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Pound sterling
Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word pound is also used to refer to the British currency generally, often qualified in international contexts as the British pound or the pound sterling.
Sterling is the world's oldest currency in continuous use since its inception. In 2022, it was the fourth-most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar, the euro, and the Japanese yen. Together with those three currencies and the renminbi, it forms the basket of currencies that calculate the value of IMF special drawing rights. As of late 2022, sterling is also the fourth most-held reserve currency in global reserves.
The Bank of England is the central bank for sterling, issuing its own banknotes and regulating issuance of banknotes by private banks such as the Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank in Scotland, and Danske Bank in Northern Ireland. Sterling banknotes issued by other jurisdictions are not regulated by the Bank of England; their governments guarantee convertibility at par. Historically, sterling was also used to varying degrees by the colonies and territories of the British Empire.
The basic unit of currency in medieval England was the silver penny or sterling, weighing about 1⁄240 of a tower pound. Two hundred and forty of these coins made a "pound of sterlings". This term (shortened to "pound sterling" in later usage) continued to be used in accounting even after the sterling had ceased to circulate. The earliest known instances of the term occur in Orderic Vitalis's 12th-century Historia Ecclesiastica, which makes mention of librae sterilensium.
The origin of the word sterling itself is unclear. It first appears in the 11th and 12th centuries, suggesting that it was coined to describe the new, heavier penny introduced by the Normans. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the most plausible theory is that it represents Old English *steorling, meaning "coin with a star" (a pair of stars having appeared on certain Norman pennies). The numismatist Philip Grierson rejects this, however, noting that the starred penny was only minted between 1077 and 1080 and formed a tiny fraction of the total coinage issued by the Normans. Grierson suggests instead that the first element is *stēre, meaning "stout" or "strong". In support of this theory, he notes that the Roman solidus had a name with a very similar meaning and was also introduced to replace a lighter coin.
An old theory that the sterling was so named because it was introduced to England by Easterlings, i.e. Hanseatic merchants, is untenable on historical and phonological grounds.
The currency sign for the pound unit of sterling is £, which (depending on typeface) may be drawn with one or two bars: the Bank of England has exclusively used the single bar variant since 1975. Historically, a simple capital L (in the historic black-letter typeface, ) placed before the numerals, or an italic l. after them, was used in newspapers, books and letters. The Royal Mint was still using this style of notation as late as 1939. Use of the letter ⟨L⟩ for pound derives from medieval Latin documents: "L" was the abbreviation for libra, the Roman pound (weight), which in time became an English unit of weight defined as the tower pound. A "pound sterling" was literally a tower pound (weight) of sterling silver. In the British pre-decimal (duodecimal) currency system, the term £sd (or Lsd) for pounds, shillings and pence referred to the Roman libra, solidus, and denarius.
Notable style guides recommend that the pound sign be used without any abbreviation or qualification to indicate sterling (e.g., £12,000). The ISO 4217 code "GBP" (e.g., GBP 12,000) may also be seen should disambiguation become necessary.
Hub AI
Pound sterling AI simulator
(@Pound sterling_simulator)
Pound sterling
Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word pound is also used to refer to the British currency generally, often qualified in international contexts as the British pound or the pound sterling.
Sterling is the world's oldest currency in continuous use since its inception. In 2022, it was the fourth-most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar, the euro, and the Japanese yen. Together with those three currencies and the renminbi, it forms the basket of currencies that calculate the value of IMF special drawing rights. As of late 2022, sterling is also the fourth most-held reserve currency in global reserves.
The Bank of England is the central bank for sterling, issuing its own banknotes and regulating issuance of banknotes by private banks such as the Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank in Scotland, and Danske Bank in Northern Ireland. Sterling banknotes issued by other jurisdictions are not regulated by the Bank of England; their governments guarantee convertibility at par. Historically, sterling was also used to varying degrees by the colonies and territories of the British Empire.
The basic unit of currency in medieval England was the silver penny or sterling, weighing about 1⁄240 of a tower pound. Two hundred and forty of these coins made a "pound of sterlings". This term (shortened to "pound sterling" in later usage) continued to be used in accounting even after the sterling had ceased to circulate. The earliest known instances of the term occur in Orderic Vitalis's 12th-century Historia Ecclesiastica, which makes mention of librae sterilensium.
The origin of the word sterling itself is unclear. It first appears in the 11th and 12th centuries, suggesting that it was coined to describe the new, heavier penny introduced by the Normans. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the most plausible theory is that it represents Old English *steorling, meaning "coin with a star" (a pair of stars having appeared on certain Norman pennies). The numismatist Philip Grierson rejects this, however, noting that the starred penny was only minted between 1077 and 1080 and formed a tiny fraction of the total coinage issued by the Normans. Grierson suggests instead that the first element is *stēre, meaning "stout" or "strong". In support of this theory, he notes that the Roman solidus had a name with a very similar meaning and was also introduced to replace a lighter coin.
An old theory that the sterling was so named because it was introduced to England by Easterlings, i.e. Hanseatic merchants, is untenable on historical and phonological grounds.
The currency sign for the pound unit of sterling is £, which (depending on typeface) may be drawn with one or two bars: the Bank of England has exclusively used the single bar variant since 1975. Historically, a simple capital L (in the historic black-letter typeface, ) placed before the numerals, or an italic l. after them, was used in newspapers, books and letters. The Royal Mint was still using this style of notation as late as 1939. Use of the letter ⟨L⟩ for pound derives from medieval Latin documents: "L" was the abbreviation for libra, the Roman pound (weight), which in time became an English unit of weight defined as the tower pound. A "pound sterling" was literally a tower pound (weight) of sterling silver. In the British pre-decimal (duodecimal) currency system, the term £sd (or Lsd) for pounds, shillings and pence referred to the Roman libra, solidus, and denarius.
Notable style guides recommend that the pound sign be used without any abbreviation or qualification to indicate sterling (e.g., £12,000). The ISO 4217 code "GBP" (e.g., GBP 12,000) may also be seen should disambiguation become necessary.