Pound sterling

The pound sterling (GBP, sign: £) is the official currency used in the United Kingdom. It is also used in British overseas territories and the British Crown dependencies of the Isle of Man, Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey. The pound is divided into 100 pence [en] (singular: penny; plural: pence).

Half sovereign minted in Sydney, Australia, 1914 features St. George and the dragon

George IV sovereign, 1828

Queen Victoria half crown in silver. 1886

Gold Mohur of the East India Company, 1840

The farthing, 1951

Today's coins are 1 penny, 2 pence, 5 pence, 10 pence, 20 pence, 50 pence, £1 and £2. The common banknotes are £5, £10, £20, and £50.

As of October 2022, one pound was equal to 1.11 United States dollars.^{[needs update][source?]}

Etymology

A pound coin originally weighed one troy pound of sterling silver, giving the currency the name "pound sterling". "Sterling silver" means mixed metal that has 92.5% or more real silver. One pound sterling was originally divided by 240 sterling pence. This was because there are 240 pennyweights in a troy pound. So a single one–pound coin weighed one troy pound (about 373 grams) and a single 1–penny coin weighed one pennyweight (about. 1.5 gram).

The Latin word for "pound" is libra. The £ or ₤ is a stylised writing of the letter L, a short way of writing libra. This is similar to how a pound of mass is abbreviated "lb". Up until around the 1970s, especially on typewriters or keyboards without a "£" symbol, it was common to write "L" instead of "£".

The symbol for pennies is p. The British write 50p or £0.50 and say it "fifty pence" or simply "fifty pee"

The old system

The pound has only been divided into 100 pence since 1971. Before this time it was divided into 20 shillings. Each shilling was divided into 12 pennies.

The symbols for shilling and penny came from Roman coins: "s" for shilling (from the Latin word solidus) and "d" for penny (from the Latin denarius). The penny was divided into 4 farthings. The farthing became obsolete (was no longer used) in 1961 because it was worth so little.

Coins just before the change in 1971 were: 1/2d (ha'penny), 1d (one penny), 3d (threepence; the coin was called a "thrup'ny bit"); 6d (sixpence); 1s (one shilling, also called one "bob"); 2s (a florin); 2s6d (half a crown; the crown, 5s (a quarter of a pound sterling), was not used in modern times).

How prices were written and pronounced in the old system:

• ½d (half a penny) was pronounced "haypenny" (spelt: ha'penny or halfpenny)
• 2d (two old pennies) was always pronounced "tuppence"
• 3d (three old pennies) was always pronounced "thrupence" or "thruppenny bit" for the 3d coin" (spelt threepence)
• One shilling was written "1/–" (sometimes called a "bob").
• Prices in shillings and pence were pronounced like this: 2/6 (or: 2s6d) "two and six" (or: "two shillings and sixpence").
• The price £4 6s 3¾d was pronounced: "four pounds six shillings and thruppence three-farthings"

There was also a guinea. Originally the guinea was a gold coin. Although the coin had not been minted or circulated for a long time, prices were still sometimes given in guineas. A guinea was 21s (or £1 1s 0d). A price of 58 guineas was, in fact, £60 18s 0d, which sounds more than "58 guineas".

Coins

(Following the Great Recoinage of 1816)

Units	Pence	Shillings	Pounds
Quarter Farthing	​1⁄16d	​1⁄192/-	£​1⁄3,840
Third Farthing	​1⁄12d	​1⁄144/-	£​1⁄2,880
Half Farthing	​1⁄8d	​1⁄96/-	£​1⁄1,920
Farthing	​1⁄4d	​1⁄48/-	£​1⁄960
Halfpenny	​1⁄2d	​1⁄24/-	£​1⁄480
Penny	1d	​1⁄12/-	£​1⁄240
Threepence	3d	​1⁄4/-	£​1⁄80
Groat	4d	​1⁄3/-	£​1⁄60
Sixpence	6d	​1⁄2/-	£​1⁄40
Shilling	12d	1/-	£​1⁄20
Florin	24d	2/-	£​1⁄10
Half Crown	30d	2/6	£​1⁄8
Double Florin	48d	4/-	£​1⁄5
Crown	60d	5/-	£​1⁄4
Half Sovereign	120d	10/-	£​1⁄2
Sovereign	240d	20/-	£1
Double Sovereign	480d	40/-	£2
Quintuple Sovereign	1,200d	100/-	£5

Notes

(Following the Great Coinage of 1816)

Units	Pence	Shillings	Pounds
Ten Shilling Note	120d	10/-	​1⁄2
One Pound Note	240d	20/-	£1
Two Pound Note	480d	40/-	£2
Five Pound Note	1,200d	120/-	£5
Ten Pound Note	2,400d	200/-	£10
Fifteen Pound Note	3,600d	320/-	£15
Twenty Pound Note	4,800d	400/-	£20
Twenty Five Pound Note	6,000d	520/-	£25
Thirty Pound Note	7,200d	600/-	£30
Forty Pound Note	9.600d	800/-	£40
Fifty Pound Note	12,000d	1000/-	£50
One Hundred Pound Note	24,000d	2000/-	£100
Two Hundred Pound Note	48,000d	4000/-	£200
Three Hundred Pound Note	72,000d	6000/-	£300
Five Hundred Pound Note	120,000d	10,000/-	£500
One Thousand Pound Note	240,000d	20,000/-	£1,000

Decimalisation

In circulation before 1971 were the halfpenny, penny, threepence, sixpence, shilling, florin, crown, sovereign, ten shilling note, and the one, five, 10, 20 and 50 pound notes.

The crown and sovereign were legal currency before 1971. By then they were commemorative coins and not commonly found in circulation. They are both still legal currency at a value of 25 pence and £1 respectively.

In 1971, the pound sterling of the United Kingdom and the Irish Pound of Ireland were decimalised (divided into 100). Most coins were de-monetised. £1 was equal to 100 pence after then. One shilling became 5 pence, remaining ​¹⁄₂₀ of £1. £1 stayed the same.

Decimal currency

Units	Value	Mintage	Notes
Halfpenny	1/2p	1971–1984	No Longer Legal Tender
Penny	1p	1971–present
Two Pence	2p	1971–present
Five Pence	5p	1968–present	Equal to Shilling (1s)
Ten Pence	10p	1968–present	Equal to Florin (2s)
Twenty Pence	20p	1982–present	Equal to Double Florin (4s)
Fifty Pence	50p	1969–present	Equal to Half Sovereign (10s)
One Pound	£1	1983–present	Equal to Sovereign (£1)
Two Pounds	£2	1988–present	Equal to Double Sovereign (£2)

Notes	Value
Five Pounds Note	£5
Ten Pounds Note	£10
Twenty Pounds Note	£20
Fifty Pounds Note	£50

Other websites

• The banknotes of the United Kingdom