The modern currency of Great Britain is rightfully considered one of the oldest on earth. She is over 1200 years old. The pound began its history around 775, when sterling, which were full silver coins , began to circulate in the kingdoms of England . If such coins were gained with a total weight of about 350 grams, then the Englishman had in his hands a pound sterling (about 240 coins).
Thus, the main currency of Great Britain - the pound sterling, from the very beginning did not exist in the form of a separate monetary unit (coin). It was a collection of smaller denominations. An interesting feature of the emerging monetary system was that when issuing coins of fractional denomination for many centuries there was no decimal system of calculation. For example, in the 12th century, shilling was introduced, which amounted to one twentieth of the pound. Shilling, in turn, consisted of twelve pence. In different periods of time, both silver and gold coins were issued - guinea (21 shillings) and sovereign (20 shillings).
Currency in the UK with such a specific division existed until the early 70s of the 20th century (1971). She was readily accepted in international settlements, as Great Britain until the beginning of the 20th century was a stable power and had a good economy.
Some do not know what currency is in the UK today, as there is a misconception that England, as a European country, has entered the euro zone. But this is not so. The British government and people refused to join the eurozone and retained their "ancient" pound. For hundreds of years, he, of course, has depreciated and is no longer tied to gold or silver. But it is still among the reserve currencies, although it has been losing to the US dollar in the last hundred years.
The modern currency of Great Britain is represented by banknotes - pounds sterling, which have a face value of five, ten, twenty and 50 pounds. One pound equals 100 pence (a penny is a single number). Pence is issued in coins with face value from fifty to one penny (as well as face values of 20, 10, 5, and 2). In addition, in the form of coins, there are one and two pounds.
On all banknotes of the English currency there is without fail a portrait of the queen and a protection system in the form of watermarks, a
metal strip , etc. English paper money, unlike American dollars, is issued in different sizes. For example, a 5 pound note is 13.5 cm long and 7 cm wide, and a 20 pound note is 15 and 8 cm, respectively. It is believed that the latter reduces the number of fraudulent transactions with cash.
The UK currency is the third largest in the global financial system after the US dollar and euro. It accounts for about 50% of the daily turnover on the London Currency Exchange and 14% of the global financial turnover. It is believed that the pound is sensitive to the news background according to inflation in England, as well as oil prices. Currency is freely convertible and, if desired, can be freely purchased at many branches of Russian banks.