with a City Hall ceremony that was designed to get schoolchildren hooked on stamp and coin collecting.

Decimalisation -- the switch to dollars and cents from pounds, shillings and pence -- was introduced in Bermuda on February 6, 1970, six years after Britain's announcement that each of its pounds would consist of 100 pence as of 1971.

The reasons for Bermuda's decision to decimalise were based on the fact that American and Canadian decimal currencies were already in circulation, on the serious concern that a 1967 devaluation of the British pound might have prohibited the use of UK coinage locally, and on the desire to get in an order for new coins to the Royal Mint before the other Commonwealth countries that were also planning to decimalise.

At the same time, the switch to decimalisation also required new postage stamps.

After a few years in which various sterling-equivalent stamps were released, Bermuda's first definitive decimal stamp issue appeared on June 2, 1975, featuring Bermuda flowers.

Yesterday, officials from both the Post Office and the Bermuda Monetary Authority were on hand to celebrate the anniversary, which has been marked by the release of special commemorative stamps and coins. The officials, who included Postmaster General Mr. Clevelyn Critchlow, Philatelic Services co-ordinator Mrs. Phyllis Basden and BMA domestic economy manager Mr. Jamsheed Khan, also announced the creation of a joint programme to get children interested in the collection of coins and stamps.

"It's a hobby that is not only educational in terms of history and geography,'' said Mr. Horst Augustinovic, chairman of the Post Office's stamp design and advisory committee. "It also requires the involvement of parents.'' Special Post Office-BMA collecting kits were handed out to the dozens of primary school students who had assembled at City Hall, as were packets of the new commemorative coins. The BMA has also issued five-coin gold proof sets and five-coin silver proof sets at $1,100 and $100 respectively.

The collecting kits will be distributed at schools across the Island.

YOUNG PHILATELISTS' CLUB -- Officials from the Post Office and Bermuda Monetary Authority celebrated the 25th anniversary of decimalisation in Bermuda yesterday by encouraging children to collect stamps and coins.

Pictured during a City Hall ceremony are (from left to right) seven-year-old Somerset Primary student Sharundae Thompson, Philatelic Services co-ordinator Mrs. Phyllis Basden, BMA domestic economy manager Mr. Jamsheed Khan and 10-year-old Francis Patton student Sukoji Somner.