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Pound sterling
The pound (symbol: £; ISO code: GBP), divided into 100 pence, is the official currency of the United Kingdom and the Crown dependencies. The slang term "quid" is very commonly used in place of "pound(s)", depending on the region.
The official full name pound sterling (plural: pounds sterling) is used mainly in formal contexts and also when it is necessary to distinguish the currency used within the United Kingdom from others that have the same name. The currency name — but not the names of its units — is sometimes abbreviated to just "sterling", particularly in the wholesale financial markets; so "payment accepted in sterling", but never "that costs five sterling". The abbreviations "ster." or "stg." are sometimes used. The term British pound is commonly used outside the UK and often even in the UK, although it is not an official name of the currency.
The pound was originally the value of one pound Tower weight of sterling silver (hence "pound sterling"). The currency sign is the pound sign, originally ₤ with two cross-bars, then later more commonly £ with a single cross-bar. The pound sign derives from the black-letter "L", from the abbreviation LSD – librae, solidi, denarii – used for the pounds, shillings and pence of the original duodecimal currency system. Libra was the basic Roman unit of weight, which in turn derived from the Latin word for scales or balance. The ISO 4217 currency code is GBP (Great Britain pound). Occasionally the abbreviation UKP is seen, but this is incorrect. The Crown dependencies use their own (non-ISO) codes when they wish to reflect their distinctiveness. Stocks are often traded in pence, so traders may refer to Pence sterling, GBX (sometimes GBp), when listing stock prices.
Following the adoption of the euro by several countries, sterling became the world's oldest currency still in use, and it currently holds the third largest portion of global currency reserves after the US dollar and the euro. The pound sterling is the fourth most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the USD, the euro, and the Japanese yen.
Subdivisions
Since decimalisation in 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 pence (singular "penny"). The symbol for the penny is "p"; hence an amount such as 50p (£0.50) is usually pronounced "fifty pee" rather than "fifty pence". (This also helped to distinguish between new and old pence amounts during the changeover to the decimal system).
Prior to decimalisation, the pound was divided into twenty shillings, with each shilling equal to twelve pence, making a total of 240 pence to the pound. The symbol for the shilling was "s" — not from the first letter of the word, but rather from the Latin word solidus. The symbol for the penny was "d", from the French word denier, which in turn was from the Latin word denarius (the solidus and denarius were Roman coins). A mixed sum of shillings and pence such as "two shillings and six pence" would be written as "2/6" or "2s 6d" and spoken as "two and six". Five shillings would be written as "5s" or, more commonly, "5/-". At the time of decimalisation, the smallest unit was the penny, although smaller value coins had been minted in years past.
After Decimal Day, the value of the pound remained unchanged, but it was now divided into 100 new pence rather than 240 old pence. Each decimal penny was therefore worth 2.4 pre-decimal pence. For a few years following decimalisation the decimal penny was commonly referred to as a "new penny". Coins for denominations of ½p, 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p and 50p all bore the inscription NEW PENCE (or NEW PENNY) until 1982, when the inscription changed to HALF PENNY, ONE PENNY, TWO PENCE, FIVE PENCE and so on. The old one shilling ("1/-") and two shillings ("2/-", florin) coins were equivalent in value to 5p and 10p respectively, and as such remained valid within the decimal system until the 5p and 10p coins were replaced by smaller versions in 1990 and 1992 respectively, the old versions being taken out of circulation in 1991 and 1993. The old sixpence also remained in circulation, with a value of 2½ new pence, until being withdrawn in 1980.
Legal tender and regional issues
Laws of legal tender are uniquely complex in the UK: according to the Royal Mint, legal tender means "that a debtor cannot successfully be sued for non-payment if he pays into court in legal tender. It does not mean that any ordinary transaction has to take place in legal tender or only within the amount denominated by the legislation. Both parties are free to agree to accept any form of payment whether legal tender or otherwise according to their wishes. In order to comply with the very strict rules governing an actual legal tender it is necessary, for example, actually to offer the exact amount due because no change can be demanded".
In England and Wales, banknotes issued by the Bank of England are legal tender, meaning that they should be accepted in payment of a debt; they do not have to be accepted, but the debtor has a good defence in law against being sued for non-payment of that debt. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, no banknotes are legal tender, and each bank which issues banknotes does so in the form of its own promissory notes. In the Channel Islands and Isle of Man the local variations on the banknotes are legal tender in their respective jurisdiction.
Scottish, Northern Irish, Channel Islands and Manx notes are sometimes rejected by shops when used in England. British shopkeepers can choose to reject any payment, even if it would be legal tender in that jurisdiction, because no debt exists when the offer of payment is made at the same time as the offer of goods or services. When settling a restaurant bill or other debt the laws of legal tender do apply, but usually any reasonable method of settling the debt (such as credit card or cheque) will be accepted.
Notes are issued by the Big Four banks in Northern Ireland — the Bank of Ireland, the First Trust Bank, the Northern Bank and the Ulster Bank. Notes printed by the Bank of Ireland, although in pounds sterling, are mistaken in England for the former Irish pound and often rejected. The only plastic banknote in the United Kingdom is printed by the Northern Bank. This is the bank's Year 2000 commemorative £5 banknote, which was printed in Australia.
Scottish bank notes are issued by The Bank of Scotland, The Royal Bank of Scotland and The Clydesdale Bank, but (as in Northern Ireland) are not legal tender. Only Royal Mint coins are legal tender in Scotland, and only one and two pound coins are legal tender to an indefinite amount. This was not always the case, as during World War II the Scottish banknotes were made legal tender by the Currency (Defence) Act 1939; this status was withdrawn on January 1 1946. Some notes of the Bank of England were legal tender in Scotland and Northern Ireland; however, this status only applied to notes under a value of five pounds, so following the withdrawal of the Bank of England one pound note in 1985, no circulating notes are covered by this clause.
The UK one pound coin also has many varied designs on the reverse side, which differ from year to year with new designs appearing; however, all of these are Royal Mint coins and of equivalent legality. The Channel Islands (including Alderney) and the Isle of Man issue their own coinage.
All commonly circulating British coins are legal tender throughout the UK, in most cases up to a maximum value per transaction, as are the commemorative five pound and twenty-five pence ("crown") coins that are rarely seen in circulation. Several gold coins issued by the Mint are still legal tender, though as they have a bullion value far greater than their face value, they are never used in circulation and tend to be kept by collectors. |
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