The modern currency of Great Britain is known as GBP, which is equal to 100 pence. Banknotes in use are represented by the following denominations: 1, 5, 10, 20, 50. Coins include 1 and 2 pounds, as well as 1, 2, 10, 20, 50 pence. The British call the coin “penny”, 2 pence – twopence (and contrary to all reading rules it is proudly called “tapens”), 3 pence – threepence.

At different times, 1 pound had completely different reverse. If on the obverse we were always greeted by Queen Elizabeth II, then, starting in 1983, on back side one could see plant themes, animals, bridges, as well as images of the royal coats of arms and shields of Belfast, London, Cardiff and Edinburgh.

But what kind of money was in use before? In 1971, Great Britain switched to a decimal coinage system, and the “farting” and its derivatives third farting (third), quarter farting (quarter), half farting (half) were completely removed from circulation.

The initial issue of the silver farthing began under Henry III back in the 13th century, but the weight of such a coin was constantly changing. In the 17th century, under King James I, a copper farthing appeared, the diameter of which was 15 mm. The end of the 17th century was marked by the release of a token, which was equal in value to a farthing and a halfpenny. At the beginning of the 19th century, the “farting” began to be produced again, which was made from silver, gold and bronze.

Coins of England of the 16th century: shilling and floring

The first mention of the shilling dates back to the 16th century during the reign of Henry VIII. The “shilling” coin, more often called teston, was minted from copper, and the top layer was coated with silver.

Since the most prominent parts of the coin immediately appeared when it was used, and this was the king’s nose, the ruler was nicknamed “the old copper nose.” Later, the silver shilling continued to be issued during the reign. During the reigns of George VI and Queen Elizabeth II, the last shilling was issued; minting of such coins ceased in 1971.

However, before the advent of the shilling, there was a floring in circulation, which until the beginning of the 20th century was minted from 500-karat silver. It was subsequently replaced by two shillings.

The appearance of the penny coin

The history of the British penny goes back to the distant 8th century, but the common English penny began to be issued a little later, in the 10th century under King Edgard. Since then, the weight of the coin gradually decreased, and the amount of silver decreased, as a result of which already in the 16th-17th centuries the “penny” coin acquired a small shape and light weight. New life the money was given by Queen Victoria, who established the minting of bronze coins in the mid-19th century. The modern penny is one hundredth of a pound sterling and is made of copper-plated steel.

Initially, the pound sterling in Great Britain was equal to one troy pound of , hence its name, because the English word “sterling” in relation to the metal means “pure, of an established standard.” The pound sterling is the only government currency used in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the British territories of the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey. The symbol for this currency is the £ sign.

The design of pound sterling banknotes varies depending on the region where they are printed. The British themselves cannot always recognize the currency of their country and mistake it for a foreign one.

Banknotes

In England, pounds sterling are in circulation in the form of banknotes in denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 50 pounds. All banknotes feature an image of the Queen on one side and a famous historical figure on the other side. Queen Elizabeth II is the only monarch to have her porter featured on a banknote. This first happened in 1960 with the aim of reducing counterfeit money in the country. As for the reverse side of the paper pound, on the five pound note you can find a portrait of Elizabeth Fry, who fought to improve conditions for women in European prisons. The ten pound note features the image of Charles Darwin, the Victorian naturalist and author of the theory of evolution. The twenty pound note featured the British composer Sir Edward Elgar until 2007, when a new note was issued featuring a portrait of Adam Smith, one of the Founding Fathers. modern economy. The fifty pound note features the image of Sir John Houblon, the first governor of the Bank of England.

The British came up with slang nicknames for their currency. For example, words such as "fiver" - "five" - ​​for five pounds and "tenner" - "ten" for ten pounds - are in use. The pound is also called "cable" or "quid".

