Pound Sterling - the currency of Great Britain

The modern currency of Great Britain is by right considered one of the oldest on earth. She is over 1200 years old. The pound began its history around 775, when the circulation of the sterling began on the territory of the British kingdoms, which were full-fledged silver coins. If such coins were typed in a total weight of about 350 grams, then the Englishman had a pound sterling on his hands (about 240 coins).

Thus, the main currency of Great Britain - the pound sterling, from the very beginning did not exist as a separate monetary unit (coin). It was a collection of smaller denominations. An interesting feature of the formed 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 a shilling was introduced, which was one-twentieth of a pound. Schilling, in turn, consisted of twelve pence. At different times, 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 1970s of the 20th century (1971). She was readily accepted in international settlements, because Until the early 20th century, Great Britain was a stable power and had a good economy.

Some do not know what currency is in the UK today, because There is a misconception that England, as a European country, entered the euro area. But this is not so. The British government and the people refused to join the euro zone and retained their "ancient" pound sterling. For hundreds of years, of course, it has depreciated and is no longer tied to gold or silver. But it is still among the reserve currencies, although it loses 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 is 100 pence (a penny is the only number). Pennies are issued in coins with a face value of fifty to one penny (and also denominations of 20, 10, 5, and 2). In addition, in the form of coins, there are one and two pounds sterling.

On all banknotes of the English currency, there is necessarily a portrait of the queen and a system of protection in the form of watermarks, a metal strip , etc. English paper money, unlike American dollars, is produced in different sizes. For example, a 5-pound banknote has a length of 13.5 cm and a width of 7 cm, and a 20-pound note has a length of 15 and 8 cm, respectively. It is believed that the latter reduces the number of fraudulent transactions with cash currency.

The UK currency is the third most important in the world financial system after the US dollar and the euro. It is about 50% of the daily turnover on the London Currency Exchange and 14% in the global financial turnover. It is believed that the pound sterling rate is sensitive to the news background on inflation data in England, as well as to oil prices. The currency is freely convertible and, if desired, it can be freely purchased in many branches of Russian banks.