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[roycv]

I thought a general title would include other things.
Today 50 years ago the UK went decimal!  Do you remeber when some prices a went down to halfpennies?
The copper coin today all magnetic as well is hardly in use,  Although I have been bunching up 2p pieces to use as ballast in my boats.
Regards
Roy

[Colin Bishop]

I remember decimal day very well! I was a cashier in the Midland Bank at the time. Oh what fun! Talk about customer confusion. In those days the adding machines had handles...

Not long afterwards I decided that a banking career was not for me.

Colin

[roycv]

Hi, When I left school it was fodder for the banking or insurance industries, I chose the latter.  But it was very friendly.  I remember the Sumlock adding machines.  I was in the motor dept and we had large 'fleet' insurances with 40 or 50 delivery vehicles and trailers.  I took it upon myself to do these for other clerks as I enjoyed the challenge of one correct answer bottom right on what we would now think of as a spreadsheet.

As you say not for me either, so learned electronics, much more my thing, anyone interested in a suppressor triggered phantastron circuit.  They really exist!
Roy


 

[Liverbudgie2]

Working at the Metel Box companies site in Brombrough on the Wirral, printing ski yogurt pots. when we went for our dinner, about this time actually, this woman started demanded all our old coins and ten bob notes, I told her to get lost which resulted in an almighty row in front of the factory managers - I lost.


I've loathed decilisation ever since - it made people lazey and was the beginning of runaway infalation.


To cap it all my middle newphew, when younger, could not see why I made him learn his tables past ten, he is now a jounior school teacher in Newquay - say's it all in my jundiced view.


LB

[Capt Podge]

I was astounded when I made my first 'decimal' purchase. Can't remember what I bought but, the price indicated was 75 pence, my pre-decimal mind interpretated that as 7 shillings and 5pence so, when I got the change from my £1 note i. e. 25p, I was gobsmacked - I'd just spent the equivalent of 15 bob!
 
Ray.

Edit: needless to say but I quickly learned the new system - I never got caught out like that again.

[derekwarner]

Hullo Roy.......in OZ, we ascended into the Decimal World this week in 1966  .......so as a 17 year old [1st year] apprentice, I seem to remember spending a few hours trying to understand if we had been duped a few Pennies or gained a few Cents in our pay packets 


Stretching the grey matter, 1st Year apprentice wages in '66 in the Illawarra ranged from $7.90 to $14.00 for the standard 40 hour week


The few at the top end of the scale were employed at the Coal Mines, my packet from Metal Manufacturers [BICC] was ...$12.50 which was the second-highest & we didn't have to go underground


Needless to say, one Saturday overtime shift at 'Penalty rates' absolutely bloated my standard weekly pay packet x 30% ........but wasn't that Tax man a    


[the debate as to whether Apprentices were  to provide the next generation of skilled labour ...or to provide a source of current day lower cost simi skilled workers ...??? will never be resolved...suffice to say, today our Governments are appealing to employ Trades youngsters and not Uni Students who will only fill the unemployment cue]


The cycle has near changed when the Doctor says to his wife  ...no we cannot afford a Plumber 

[roycv]

Hi Liverbudgie.  I got to know 2 guys who were made redundant from Metal box company about 1980.  I was attached to M&S tills project and us implementation managers would go to this factory in 1989 in Folkestone where they made till drawers. 

The 2 directors were the redundant guys, and they were lovely.  They said that when they left MB someone asked them to make a dozen drawers and they checked with MB who said do what you like and they did.   

The orders increased as time went on and they opened the factory.  It was up to the minute CAD led routing machines and technology all the dust was collected and used to provide heating and hot water.
Whenever we visited we were taken out to posh fish and chips and lots of chat etc.  I miss those days.
Roy

[Baldrick]

  Can you all  look at your loose change stash and see if you have one of these  If you have BINGO you're in the money (beware of forgeries) very few minted but some still out there £750- £10,000.

[dodes]

I remember the change over, all the prices rounded up for everything.

[derekwarner]

I remembered sometime last night, I incorrectly  termed the wages as in $......they were Australian Pounds 

[Taranis]

Nothing as bad as when Cyprus adopted the euro, about 12 yrs ago.
They already had a conversion rate from Cyprus £ to UK £ and then €
This coincided with our first holiday there and all the bars/restaurants had a triple bore price list 

[warspite]

  Can you all  look at your loose change stash and see if you have one of these  If you have BINGO you're in the money (beware of forgeries) very few minted but some still out there £750- £10,000.

Got a beatrice potter unpainted ceramic flopsy and several other sporting variants saved, and I check any 50p's and other coins just in case they dont have a date on them 

[malcolmfrary]

Remember it well.  All of the businesses taking money rounded up, never down.  A maybe surprising number of businesses seemed unable to grasp the idea that an old shilling was 5P in new money when setting prices.  Strangely, they had it figured out when giving change. 
Shortly after, inflation went up.  I suspect that some of the blame for that was that before, increases on small items could be 1/240th of a pound.  After, the smallest increase became 1/100th of a pound.