Coins

Since 1971, England has adopted a decimal system, meaning one pound is now equal to one hundred pence (in singular units called “pennies”). The accepted designation for a penny is the English letter "p". In circulation in England there are coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 pence and 1.2 pounds. All coins also feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the letters "D.G.REG.F.D." are engraved around the edge of the coin. Tourists often wonder what phrase is hidden in this abbreviation. In fact, these letters stand for a saying in Latin - "Dei Gratia Regina Fidei Defensor", which translates as "By the grace of God, Queen Defender of the Faith." The reverse side of the 1 penny coin depicts the portcullis of Westminster Abbey, on the 2 pence coin the coat of arms of the Prince of Wales (decorated with feathers), on the 5 pence coin there is a thistle, a symbol of Scotland, on the 10 pence coin there is a lion, a symbol of the power of Britain, with the crown of the British Monarchy on head, on 20 pence - the national one of England - the Tudor rose, and on 50 pence - a lion and the symbol of the British Isles. As for the 1 and 2 pound coins, the first of them has different images reflecting the symbols of the countries that make up the United Kingdom. These are lions for England, thistles for Scotland and leeks for Wales. The £2 coin features an abstract illustration of the country's technological development, and is engraved around the edge with Sir Isaac Newton's phrase: "Standing on the shoulders of giants."

According to Central Bank Russian Federation on February 15, 2020, the price per 1 (GBP) is 82.7816 Russian ruble(RUB). Compared to the previous working day, the change was +0,2331 Russian ruble. To view the archive of the pound sterling exchange rate, click on the “Today” link and select the required date using the calendar.

This chart will help you quickly receive information about pound sterling versus ruble quotes on the Forex market in real time. The user is given the opportunity to customize the terminal according to his preferences, choosing the style of bars and customizing indicators. Updated online, real-time GBP/RUB currency quotes reflect Forex trading.

date	Central Bank rate	Change	Percent
Today, Sat	1 GBP = 82.78 RUB	+0,23 RUB	+0,28 %
Yesterday, Fri	1 GBP = 82.55 RUB	+0,78 RUB	+0,96 %
13 February, Thu	1 GBP = 81.77 RUB	-0,75 RUB	-0,91 %
12 February, Wed	1 GBP = 82.52 RUB	+0,40 RUB	+0,49 %
February 11, Tue	1 GBP = 82.12 RUB	+0,04 RUB	+0,05 %
February 8, Sat	1 GBP = 82.08 RUB	+0,52 RUB	+0,64 %
February 7, Fri	1 GBP = 81.56 RUB	-0,87 RUB	-1,06 %
6 February, Thu	1 GBP = 82.43 RUB	+0,16 RUB	+0,20 %
February 5, Wed	1 GBP = 82.27 RUB	-1,71 RUB	-2,03 %
February 4, Tue	1 GBP = 83.98 RUB	+1,01 RUB	+1,22 %
February 1, Sat	1 GBP = 82.96 RUB	+1,13 RUB	+1,38 %
January 31, Fri	1 GBP = 81.83 RUB	+0,63 RUB	+0,78 %
January 30, Thu	1 GBP = 81.2 RUB	-0,56 RUB	-0,69 %
January 29, Wed	1 GBP = 81.76 RUB	+0,24 RUB	+0,30 %

Dynamics of the official pound sterling to ruble exchange rate according to the Central Bank of Russia

The graph shows the dynamics of changes in the value of 1 pound sterling (GBP) against the ruble (RUB). Using quick links or the horizontal ruler under the graph, you can select any time period that interests you.

For the period you selected, the minimum price is for 1 UK pound was ($ min|number:4 $) Russian ruble. It was ($min|date:"d MMMM yyyy"$) years. Maximum price for 1 UK pound was fixed ($max|date:"d MMMM yyyy"$) year and was equal to ($max|number:4$) Russian ruble.

Cross-currency rates from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation

Currency cross rates are prepared based on the official rate Russian ruble To foreign currencies, established by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation on February 15, 2020.

