D-DAY had quite an effect on Basingstoke residents’ pockets back in 1971.

February 15 that year was Decimal Day, which saw the demise of the threepence – pronounced thrupenny bit – the sixpence, also called a tanner or half-shilling, the florin, the crown and the guinea.

The loss of these coins meant that local householders had to fork out an extra two shillings – or 10p – in the pound on the domestic rate bill, thanks to decisions made by Hampshire County Council and the district council.

Under the old financial system, the pound was made up of 240 pence and was denoted by the letter d for the Latin word denarius.

There were 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings, denoted by s from the Latin solidus, in a pound.

To make things more complicated, there were coins such as the halfcrown – which was worth two shillings and sixpence, which was one eighth of a pound.

Some readers may even recall the farthing, which was worth a quarter of an old penny. However, this coin stopped being legal tender on December 31, 1960.

The idea of decimalisation was first mooted in 1824, but this was rejected by Parliament.

However, a report compiled by the British Association for the Advancement of Science and the Association of British Chambers of Commerce in 1960 prompted the Government to set up the Committee of the Inquiry on Decimal Currency, known as the Halsbury Committee.

Then The Decimal Currency Board was set up ahead of Parliament passing the Decimal Currency Act, in May 1969.

The board considered giving a new name for the new currency, including the new pound, the royal and the noble.

Instead the pound was retained, but it was divided into 100 new pence, and instead of using the d symbol, the more appropriate p was used.

The Government wanted everyone to call the new penny units new pence, but they became more commonly known as p, as in ‘1p’ and ‘5p’.

Prior to D-Day, the new 5p and 10p coins were issued in April 1968 and were the same size and value of shillings and florins.

Then in October 1969, the 50p was introduced, with the ten shilling note, also known as the ten bob note, eventually being withdrawn in November 1970.

To help people get to grips with the new currency, booklets were issued showing the new denominations.

Some may well have been sad to see the withdrawal of the old halfpenny at the end of July 1969 and the half-crown at the end of December that year.

In the weeks ahead of Decimal Day, a huge publicity campaign was held. The BBC broadcast a series of five-minute programmes called Decimal Five, while ITV had a short drama called Granny Gets The Point, where an old woman is taught to use the new currency by her grandson.

At the same time, popular singer Max Bygraves brought out a song called Decimalisation.

Banks had to close sharp at 3.30pm on February 10, 1971, and remained closed until February 15, giving them time to stock up with the new money. In fact, February 15 was picked for Decimal Day because it was the quietest time of the year for banks as well as for shops and transport companies.

Many shops priced their goods in both currencies for some time before the big day, such as 1s (5p) and then switched to 5p (1s) after the changeover.

D-Day was not as painful as many feared, although some shops told The Gazette that they were extra quiet, while for others it was business as usual.

However, there was still some confusion, with The Gazette reporting that an elderly woman who went into a Wote Street grocers was dismayed at having a number of alien bronze coins in her change. She was reported as saying: “I don’t want any of that stuff” and insisted on having “the old money”.

Hazel Eames, of Scotney Road, Basingstoke, told The Gazette that she had been prepared for the big change, stocking up with the decimal coins.

However, when she got on a bus, she found that the buses were not going decimal for another week, so a fellow passenger paid the fare for her.