Talk:Fijian pound

The war over the Fiji twelve sided threepenny bit

There is no reason given in the main article for the delay in introducing the twelve sided threepenny bit to Fiji. There was alot of politics over this issue. I have no sources to hand but I read a long article about it in the Fiji archives in Suva. The authorities refused to introduce the threepenny bit to Fiji despite a strong demand for it within the Indian population. It took years of wrangling to get it introduced. It was speculated that there were fears that attempts might be used to try and pass them off as gold sovereigns, but if that were the case, then one wonders why they couldn't have just used the old silver threepenny bits as in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The twelve sided nickel-brass threepenny bit was eventually introduced to Fiji in 1947. Apart from a smaller version issued in Nigeria, it was the only place outside the British Isles to have the twelve sided nickel-brass threepenny bit. Leading up to decimilization in 1969, the argument began again, this time regarding what should be done with the threepenny bits after decimilization. The argument continued while a ship was taking a large consignment of these threepenny bits back to the UK to be melted down. Some elements didn't want them to be melted down. The argument was brought to an end abruptly when the consignment was poured into the sea. We may never know the true reason as to why the twelve sided threepenny bit was such a controversial issue in Fiji.