Currency	Cross course
Ruble to pound sterling	1 RUB = 0.0121 GBP
Australian dollar	1 GBP = 1.9391 AUD
British pound to Azerbaijani manat	1 GBP = 2.2133 AZN
UK pound to Armenian dram	1 GBP = 624.2533 AMD
UK pound to Belarusian ruble	1 GBP = 2.8699 BYN
British Pound Sterling to Bulgarian Lev	1 GBP = 2.3548 BGN
UK pound to Brazilian real	1 GBP = 5.6755 BRL
UK pound to Hungarian forint	1 GBP = 404.5231 HUF
UK Pound to South Korean Won	1 GBP = 1542.1541 KRW
UK pound to Hong Kong dollar	1 GBP = 10.1324 HKD
UK Pound to Danish Krone	1 GBP = 8.9972 DKK
UK pound to dollar	1 GBP = 1.3046 USD
UK pound to euro	1 GBP = 1.2037 EUR
British pound to Indian rupee	1 GBP = 93.067 INR
British Pound Sterling to Kazakh Tenge	1 GBP = 493.2379 KZT
UK Pound to Canadian Dollar	1 GBP = 1.7289 CAD
British pound to Kyrgyzstani som	1 GBP = 91.1618 KGS
UK pound to Chinese yuan	1 GBP = 9.106 CNY
British pound to Moldovan leu	1 GBP = 23.0392 MDL
British pound to Turkmen manat	1 GBP = 4.5596 TMT
British pound to Norwegian krone	1 GBP = 12.0754 NOK
British pound to Polish zloty	1 GBP = 5.1074 PLN
British pound to Romanian leu	1 GBP = 5.7391 RON
UK Pound Sterling to SDR (Special Drawing Rights)	1 GBP = 0.9536 XDR
UK pound to Singapore dollar	1 GBP = 1.813 SGD
British pound to Tajikistani somoni	1 GBP = 12.6502 TJS
British pound to Turkish lira	1 GBP = 7.9038 TRY
British pound to Uzbek som	1 GBP = 12,441.9809 UZS
British pound to hryvnia	1 GBP = 31.8959 UAH
UK Pound to Czech Koruna	1 GBP = 29.8506 CZK
British pound to Swedish krona	1 GBP = 12.6306 SEK
UK pound to Swiss franc	1 GBP = 1.2793 CHF
UK Pound to South African Rand	1 GBP = 19.3891 ZAR
UK pound to Japanese yen	1 GBP = 143.2255 JPY

Information about the pound sterling

Pound sterling or British pound (English: Pound sterling, Pound, British pound) is the official monetary unit of Great Britain (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) within England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In addition to the above-mentioned countries, the pound sterling circulates in parallel in the crown lands of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man, and also serves as legal tender for the overseas territories of Britain (Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha).

There are 100 pence in a pound sterling. The symbol is £ (from the Latin Libra - libra, equivalent to a pound). The code is GBP (from the English Great Britain Pound), and the outdated abbreviation UKL (United Kingdom Libra) is also sometimes used. Banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland print their own banknote designs. Pound is a measure of weight. Pound sterling is a pound of money, more precisely 453.6 grams.

Historical reference

The pound sterling is one of the oldest world currencies. Silver sterling began to be minted back in 1066. King Henry II designated sterling as official currency England, and it began to be called the pound in the 12th century. In 1489, the first coin was minted for one pound sterling or, as they were still called then, one sovereign. The name was explained by the image on the coin of the profile of Henry VII, the sovereign of his subjects. The sovereign was made of pure gold (994 purity) and weighed 15.47 grams.

During monetary reform 1560 old coins were replaced with new ones. The first paper money was issued by the Bank of England in 1694, and in 1826 Great Britain established the gold standard, which recognized the sovereign as the main monetary unit, weighing 7.32 grams of pure gold.

Great Britain was a leading world power in the 18th and 19th centuries, so the pound sterling became a reserve currency. The pound lost its position only after the Second World War, when leadership in the world economy passed to the United States. The British are well-known conservatives and therefore only in 1971 they switched to the decimal system, dividing the pound into 100 pence.

In 1972, the pound exchange rate became floating, i.e. The Bank of England stopped supporting it, and the value was determined through exchange trading. This is mainly the reason that since 1976 the value of this currency has decreased, and it was worth less than two dollars. The record low was reached in 1977, when the pound was worth $1.72.

The minimum exchange rate of the Russian ruble against the pound sterling was fixed in December and January 1998 and amounted to 34.35 rubles per 1 pound sterling GBP. Until 2013, the ruble behaved relatively stable against the pound sterling. The subsequent period of economic instability in Russia reduced the value of the ruble to its maximum rate in the fall of 2014 - 73.16 RUR per 1 GBP. Currently, the weakening of the ruble continues.

