What other countries used pounds, shillings and pence?
Several countries in the British Commonwealth used pounds, shillings and pence. The countries below used the same system as the UK:
- Australia until 1966
- New Zealand until 1967
- Ireland - decimalised at the same time as the UK (1971)
- South Africa until 1961
- Malta until 1972
- Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) until 1970
- Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) until 1963
- Nyasaland (now Malawi) until 1963
But Australian and New Zealand pounds did not have the same value as UK pounds.
East African shilling
Some former British colonies used the East African shilling. One East African shilling had the same value as a UK shilling and there were 20 East African shillings to a UK pound. But the East African shilling was divided into 100 cents.
It says something about how poor people were in East Africa that a coin worth 100th of a shilling made sense. One cent was 0.12 of an old penny or less than half a farthing.
Several East African countries kept this currency after independence. They issued new shillings and cents.
In 1966 both Kenya and Uganda issued new shilling coins divided into 100 cents.
Tanzania issued the shilingi divided into 100 senti also in 1966.
In all three countries the shilling was the main unit of currency, there was no equivalent of the pound.
Article by Steven Braggs, August 2018
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