Australia 1966- no decimal currency

For you other Aussies out there, would there have been any way that Australia wouldn't have switched over to decimal currency in 1966, and what would've been the effect on hist and eco generally ?
 
For you other Aussies out there, would there have been any way that Australia wouldn't have switched over to decimal currency in 1966, and what would've been the effect on hist and eco generally ?

I strongly suspect that Australia would decimalize soon after Britain did in 1971. After 1971 I think that there were only two or so countries left that had not officially decimalized, and both were developing nations. Actually, I think Mauritania is still _technically_ non-decimal, but devaluation has rendered the non-decimal units obsolete.

I like the way in which Australia and NZ (and I think South Africa) decided to convert 10s = $1 in 1966, instead of the British way where 10s = 50p in 1971. The Australia/NZ system made for much easier math. The 10s = 1 pound policy was proposed in Westminster, but was rejected in favor of 10s = 50p simply because "the pound remains the same" (i.e. no changes on the currency market.) That's understandable given that the Sterling was/is a major trade currency, unlike the Rand or Aus. Dollar.

Many older Britons detested 'money sums' in elementary school. Imagine spending hours trying to figure out stuff like 'If Jill bought groceries totaling 17/5, and handed over 19/6, but changed her mind and bought a two packs of gum for tuppence, what would her change be?" Be thankful for decimal.
 
It would be viable if the British did not change over, and if there wasn't the changes in trading relations with Britain joining the EEC; even then, this leaves out a host of points related to earlier trading developments, politics, and the nature of the Australian economy.

Now, if for some reason it does continue (setting aside the reasons why) then we are going to encounter difficult maths sums for schoolchildren as they learn the system, but no dislocation at the other end from those used to the old system; not that this was an extremely great factor historically. A difficult system is not a bad one in and of itself, just as an easy system isn't a good one in and of itself.

It would not have the same effect on standardization as weights, measures and distances.

It would also lead to some difficulty for tourists from decimal countries.

Apart from those points, it wouldn't have any great effect on the Australian economy, and certainly no more than a historical footnote.
 
The biggest problem with not going decimal would have been the continual problem with the money going off-shore and out of circulation. Because of the high silver content in the coins, money was being sent out of the country and melted down. Changeing the currency meant no more silver coins would be minted and the existing silver coins would be exchanged for the "New Money".
 
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