UK economy

The country's economy is one of the seven leading in the world, and is a powerful innovation system of the entrepreneurial type. The UK government sets the goal of achieving leadership in the most knowledge-intensive sectors of the economy and various research areas.

UK research centers are leading in the following areas:

• biology and medicine;
• information and telecommunication technologies;
• mechanical engineering, etc.

In industry, a large role is given to the extractive industries. In recent decades, along with the closure of unprofitable coal mines, there has been a powerful increase in oil and gas production on the North Sea shelf. Field development and production are carried out by world leaders British Petroleum and Royal Dutch/Shell using the most advanced technologies in the world.

In the manufacturing industry, the basic industries are:

• transport engineering, where the automotive industry is in the lead;
• shipbuilding;
• aerospace industry;
• food industry;
• general mechanical engineering (machines and equipment for Agriculture and textile industry);
• chemical industry and pharmaceuticals;
• metallurgy;
• electronics, computers and software;
• pulp and paper industry.

The financial sector is the hallmark of Great Britain. In London alone, in addition to English banks, there are 50 largest financial institutions different countries. London is the main European market for the insurance market, financial instruments, bonds, currency market, financial leasing, trading in precious metals, etc.

The first mention of the pound dates back to 775, when sterling became the main currency of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. A very wealthy person could then have 240 sterling or 1 pound (350 grams) of silver.

It is now impossible to determine exactly how the word “sterling” was formed. Scientists have put forward different versions, according to which the name began with the stars on the coins, the name of the land where they were minted. Regardless of this, the word ultimately means the silver from which the coins were minted.

How much will

For convenience, a quick “calculator” is provided to help you understand which banknote costs how much. The information is current as of February 15, 2020 according to the Central Bank.

Currency	Conversion
5 GBP	RUB 413,908
10 GBP	RUB 827,816
25 GBP	RUB 2,069.54
50 GBP	RUB 4,139.08
100 GBP	RUB 8,278.16
250 GBP	RUB 20,695.4
500 GBP	RUB 41,390.8
1000 GBP	RUB 82,781.6
2500 GBP	RUB 206,954.0
5000 GBP	RUB 413,908.0
10,000 GBP	RUB 827,816.0
25,000 GBP	RUB 2,069,540.0
50,000 GBP	RUB 4,139,080.0
100,000 GBP	RUB 8,278,160.0

GBP(symbol £; bank code: GBP) is divided into 100 pence (singular: penny) and is the currency of the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies (Isle of Man and Channel Islands) and the British External Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Atlantic Territory and Indian Oceans.

This article talks about the history of the pound sterling and its issue in England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. For further information see also Manx pound, Jersey pound and Guernsey pound. The Gibraltar pound, the Falkland Islands pound and the Saint Helena pound are separate currencies that follow the exchange rate of the pound sterling.

The pound sterling currently makes up the third largest portion of the world's foreign exchange reserves, behind the US dollar and the euro. The Strelling pound is the fourth of the foreign exchange currencies foreign exchange markets after the US dollar, euro and Japanese yen.

Name

Full official name GBP(plural: pounds sterling) is used mainly in formal contexts and when it is necessary to identify the currency used within the United Kingdom, in contrast to currencies of the same name. In other cases the word is usually used lb.. The name of the currency is sometimes shortened to the word "sterling", especially in wholesale financial markets, but not in the name of the amount; So, they say “payment is accepted in sterling,” but never “it costs five sterling.” Sometimes the abbreviations "ster" or "stg" are used. Term British pound widely used in less formal contexts, despite not being the official name of the currency. Common slang name quid(plural quid).

The appearance of the term sterling dates back to 775, when the Saxon states issued silver coins called “sterling”. 240 coins were minted from one pound of silver, which was approximately equal to the weight of a troy pound. For this reason, large payments began to be made in “pounds of silver coins, sterling.” This phrase was later shortened to "pounds sterling". After the conquest of England by the Normans, to simplify calculations, the pound was divided into 20 shillings and 240 pence. For a detailed etymology of the word “sterling”, see the section 925 silver.

