Bring back...

The Half Penny

Otherwise known as the ha'penny, it was forced to evolve out of the half-crowns, florins and bobs family which were cut off at the decimal point in 1971. D-day was the Seventies' equivalent of the furore over the EMU, with headlines like "It's D-for-Dotty Day," and "Britain Goes Dotty". Out trooped the three new bronze coins: half penny, one penny and two penny.

Nobody questioned the unexplained disappearance of the half-penny in December 1984, except possibly the children, whose little faces would no longer light up on entering a sweetshop.

OK, they were pesky - play money, children's payment for washing the car. But let's just consider one adult lament: the joy of buying something for half a penny could never be replaced, especially in a world where Mr Inflation steals all our sweets.