In 1966 which Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that Britain would be changing over to decimal coinage?

It wasn’t until the majority of Commonwealth countries had already switched that a special Committee was put in place in 1961 to consider how and when Britain should change to a decimal currency.

On 1 March 1966 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, James Callaghan, announced that the centuries-old pounds, shillings and pence system would be replaced by a decimal currency in which the pound would be divided into one hundred units. Pennies and pounds were favoured above foreign-sounding dollars and cents, and five new coins were decided upon. The shapes, designs and sizes of each were intended to make them readily distinguishable from each other and from what had gone before, yet enable them to run easily alongside £sd coinage for a short time.

The following decade was to be one of careful planning and Decimal Day was set for 15 February 1971.