DECIMAL COINAGE

Dunstan Times, 2 November 1936, Page 2

DECIMAL COINAGE

CHANGE IN 1940 ?

ADOPTION ADVOCATED

“ The advantages of a decimal coinage and money of account in comparison with the fractional system of £ s d are so overwhelming that one is almost inclined to apologise for seeking to establish this fact.” said Mr Allan Sutherland, F.R.N.S., in a paper on decimal coinage read before a recent meeting of the New Zealand Numismatic Society. Sir James Elliott presided.

Mr Sutherland was a member of the New Zealand Coinage Committee set up in 1933 to consider, among other things, the introduction of a decimal system of coinage coincident with the introduction of New Zealand’s first distinctive coinage. He stated that so many people had given such little thought to the matter, having grown up with the present cumbersome system, that it was necessary to state the salient advantages of the decimal system in order that they might join those who were convinced that the only question to be considered in this connection was the date on which this desirable reform should be introduced. With the return to prosperity many people contended that there was justification for an immediate decision, and in view of the fact that a two years’ notice of changeover was usual, they considered that this notice should be given in 1938 (one year from now) so that the change to decimal coinage could become effective in New Zealand in 1940, the centennial year. Since 1800 no less than 30 countries, with a population to-day of 300,000,000, had voluntarily adopted the metric system of weights and measures, as well as coinage. That wonderful sociological phenomenon was an impressive one, having been effected after discarding unrelated national systems, and a change to the decimal system of coinage alone in Great Britain and New Zealand was of small importance in comparison with - such a change. Greater simplicity and a freer flow of international commerce and communications had been the deciding factors, and after a century there had been no suggestion of a return of the local or national standards. It was estimated that 75 per cent, of the English-speaking peoples used the decimal system, and that 85 per cent, of British business was done with countries using a decimal system. A decimal system of coinage in New Zealand would facilitate foreign exchange conversion calculations. One authority claimed that the ideal was that the whole world could buy from the same price list; but failing the realisation of that ideal, which was a long way off, the decimal system offered a rational and uniform system understood in most parts of the world. COMMERCIAL AND BANKING

OPINION

That there was a definite commercial demand from the British commercial community for an immediate change to decimal coinage for the whole Empire was evidenced by the fact that at the last congress of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of the British Empire, the forerunner of the congress now being held, the following resolution was unanimously adopted: —“ That whereas the use of decimal coinage promotes commercial efficiency and simplifies international exchange, and whereas the various national monetary units in all foreign countries and also in several parts of the British Empire are now divided on the decimal system, it is desirable that the decimalisation of the pound sterling be completed without delay.” The British Institute of Bankers, too, during the war period welcomed the idea of a decimal coinage, but hoped that the change would be delayed until peace times, to which Reginald Buckley, an English authority, replied, “ Any such change in the coinage system would seem likely to cause less confusion now when the whole subject of prices and international relations are in the melting pot, than at a later date, when each nation will be concerned with developing its trades and printing its revised price lists and catalogues. We have seen that some authorities favour postponement, but once the house is in order there will be a general reluctance to pull up the currency carpet.” The history of decimal coinage proposals in the' United Kingdom has been one of approval in principle, but postponement. The war and the depression having passed, it is presumed that the objection of the British Institute of Bankers has passed with it.

TIME TO ACT

There was no need, suggested*- Mr Sutherland, for New Zealand to wait for the United Kingdom and Australia to give a lead in the introduction of decimal coinage. “ The commercial efficiency of decimal coinage is unquestioned, and for most people it is only a question as to when the reform should be introduced. Obviously the longer the change is delayed the greater will be the difficulty. If early British statesmen had been less insular when practically the rest of the world adopted the metric system they would have saved posterity much labour, time, and money. If the present-day statesmen of the United Kingdom are not prepared to act on the advice of business parliaments, such as the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of the British Empire, and leading opinion throughout the Empire, then it is for our own statesmen to tackle the question, and not saddle posterity with an archaic system that has survived mainly on account of the immediate inconvenience that would be caused to those who had the power of effecting the change. With the return to times of prosperity and with the approach of the centennial rear, the time seems opportune for a full investigation to determine when the decimal system of coinage should be adopted in New Zealand.”