Currency sign - pound sign, originally with two cross bars ₤ , later the sign with one crossbar became more common £ . The pound sign comes from the old letter "L", which stands for LSD - librae, solidi, denarii- which corresponds to pounds, shillings and pence in the original duodecimal monetary system. Libra was the original unit of weight in Rome, the word comes from Latin and meant “scales” or “balance”. Bank code The currency in the International Organization for Standardization is 4217 - GBP (Great Britain pound). The abbreviation UKP is sometimes used, but it is incorrect. Crown dependencies use their own code: GGP (Guernsey pound), JEP (Jersey pound) and IMP (Isle of Man pound). Shares are often traded in pence, so traders may refer to penny, GBX (sometimes GBp) when recording a share price.

Division and other units

Decimal system

Since decimalization in 1971, the pound sterling has been divided into 100 pence (until 1981 referred to as the "new penny" on specie money). The symbol for the penny is "p"; hence an amount such as 50 pence (£0.50) is usually pronounced "50 pi" rather than "50 pence". This also helped to differentiate between new and old pence during the transition to the decimal system.

Predecimal system

Before decimalization, the pound was divided into 20 shillings, and each shilling consisted of 12 pence, which amounted to 240 pence in the pound. "s" was the shilling sign. This is not the first letter of the word shilling, but the beginning of the Latin word solidus ( solid ) . The symbol for the penny was the letter "d", from the French denier, which comes from the Latin word denarius(denarius) (solidus and denarius were ancient Roman coins). A mixed amount of shillings and pence, such as 3 shillings and 6 pence, was written as "3/6" or "3s 6d" and pronounced "three and six". 5 shillings was written as "5s" or, more commonly, "5/-".

Coins of different denominations had and continue to have specific names, such as "crown", "farthing/penny", "sovereign" and "guinea". Details can be found in the sections "Pound Sterling Coins" and "List of British Coins and Banknotes".

Story

After the adoption of the euro, sterling became the oldest currency in the world still in circulation.

Anglo-Saxons

The origins of the sterling date back to the reign of King Offa of Mercia, who introduced the silver penny. It was similar to the denarius in the new currency system of Charlemagne's empire. As in the Carolingian currency system, 240 pence weighed one pound (in accordance with Charlemagne's pound), a shilling corresponded to Charlemagne's shilling and was equal to 12 denarii. When the penny was introduced, it weighed 22.5 troy grains of fine silver (30 Tower grains; about 1.5 grams), indicating that the Mercian pound weighed 5,400 troy grains (the Mercian pound became the basis for the Tower pound, which weighed 5,400 troy grains , which amounted to 7,200 Tower grains). At this time, the name sterling was not yet used. The penny quickly spread to other Anglo-Saxon states and became the standard coin of what later became England.

Middle Ages

Early pennies were minted from sterling silver (as pure as possible). However, in 1158, King Henry II (who was called Tilby penny) introduced a new system of coinage. Coins were now minted from silver standard 925 (92.5%). Such silver became the standard and continues to be so in the 20th century and today is called coin silver, by association with currency. Coin silver is heavier than the fine silver (i.e. 0.999/99.9% pure, etc.) that was used in the past, and therefore coins made of this silver did not wear out as quickly as coins made of fine silver. English currency was made exclusively from silver until 1344, when noble gold was successfully introduced into circulation. However, silver remained a legal material for sterling until 1816. During the reign of Henry IV (1412-1421) the weight of the penny dropped to 15 grains of silver, and in 1464 the penny weighed 12 grains.

Tudor rule

During the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, the minting of silver coins was sharply reduced, although in 1526 the pound returned to the troy pound of 5,760 grains. In 1544, silver coins were produced containing only one-third silver and two-thirds copper, equal to .333 fine silver or 33.3% pure silver. The result was a copper-like appearance, but a relatively pale color. In 1552, a new coinage of 925 silver coins was introduced. However, the weight of the penny was reduced to 8 grains, meaning that 1 troy pound of .925 silver could produce 60 shilling coins. The standard silver was considered to be the "60 shilling standard", which continued until 1601, when the "62 shilling standard" appeared, which reduced the weight of the penny to 7 grains. During this time, the size and value of gold coins varied significantly.

Accession of Scotland

In 1603, England and Scotland were united, but each state retained its own government and currency. The Scottish pound was equal to the sterling, but suffered a much stronger devaluation, 12 Scots pounds equaled one pound sterling. In 1707, after the unification of the two kingdoms and the formation of Great Britain, the Scottish pound was replaced by sterling of the same value.

