Fifty years since pounds and pence jingled in Kiwis' pockets

Fifty years ago New Zealanders were carrying pounds, shillings and pence in their pockets with today marking the anniversary of the introduction of decimal currency.

On this day in 1967, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins were introduced along with $1, $2, $5, $10, $20 and $100 banknotes, according to the government's NZ History website.

Then-Finance Minister Sir Robert Muldoon receives the first $10 note from a BNZ branch in Wellington. Photo / BNZ

This followed some four years of planning and public consultation, with the debate including what to call the new currency. Names suggested included crown, tui, Kiwi or zeal. In the end, the country opted for the more conventional dollar that we know today.

The move came about in order to simplify monetary transactions so they could be more easily divisible. Under the previous system there were 20 shillings per pound, 12 pennies per shilling, which were then divided into half pennies, which equalled 1/24 of a shilling or 1/480 of a pound.

The change was accompanied by a rigorous campaign by the country's banks and the New Zealand Government of the day, under Prime Minister Keith Holyoake and then-Finance Minister Sir Robert Muldoon.

Decimal currency also coincided with the first computer being introduced into the New Zealand banking sector by BNZ. Although this device occupied an entire room, it was helpful in the transition to the new form of currency, said BNZ's head of digital Stephen Bowe.

Introduction of decimal currency to New Zealand was accompanied by a rigorous public information campaign. Photo / BNZ

"At the point of decimalisation people were starting to think of, 'What happens when I want to offer discounts? What happens when I want to start thinking about different currencies?' With these things in pounds, shillings and pence, the maths gets super hard for the average person to handle."

Bowe predicted that when his 4-year-old daughter grew up she would see today's $20 notes as just as antiquated as the shilling or penny appear to us today as we move towards a "cashless society".

Anyone with a secret stash of shillings or pence is still able to exchange them at the Reserve Bank, a BNZ spokeswoman said.

"The exchange will be at the RBNZ, they will exchange it at face value into dollars and cents - so you essentially will get what it was worth back in 1967 when the changeover occurred."

The introduction of decimal currency in 1967 coincided with computers being introduced to New Zealand's banking sector for the first time. Photo / BNZ