The British pound is a monetary unit equal to 100 pence. The letter "£" is selected as a symbol (from the Latin word "libra"). The international banking code is GBP.
The British pound is one of the oldest world currencies. The first mention of it is celebrated in British territory with one thousand sixty-six. In 1158, sterling was appointed by King Henry as the national currency.
It began to be called a pound in the second half of the XII century, in honor of the English measure of weight. The name "sterling" appeared from the old English "stiere", which literally translates as "asterisk". Indeed, the first coins depicted symbols resembling stars. Since 1964, they began to issue British pounds in paper banknotes.
Today, banks in different parts of the UK issue paper money with their own design, which should be accepted throughout the country. But in reality, often this condition does not work.
Great Britain did not switch to the universal European currency, which is the euro, leaving the traditional for its country. The British pound is one of the most valuable world currencies.
Today there are denominations of 50, 20, 10 and 5 pounds. On one side of the banknote is the British Queen Elizabeth II, and on the other - various prominent personalities of the country.
In
English, the word "pound" is used to denote the national currency, but in the official documentation they use the full name so as not to confuse it with the currencies of the same name in other countries.
The first paper banknotes in Britain were receipts that gave people money changers for the gold they deposited with them. It was more convenient than constantly carrying metal products in your pocket. So, paper money became an alternative to gold.
Soon, jewelers noticed that some citizens were returning to return the treasures deposited. Then they decided to increase the output of paper money, so that, having precious metals in storage, they thought that no one would notice their deception. The beginning of the first banking operations. Money changers gave people loans, and for using them they took a certain percentage. Moreover, the loans issued were significantly greater than the amount of assets that were put on deposit.
This deception did not last long. In 1100, Henry I stripped bankers of the right to create paper money and himself developed a
monetary system that lasted 726 years. Its essence was the introduction of polished wooden laths with notches on one side as a monetary unit. Such sticks were split along, so that the notches were stored in two halves and put into circulation. Moreover, one part was kept by the king as evidence of authenticity.
The history of the one pound sterling coin does not begin in 1983, when it was first issued with this denomination. It happened much earlier. The first British pound coin was minted back in 1489. On the one hand, it depicted Henry VII, seated on a throne, on the other - a rose with the state emblem. It has become the most reliable world monetary unit, and remains to this day. The name was finally assigned to the monetary unit from the moment the Bank of England issued banknotes.