The 15th February 1971, known as 'Decimal Day', was the day the United Kingdom decimalised its currency. This meant the currency was changed to a system based on one basic unit of currency, split into sub-units by the power of 10. This was far from the first attempt at decimalisation; it had been a contentious topic for the previous one and half centuries. Many preparations were made for 'Decimal Day', such as adding some new coins into circulation and withdrawing some old ones to ease the transition. There were also television shows explaining the new currency to help accustom the public to the new system. 'Decimal Day' itself went smoothly, and by the end of August 1971, all old coins had been withdrawn from circulation, ending the transition period.