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The pound is the main unit of sterling, [4] [c] and the word pound is also used to refer to the British currency generally, [7] often qualified in international contexts as the British pound or the pound sterling. [4] Sterling is the world's oldest currency in continuous use since its inception. [8]
[1] [2] A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money in common use within a specific environment over time, especially for people in a nation state. [3] Under this definition, the British Pound sterling (£), euros (€), Japanese yen (¥), and U.S. dollars (US$) are examples of (government-issued) fiat currencies.
The English word "pound" derives from the Latin expression lībra pondō, in which lībra is a noun meaning 'pound' and pondō is an adverb meaning 'by weight'. [1] [2] The currency's symbol is ' £ ', a stylised form of the blackletter 'L' (from libra), crossed to indicate abbreviation. [3]
These terms and divisions of currency were in use from the 7th century. The value of some coins fluctuated, particularly in the reigns of James I and Charles I. The value of a guinea fluctuated between 20 and 30 shillings before being fixed at 21 shillings in December 1717.
Unlike in some territories of the British Empire (such as Jamaica), in the UK the crown was never replaced as circulating currency by a five-shilling banknote. "Decimal" crowns were minted a few times after decimalisation of the British currency in 1971, initially with a nominal value of 25 (new) pence.
Currencies of the British West Indies; International status and usage of the euro; Commonwealth banknote-issuing institutions; List of countries by leading trade partners; List of stock exchanges in the United Kingdom, the British Crown Dependencies and United Kingdom Overseas Territories
The pound sign (£) is the symbol for the pound unit of sterling – the currency of the United Kingdom and its associated Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories and previously of Great Britain and of the Kingdom of England. The same symbol is used for other currencies called pound, such as the Egyptian and Syrian pounds.
The English name pound is a Germanic adaptation of the Latin phrase libra pondo 'a pound weight'. [6] On the Iberian peninsula, the Kingdom of Aragon adopted the Carolingian monetary system (Catalan: lliura, sou and diners), but those of Portugal and Castile (and subsequently Spain) retained the currency system inherited from al-Andalus.