Canada and Australia replaced the British Pound with their own dollars for easier trade and stability
Ottawa: Two ex-British colonies switched from the Pound to their own dollars. They did this for a simple reason: it was easier to use. The Pound was once the top currency, but things changed after the 1940s.
Canada and Australia both decided to adopt their own versions of the dollar. Canada made the switch in 1841, creating the Canadian dollar, which is still used today. Before that, Canada had the Canadian Pound, which was worth a bit less than the British Pound.
Canada wanted to improve trade with the U.S. They thought having similar currencies would help. Plus, the dollar’s decimal system was much simpler. One dollar equals 100 cents, while the Pound was more complicated.
Back then, a Pound was made up of 20 shillings, which had 12 pennies each. That meant a single Pound had 240 pennies or 960 farthings. This made it hard to use, and its value could change a lot.
When Britain left the gold standard in 1931, it created the Sterling Area. This was a zone where former colonies pegged their currencies to the Pound. Canada was part of the Imperial Preference System but not the Sterling Area.
Australia didn’t start discussing ditching the Pound until after World War II. The war hurt Britain’s economy, and Australia began trading more with the U.S. In the 1950s, Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies looked into whether Australia should keep using the Pound.
As Britain’s global economy shrank, Australia realized it needed to switch. They wanted to break away from the old Imperial system. In 1966, Australia officially adopted the Australian Dollar.
The Pound’s lack of decimalization made it unstable, affecting everyday people. With the U.S. becoming the world’s top economy, using the dollar made trade easier.
