to England, and I am believe most Brits must feel the same way.

For more on the old system of English money and how it was upgraded, check out this, Decimalisation, and also this, Pounds, Shillings and Pence.