Residents at a care home in Huntingdon have taken part in a project set up to celebrate 50 years of decimalisation.

In December last year, the Royal Mint Museum reached out to the care home to ask if it wanted to take part in the Reminiscence Box Project.

The project, part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, saw the Royal Mint Museum create a box of old coins for people to enjoy and provide an experience that would help older people recount their memories of living through decimalisation.

The Museum in a Box included replicas and original coins from the era. The residents enjoyed being able to touch the coins and listening to an explanation.

Each object was fitted with a special micro-chip which, when placed on the box, played an audio clip specific to the object.

The residents enjoyed this unique experience of reminiscence. Most of the residents were able to pick up the coins and identify what they were.

They shared stories from the time and each audio clip brought back new memories. Dennis, one of the residents, recalled that the sixpence was also called the tanner, and half-crown was also known 2 & 6.

The residents explained decimalisation to the home's lifestyle coordinators who were able to help them understand a bit more.

Cath and Myrtle had different opinions about the saying 'the good old days’ which they enjoyed discussing and concluded that everyone had different experiences.

In the new version of the box they have also included a Panasonic Toughbook which contained fun and stimulating activities. The residents enjoyed the videos, audios, and the quizzes the Toughbook provided.

They enjoyed listening to the songs all connected with money, everyone was singing and dancing. This led to the discussions of songs about money and the residents suggested She Works Hard For The Money by Donna Summers and Brother Can You Spare a Dime by Bing Crosby.

The quiz went down really well and the residents had a laugh as they guessed the answers. They also liked the videos, especially the ones with the Queen. It was a great experience and everyone enjoyed learning something new from the discussions.