Sterling (ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories.[3] The pound (sign: ) is the main unit of sterling,[4] and the word pound is also used to refer to the British currency generally,[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] Together with those three currencies and 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.[8]
The Bank of England is the central bank for sterling, issuing its own banknotes and regulating issuance of banknotes by private banks in Scotland and 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.
There are various theories regarding the origin of the word "sterling". The Oxford English Dictionary states that the "most plausible" etymology is a derivation from the Old English steorra for "star" with the added diminutive suffix -ling, to yield "little star". The reference is to the silver penny used in Norman England in the twelfth century, which bore a small star.[9]
Another theory holds that the Hanseatic League was the origin of its definition, manufacture, and name: the German name for the Baltic is Ostsee ('East Sea') and from this the Baltic merchants were called Osterlings ('Easterlings').[10] In 1260, Henry III granted them a charter of protection and land for their Kontor, the Steelyard of London, which by the 1340s was also called Esterlingeshalle ('Easterlings Hall').[11] Because the League's money was not frequently debased like that of England, English traders stipulated to be paid in pounds of the "Easterlings", which was contracted to "'sterling".[12] The OED dismisses this theory as unlikely, since the stressed first syllable would not have been elided.[9]
Encyclopdia Britannica states the (pre-Norman) Anglo-Saxon kingdoms had silver coins called sterlings and that the compound noun pound sterling was derived from a pound (weight) of these sterlings.[13]
Notable style guides recommend that the pound sign be used without any abbreviation or qualification to indicate sterling (e.g., 12,000).[24][25][26] The ISO 4217 code "GBP" (e.g., GBP 12,000 or 12,000 GBP) may also be seen should disambiguation become necessary.
The ISO 4217 currency code for sterling is "GBP",[27] formed from the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for the United Kingdom ("GB") and the first letter of "pound".[28] In historical sources and some specialist banking uses, the abbreviation stg (in various styles) has been used to indicate sterling.[29][30] Many stocks on the London Stock Exchange are quoted in penny sterling, using the unofficial code "GBX".[31]
The exchange rate of sterling against the US dollar is referred to as "cable" in the wholesale foreign exchange markets.[32] The origins of this term are attributed to the fact that from the mid-19th century, the sterling/dollar exchange rate was transmitted via transatlantic cable.[33]
Historically almost every British coin had a widely recognised nickname, such as "tanner" for the sixpence and "bob" for the shilling.[34] Since decimalisation these have mostly fallen out of use except as parts of proverbs.
A common[35] slang term for the pound unit is "quid" (singular and plural, except in the common phrase "quids in").[36] The term may have come via Italian immigrants from scudo, the name for a number of currency units used in Italy until the 19th century; or from Latin quid via the common phrase quid pro quo, literally, "what for what", or, figuratively, "An equal exchange or substitution".[37] The term "nicker" (also both singular and plural) may also refer to the pound.[35]
The currency of all the Crown Dependencies (Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man) and most British Overseas Territories (British Antarctic Territory;[38][39] Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Gibraltar; Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha)[40] is either sterling or is pegged to sterling at par.
By the 1950s, coins of Kings George III, George IV and William IV had disappeared from circulation, but coins (at least the penny) bearing the head of every British monarch from Queen Victoria onwards could be found in circulation. Silver coins were replaced by those in cupro-nickel in 1947, and by the 1960s the silver coins were rarely seen. Silver/cupro-nickel sixpences, shillings (from any period after 1816) and florins (2 shillings) remained legal tender after decimalisation (as 2p, 5p and 10p respectively) until 1980, 1990 and 1993 respectively, but are now officially demonetised.[42][43]
The accounting system of dividing one pound into twenty shillings, a shilling into twelve pence, and a penny into four farthings was adopted[when?] from the livre carolingienne system introduced by Charlemagne to the Frankish Empire.[citation needed] The penny was abbreviated to "d", from denarius, the Roman equivalent of the penny; the shilling to "s" from solidus (written with a long s, ſ, later evolving into a simple slash, /); and the pound to "L" (subsequently ) from Libra or Livre.[when?]
The introduction of the larger French gros tournois coins in 1266, and their subsequent popularity, led to additional denominations in the form of groats worth four pence and half groats worth two pence.[51] A gold penny weighing twice the silver penny and valued at 20 silver pence was also issued in 1257 but was not successful.[52]
The English penny remained nearly unchanged from 800 and was a prominent exception in the progressive debasements of coinage which occurred in the rest of Europe. The Tower Pound, originally divided into 240 pence, devalued to 243 pence by 1279.[53]
The resulting gold-silver ratio of 1:12.55 was much higher than the ratio of 1:11 prevailing in the Continent, draining England of its silver coinage and requiring a more permanent remedy in 1351 in the form of
The exigencies of the Hundred Years' War during the reign of King Henry IV resulted in further debasements toward the end of his reign, with the English penny reduced to 15 grains sterling silver (0.899 g fine silver)[clarification needed] and the half-noble reduced to 54 grains (3.481 g fine gold).[clarification needed][44] The gold-silver ratio went down to 40 0.899 / 3.481 = 10.3.
The silver basis of sterling remained essentially unchanged until the 1816 introduction of the Gold Standard, save for the increase in the number of pennies in a troy ounce from 60 to 62 (hence, 0.464 g fine silver in a penny). Its gold basis remained unsettled, however, until the gold guinea was fixed at 21 shillings in 1717.
In the 17th century, English merchants tended to pay for imports in silver but were generally paid for exports in gold.[citation needed] This effect was notably driven by trade with the Far East, as the Chinese insisted on payments for their exports being settled in silver. From the mid-17th century, around 28,000 metric tons (27,600 long tons) of silver were received by China, principally from European powers, in exchange for Chinese tea and other goods. In order to be able to purchase Chinese exports in this period, England initially had to export to other European nations and request payment in silver,[citation needed] until the British East India Company was able to foster the indirect sale of opium to the Chinese.[66]
Domestic demand for silver bullion in Britain further reduced silver coinage in circulation, as the improving fortunes of the merchant class led to increased demand for tableware. Silversmiths had always regarded coinage as a source of raw material, already verified for fineness by the government. As a result, sterling silver coins were being melted and fashioned into "sterling silverware" at an accelerating rate. An Act of the Parliament of England in 1697 tried to stem this tide by raising the minimum acceptable fineness on wrought plate from sterling's 92.5% to a new Britannia silver standard of 95.83%. Silverware made purely from melted coins would be found wanting when the silversmith took his wares to the assay office, thus discouraging the melting of coins.[citation needed]
During the time of Sir Isaac Newton, Master of the Mint, the gold guinea was fixed at 21 shillings (1/1/-) in 1717. But without addressing the problem of underweight silver coins, and with the high resulting gold-silver ratio of 15.2, it gave sterling a firmer footing in gold guineas rather than silver shillings, resulting in a de facto gold standard. Silver and copper tokens issued by private entities partly relieved the problem of small change until the Great Recoinage of 1816.[67]
In 1707, the kingdoms of England and Scotland merged into the Kingdom of Great Britain. In accordance with the Treaty of Union, the currency of Great Britain was sterling, with the pound Scots soon being replaced by sterling at the pegged value.
In 1801, Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland were united to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. However, the Irish pound was not replaced by sterling until January 1826.[71] The conversion rate had long been 13 Irish to 12 sterling.[citation needed] In 1928, six years after the Anglo-Irish Treaty restored Irish autonomy within the British Empire, the Irish Free State established a new Irish pound, initially pegged at par to sterling.[72]
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