when did the silver sixpence go out of circulation
Sixpence (British coin) Beginning with Lord Wrottesley's proposals in the 1820s, there were various attempts to decimalise the pound sterling over the next century and a half.[9][10] These attempts came to nothing significant until the 1960s when the need for a currency more suited to simple monetary calculations became pressing[citation needed]. The decision to decimalise was announced in 1966, with the pound to be divided into 100, rather than 240, pence.[11] Decimal Day was set for 15 February 1971, and a whole range of new coins were introduced. Sixpences continued to be legal tender with a value of ​2 1⁄2 new pence until 30 June 1980.[12]
History of the United States dollar The discovery of large silver deposits in the Western United States in the late 19th century created a political controversy. Due to the large influx of silver, the value of silver in the nation's coinage dropped precipitously. On one side were agrarian interests such as the United States Greenback Party that wanted to retain the bimetallic standard in order to inflate the dollar, which would allow farmers to more easily repay their debts. On the other side were Eastern banking and commercial interests, who advocated sound money and a switch to the gold standard. This issue split the Democratic Party in 1896. It led to the famous "cross of gold" speech given by William Jennings Bryan, and may have inspired many of the themes in The Wizard of Oz. Despite the controversy, the status of silver was slowly diminished through a series of legislative changes from 1873 to 1900, when a gold standard was formally adopted. The gold standard survived, with several modifications, until 1971.