Unofficial gold standard

In 1663, a new gold coinage was introduced, based on the 22 carat guinea. Set at 44½ to the troy pound from 1670, this coin value varied until 1717, when it was set at 21 shillings (21/-, £1.05). However, despite attempts by Sir Isaac Newton, the Keeper of the Mint, to reduce the value of the guinea, this increased the value of gold relative to silver compared to other European countries. British merchants sent silver as payment abroad, while goods for export were paid for in gold. Subsequently, there was a flow of silver out of the country and a flow of gold into the country, leading to the establishment of a gold standard in Great Britain. In addition to this, there was a chronic shortage of silver coins.

Establishment of modern currency

The Bank of England was formed in 1694, followed a year later by the Bank of Scotland. Both banks began issuing paper money as the Bank of England gained greater importance after 1707. During the Revolutionary War and Napoleonic Wars, Bank of England notes were legal tender and their value fluctuated relative to gold. The bank also issued silver tokens to alleviate the shortage of silver coins.

gold standard

In 1816, the gold standard was officially adopted, while the silver standard was reduced to 66 shillings (66/-, 2.3 pounds), replacing silver coins with the issuance of tokens (that is, reducing the value of the precious metal). In 1817 the sovereign was introduced. The coins were minted from 22 carat gold and contained 113 grains of gold, they replaced the guinea and became the standard British gold coin without changes to the gold standard. In 1825, the Irish pound, which since 1701 had been equal to the sterling at the rate of 13 Irish pounds = 12 pounds sterling, was replaced by the sterling at the same rate.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the gold standard was adopted in many other countries. As a result, the rates of various currencies could be determined simply by their respective gold standards. The pound sterling was equal to 4.886 US dollars, 25.22 French francs (or equivalent currencies in the Latin Monetary Union), 20.43 German marks or 24.02 Austro-Hungarian kroner. Following the International Monetary Conference in Paris, the possibility of the United Kingdom joining the Latin Monetary Union was discussed, and the Royal Commission on the International Monetary System, having considered this possibility, decided against accession.

The gold standard was suspended at the start of the war when the Bank of England and Treasury notes became legal tender. Before the First World War, the United Kingdom had one of the most developed economies in the world, including 40% foreign investment. However, by the end of the war the country owed £850 million, mostly to the United States, with interest costing the country 40% of all government expenditures. In an attempt to regain stability, a variation on the gold standard was introduced in 1925, whereby the currency was equal to the pre-war value of gold, although the currency could only be exchanged for gold bullion, not coins. This was abandoned on September 21, 1931, during the Great Depression, and sterling underwent an initial devaluation of 25%.

Empire use

Sterling was used throughout most of the British Empire. In some parts it was used along with local currency. For example, the gold sovereign was legal tender in Canada, despite the existence of the Canadian dollar. Several colonies and possessions adopted the pound as their own currency. Australian, British West African, Cypriot, Fijian, Irish, Jamaican, New Zealand, South African and Southern Rhodesian pounds appeared. Some of these pounds retained parity with sterling throughout their existence (eg the South African pound), while others lost their independence following the end of the gold standard (eg the Australian pound). These currencies and others associated with the sterling made up the sterling area.

Bretton Woods agreement on the post-war monetary system

In 1940, an agreement signed with the US equalized the pound to the US dollar at a ratio of £1 = $4.03. This rate continued through World War II and became part of the Bretton Woods system that governed post-war exchange rates. Under constant economic pressure, and despite months of assurances to the contrary, the government finally lowered the value of the pound by 30.5% to $2.80 on September 19, 1949. This step led to a depreciation of other currencies against the dollar.

In the mid-1960s, the pound came under renewed pressure as the exchange rate against the dollar came to be considered too high. In the summer of 1966, with the pound falling in the foreign exchange markets, the Wilson government strengthened exchange control. Among the measures taken was a ban on tourists taking more than 50 pounds out of the country, the amount was increased in 1979. The pound was eventually reduced by 14.3% to $2.40 on November 18, 1967.

Switch to decimal system

On 15 February 1971, the United Kingdom switched to a decimal system, replacing the shilling and penny with a single coin, the new penny. The word "new" ceased to be used after 1981.

