Selection of banknotes Irish Bank notes from Ireland Charles Stewart Parnell on the hundred
Decimalisation of the currency was actively discussed in the 1960s. Chief among the Irish Government's concerns was the pound sterling. When the British Government decided to decimalise its currency the Irish Government followed suit. The legislative basis for decimalisation in the Republic was the Decimal Currency Act, 1969. The number of pence in an Irish pound was redefined from 240 to 100, with the symbol for penny changing from "d" to "p". The pound itself was not revalued by this act and therefore pound banknotes were unaffected, although the 10 shillings/scillinge note was replaced by the 50p coin. New coins were issued of the same dimensions and materials as the corresponding new British coins. The Decimal Currency Act, 1970 made additional provisions for the changeover not related with the issue of coins. Decimalisation was overseen by the Irish Decimal Currency Board which was created on June 12, 1968. It provided a variety of changeover information including a pamphlet called Everyone's Guide to Decimal Currency. The changeover occurred on Decimal Day, February 15, 1971. Right up until complete withdrawal of the Irish pound on February 9, 2002, those UK coins which were the same sizes and compositions as the corresponding Irish coins were accepted virtually everywhere in Ireland. Breaking the link with sterling In the 1970s, the European Monetary System was introduced, which the Republic decided to join. The European Exchange Rate Mechanism finally broke the one-for-one link that existed between the Irish pound and the pound sterling; by March 30, 1979 the parity link between the two currencies that had existed for over 50 years was broken and an exchange rate was introduced. By this time, trade with the United Kingdom represented 50% of Irish exports and 47% of imports; the Irish economy had diverged greatly since the introduction of the currency in 1928 and was less dependent on trade with the UK. Until this exchange rate was necessary, UK curren
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