IT has been 50 years since in came the dollars and in came the cents, to replace the pounds and the shillings and the pence. Decimal currency turns 50 on February 14.
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Horsham collector Ian ‘Billy’ Benbow doesn’t remember the change over, but he does recall heading to the corner store as a youngster to buy a half penny bag of broken biscuits.
“When I tell my grandkids that story they ask me why I wanted to buy a packet of broken biscuits,” Mr Benbow said.
“A lot has just changed since back then – not just the currency we use.”
Mr Benbow has several $1 and $2 notes as well as a variety of coins from before the switch.
“The notes were a wedding gift. We’ll hold onto them and eventually pass them on to the grandkids,” he said.
The Royal Australian Mint is releasing a suite of coins featuring designs from the pre-decimal coins.