Changes in the value of the pound

With the collapse of the Bretton Woods system - a significant role played by British foreign exchange dealers who created a strong market for the Eurodollar, making it difficult for the government to maintain the gold standard of the US dollar - the value of the pound fluctuated in the early 1970s and therefore caused the exchange rate to rise in the market . The sterling zone ended its existence at this time, with the majority of its members also opting for a free currency against the pound and the dollar.

Another crisis followed in 1976 when it became known that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) believed that the pound should be equal to $1.50, and as a result the pound fell to $1.57 and the government decided to borrow $2.3 billion pounds from the IMF. In the early 1980s, the pound advanced to the $2 level as interest rates rose in response to monetary policy and the high exchange rate was blamed for the deep recession in 1981. The pound was at its lowest in February 1985 at $1.05, before rising to $2 in the early 1990s.

Following the German mark

In 1988, Margaret Thatcher's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nigel Lawson, believed that the pound should "shadow" the West German mark, which would inadvertently lead to soaring inflation as the economy grew rapidly due to inappropriately low interest rates. (For ideological reasons, the Conservative government rejected alternative mechanisms to control the explosion of credit flows; former Prime Minister Edward Heath called Lawson a "one-stick golfer."

Following the European Currency Unit

On October 8, 1990, the Conservative government decided to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), with the pound equal to DM 2.95. However, the country was forced to withdraw from the system on Black Wednesday (16 September 1992) as the British economy led to exchange rate instability. Stockbroker George Soros became famous for making about $1 billion from the decline in the value of the pound.

On Black Wednesday, interest rates jumped between 10% and 15% in a failed attempt to stop the pound falling below European exchange rates. Exchange rate fell to DM 2.20. Proponents of a weaker pound/DM exchange rate gained support as the low pound supported export trade and contributed to the economic prosperity of the 1990s. Since the beginning of 2005, the pound/euro exchange rate has returned to an average of approximately £1.00:€1.46, the equivalent of DM 2.85.

Following inflation targets

In 1997, the newly elected Labor government transferred responsibility for the daily control of interest rates to the Bank of England (a policy originally pursued by the Lib Dems). The Bank is now responsible for setting its benchmark interest rate to keep inflation at a consumer price index level very close to 2%. Once CPI inflation is one percentage point above or below the target, the Governor of the Bank of England must write an open letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer explaining the reasons for the change and outlining the steps that will be taken to bring inflation back to 2%. no norm. On April 17, 2007, the consumer price index inflation rate was 3.1% (index inflation retail prices was 4.8%). Thus, for the first time, the Governor of the Bank had to publicly explain to the government why the inflation rate was one percent higher than normal.

Euro

As a member of the European Union, the United Kingdom can adopt the euro as its currency. However, the issue remains politically controversial, not least because the UK was forced to abandon its previous exchange rate mechanism European countries(see above) by entering into a system with an incorrect fixed exchange rate. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, while still Chancellor of the Exchequer, ruled out adopting the euro for the foreseeable future, saying non-alignment was the right decision for Britain and Europe.

The government of former Prime Minister Tony Blair promised to hold a public referendum on the decision to join and hold the "five economic tests" in order to ensure that the adoption of the euro would be in the national interest. In addition to this domestic (national) criterion, the United Kingdom had to accept the economic conditions of rapprochement of the European Union (Maastricht conditions) before the adoption of the euro was allowed. Currently, the annual government deficit The UK's GDP exceeds a certain threshold. In February 2005, 55% of the population of the United Kingdom was against the adoption of the euro, while 30% were in favor. The idea of ​​replacing the pound with the euro has been controversial in British society due to the pound's association with British sovereignty and because it could, according to some critics, lead to suboptimal interest rates, which would harm the British economy.

The pound was not included in the second European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) after the introduction of the euro. Denmark and the United Kingdom are countries that have refused to adopt the euro. Technically, all other EU members must accept the euro; however, this could be delayed indefinitely (as in the case of Sweden) by refusing to join the second European Exchange Rate Mechanism. The Conservative Party in Scotland argues that in Scotland they believe that the adoption of the euro will mean the end of the existence of territorially significant notes, since the European Central Bank does not allow the existence of national or subnational types of notes.

