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February 15, 1971, marks the date that the United Kingdom (U.K.) ended the use of a centuries-old currency
and replaced it with a decimal based one. The story of this momentous change is not widely known outside
of the U.K. This article is an overview of the journey to decimalization by looking at the postal history leading up to and shortly after what has become known as Decimal Day.
Background To understand the drive to decimalization, it is necessary to know what came before it. Since the ninth century, a currency known as pounds, shillings and pence was used in what is now the United Kingdom. Since the pound symbol (£) looks similar to a capital L, the monetary system is frequently abbreviated as LSD (sometimes abbreviated as £SD). This was a base 12 system in which 12 pence were equal to one shilling and 20 shillings equaled a pound; or, put another way, 240 pence equaled a pound. The essential disadvantage of the old monetary system was the need to constantly calculate what portion of a
shilling(s) you had, with amounts being expressed in the shilling amount up to 19 and pence up to 11. The equivalent in U.S. currency would be as if amounts less than a dollar were stated as the number of quarters with penny remainders: so 78 cents would be three quarters and three cents. The key to deciphering LSD amounts on postal history is knowing the currency symbols:
£ = pound / = shilling d = pence
The calculation is straightforward when only one stamp is on the cover (Figure 1). It quickly gets more complicated when a mix of stamps are used. For example, five stamps were used to pay the 1-ounce rate to the United States in Figure 2. Calculating the proper total on this cover works as follows: 1/ 6d + 5d + 5d+ 4d+4d = Pence total is 24d which converts to 2/ plus the 1/ from the 1/ 6d stamp = 3/ total 3/ pays the 1 ounce (second step) International Airmail rate to the U.S. (Zone B) For a real challenge, calculate the total postage on the registered cover to Australia seen in Figure 3 (answer in the caption).
The Journey to Decimalization
The adoption of decimal, or base 10, currency systems began in the English-speaking world in the United States with the Coinage Act of 1792, which set 100 cents equal to one dollar. Beyond the U.S., the French were the next to decimalize their currency during the French Revolution. The French spread the decimal currency concept throughout Europe during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. During the mid-19th century the independent nations of Latin America and Canada adopted decimal currencies. It is worth noting that decimal currency is not a new concept; China has used decimal currency for 2,000 years! As decimal-based currency spread throughout the world during the 19th century, a few people in Britain began to agitate for its adoption as early as the 1820s. They made little progress. The real impetus for abandoning the base 12 currency was the successful conversion from pounds, shillings and pence to decimal currency by the Republic of South Africa on February 14, 1961 (Figure 4). The British government noted how the conversion went smoothly and as result appointed the Government Committee of the Inquiry of Decimal Currency later that same year. In 1966, the committee’s proposed changes were adopted by the government and in 1969 were formalized by Parliament with the passage of the Decimal Currency Act.1
The British government immediately began to plan for decimalization by setting the conversion date as February 15, 1971, since known as Decimal Day. Major efforts were taken to prepare the public in the U.K. for the new currency. The fundamental change was that 100 pence would equal a pound and the shilling would be eliminated. Decimal pence would have the symbol “p” instead of the longused “d.” Currency conversion guides were disseminated by banks and post offices2, as a pence from the old system would be worth 1/2p in decimal. The BBC aired jingles explaining the new currency during its broadcasts. In 1968 two new coins were put into circulation, a 5p and 10p, to familiarize the public with the new monetary symbols. Beginning in 1970, prices for goods were listed using the old system first, followed by the decimal amount. Part of the planning including a nationwide bank closure for the three days prior to Decimal Day to enable the conversion of bank accounts, a significant undertaking in a largely pre-computer era.
As part of preparing the public for the new currency, the Post Office issued three stamps denominated in the decimal amounts of 10p, 20p and 50p on June 17, 1970 (Figure 5). These amounts were chosen as they were even conversions from the LSD system.
10p = 1/ 20p = 4/ 50p = 10/ These stamps saw limited use during the transition period to Decimal Day due to their high face values: 10/ would be worth about £7.50 today. Therefore, the stamps were mostly used on parcels or for paying for additional services such as registration and/or express delivery on international mail.
Postal Strike
The Post Office’s participation in the preparation for Decimal Day came to an abrupt halt on January 20, 1971, when postal employees went on strike over wages.3 To pressure the striking workers, the government suspended the postal monopoly and permitted private carriers to deliver mail.
Cleveland’s Harrow & Edgeware Post is an example of a private carrier (Figure 6). Cleveland’s provided delivery within a five-mile radius of its headquarters in northwestern London.4 The process for becoming a private carrier was quite simple, typically requiring the completion of a short form. As a result, many private carriers came into existence, most of which were purely philatelic in nature.5 Philatelic covers from these carriers are common (Figure 7). Some private carriers took philatelic covers across the English Channel and posted them in France and other nations for delivery outside of the U.K. The London-based Randall Postal Service was a notable exception as it had 30 employees who delivered commercial mail (Figure 8) throughout the city and as far as Ireland and France.6
An interesting intersection of Decimal Day, the postal strike, and international mail was the Malawi Special Air- mail Delivery Service (SADS).7 The African nation of Malawi also converted from a base-12 currency to a decimal one on February 15, 1971. The SADS service was implemented in early March to carry mail from Malawi to London, with private carriage to its final destination in the U.K. This airmail service required Malawi postage to cover postage to the U.K. and a stamp surcharged in the new Malawi decimal currency with a Special United Kingdom Delivery Service overprint. The surcharged stamp covered the costs for arranging the collection of the mail and distribution to a private carrier in London (Figure 9).
