That was what seemed to light the inflation bonfire.
...Half a Dollar ...
That's more evidence of inflation. Pre-war the dollar was four to the pound so the half-crown then really was worth half a dollar. After Harold Wilson's "pound in your wallet" devaluation the £ was at $2-40. Now, if they'd retained the "old" penny - 1d - and made the new £ worth 100d ie 8/4d then £1 would have had the same value as $1. On paper, things costing a quid would have been listed at £2-40 and the psychological effect would have been to damp down inflation. As it was, the moneymen couldn't stomach the idea of the £ at parity with the dollar. Since fixed exchange rates were scrapped, we've been heading for parity anyway.
As another little example of inflation, somewhere kicking around in my garage I have a small tin of lighter fluid - probably all evaporated by now. The point is that the price - 1/9d - is painted on as an integral part of the decoration of the tine. That says something about steady prices; all swept away in the 1970s.