The British postal strike was settled on Sunday, March 7, 1971, with the Post Office resuming regular operation on Monday, March 8.8 The postal monopoly was not reinstated until March 11 in order to give private carriers the opportunity to clear out any undelivered items. This created a situation in which the Post Office and private carriers were in competition for several days. Therefore, it is possible to find private carrier mail postmarked after March 7 (Figure 10).
New Low Value Decimal Definitive Stamps
The planning prior to the mail strike called for a series of 12 low value decimal definitive stamps to be issued on February 15, 1971. Due to the strike the stamps were not widely available until the work stoppage ended. Official first day covers were not serviced until the union employees returned, and these covers bear a marking indicating the posting was delayed due to the Post Office strike (Figure 11).
However, the new decimal stamps were available in some locations on Decimal Day, creating true first day cover possibilities (Figure 12).9 The postal facilities of the Royal Armed forces were provided the stamps on February 15 and individuals prepared first day covers. Small shops in the U.K. sold stamps and as these outlets were not unionized, they too were provided the new decimal stamps on Decimal Day with delivery possible by private carrier (Figure 13).
Another first day option were heritage railways that operated a souvenir carriage service. Some heritage railways created Decimal Day covers with the new decimal stamp postmarked on February 15 along with their respective heritage railway “stamp” surcharged in the new decimal currency (Figure 14).
Post-Decimal Day
With the exception of the postal strike, all other aspects of the decimal conversion went as planned on February 15. Old LSD stamps were still valid for postage but now had to be converted into the decimal currency. The cover in Figure 15 was sent on March 8 and franked with a total of 2/ 11d in pre-decimal stamps, which converted to 15p in the new currency. Mixed franking with both currencies required the converted LSD amount to equal the difference between the postal rate and the decimal postage amount (Figure 16).
The old base-12 stamps were valid for postage until February 29, 1972, when all old shilling and pence stamps were demonetized. Pound denominated stamps remained valid as they were already printed with an “£” for pound. Homemade “last day” of LSD covers were created to mark the event (Figure 17). Covers bearing LSD stamps after demon-etization were assessed postage due for the missing amount. If a cover bore only obsolete shilling and pence stamps it was assessed as if it bore no postage, and then sent at the second-class rate with the amount doubled for the postage due penalty (Figure 18).
Conclusion
By 1970 the U.K. was the last major world economy using base 12 currency. The successful conversion to decimal currency after centuries of using this archaic system required thorough planning and an extensive public education effort. To give some context as to how difficult it was to achieve the successful currency conversion, consider the failed attempt by the United States in the 1970s to convert to the metric system by 1980.
Additional Resource
The Great Britain Philatelic Society, https://www.gbps.org.uk/, has an extensive listing of British postal rates.
Endnotes
1 “How Britain Converted to Decimal Currency,” BBC News (February 5, 2011), https://www.bbc.com/news/business-12346083#:~:text=If%20you%20do%2C%20you%20must,20%20shillings%20to%20the%20pound
2 “Your Guide to Decimal Money,” Decimal Currency Board, https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesbrownontheroad/albums/72157612111667193/ (Accessed March 6, 2021).
3 “British Mail Workers Strike; Phone Service Is Also Affected,” New York Times (January 20, 1971), https://www.nytimes.com/1971/01/20/archives/ british-mail-workers-strike-phone-service-is-also-affected.html
4 “More Locals Coming from Britain,” New York Times (February 21, 1971) https://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/21/archives/more-locals-comingfrom-britain.html
5 Rosen, Gerald. Catalogue of British Postal Strike Stamps (London: The B.L.S.C Publishing Co., 1971).
6 “Britain Prepares to Meet Postal Strike,” New York Times (January 18, 1971), https://www.nytimes.com/1971/01/19/archives/britain-preparesto-meet-postal-strike.html
7 “Postal Strike Mail and Strike Mail Stamps - Discussion,” Stampboards, https://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=26930&start=100, (Accessed March 6, 2021) and Gerald Rosen's Catalogue of British Postal Strike Stamps, (London: The B.L.S.C Publishing Co., 1971).
8 “On This Day March 8, 1971: Post Strike Ends with Pay Deal,” BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/8/newsid_ 2516000/2516343.stm (Accessed March 6, 2021).
9 “Britain Goes Decimal,” https://www.rfrajola.com/Haber1/Haber1.pdf, (Accessed March 6, 2021).