The Scottish Nationalist Party does not see this as a significant problem, since an independent Scotland would have its own national coins, and the party is pursuing a policy of introducing a single currency. On 1 January 2008, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, two territories on the island of Cyprus under British sovereignty, began using the euro (along with the rest of the Republic of Cyprus).

Current influence

Although the pound and the euro are independent of each other, they have been used together for a long time, but since mid-2006 this relationship has weakened. Concerns about inflation in the United Kingdom led the Bank of England to raise interest rates sharply in late 2006 and throughout 2007, resulting in the largest appreciation of sterling against the euro since January 2003. This caused a chain reaction against other major currencies, with the pound reaching its highest level in 15 years against the US dollar on April 18, 2007, breaking the US$2 level the day before for the first time since 1992. Since that time, the pound has continued to strengthen its position against the dollar, like many other world currencies, and on November 7, 2007, it reached $2.11610 for the first time in 26 years. However, from the end of 2007, the pound began to fall significantly against the euro, although not as sharply as the dollar, which fell below €1.25 for the first time in April 2008.

Coins

Predecimal system

The silver penny was the main and often the only coin in circulation from the 8th to the 13th centuries. Although smaller coins than pennies were minted (see farthing and halfpennies), cut half and quarter pennies were more common as change coins. Few gold coins were minted, and the gold penny (valued at 20 silver pennies) was rare. However, a silver 4p coin appeared in 1279, and a half-price coin followed in 1344. In 1344 the minting of gold coins was also established, with the introduction (after the gold florin had not come into use) of a noble of 6s 8d, together with a half and a quarter of a noble. The reforms of 1464 saw the value of coins, both silver and gold, fall, and the noble was renamed the rayol and valued at 10 silver shillings, while the angel was valued at 6 shillings 8 pence.

During the reign of Henry VII, two important coins were introduced, the shilling (known as teston) in 1487 and the pound (known as sovereign) in 1489. In 1526 several new denominations of gold coins were added, including the crown and half-crown values ​​of 5 shillings and 2 shillings 6 pence. The reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547) saw a significant decline in the value of coins, which continued during the reign of Edward VI (1547-1553). However, this decline was stopped in 1552 and new silver coins were introduced, including coins for 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6d, 1s, 2s 6d and 5s. During the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603), ¾ and 1½ penny coins were added, although these denominations did not last long. Gold coins - half-crown, crown, angel, half-sovereign and sovereign. During Elizabeth's reign, a horse-drawn screw press was also introduced to produce the first ground coins.

After the accession of the Scottish King James VI to the English throne, new gold coins were introduced, which included the spur raiol (15 shillings), the unit (20 shillings) and the rose raiol (30 shillings). The 20 shilling Laurel followed in 1619. The first metal coins, tin and copper farthings, were also introduced. Copper halfpenny coins followed during the reign of Charles I. During the English Civil War, coins were produced under siege conditions and were often of unusual denominations.

Following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, coinage was transformed and forged coins began to be produced in 1662. The guinea was introduced in 1663, soon followed by coins in denominations of ½, 2 and 5 guineas. The silver coins were in denominations of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 pence, 1 shilling, 2 shillings 6 pence and 5 shillings. Due to the widespread export of silver in the 18th century, the issue of silver coins gradually declined, the crown and half-crown were not minted after the 1750s, and the 6p and 1 shilling coins ceased to be issued in the 1780s. The response was the introduction of copper 1 and 2 penny coins and a gold ⅓ guinea of ​​7 shillings in 1797. The copper penny was the only one of these coins that lasted the longest.

To reduce the shortage of silver coins, from 1797 to 1804 the Bank of England issued Spanish dollars (8 reals) and other Spanish and Spanish colonial coins. Small coins depicted the king's head. These coins were used until 1800 with a rate of 4 shillings 9 pennies to 8 reals. After 1800 the rate became 5 shillings to 8 reais. The Bank also issued silver 5 shilling tokens (patterned after Spanish dollars) in 1804, followed by 1 shilling and 3 shilling tokens from 1811 to 1816.

In 1816, new coinage was introduced in denominations of 6d, 1shilling, 2s 6d and 5s. The crown was only issued periodically until 1900. This was followed by a new system of gold coinage in 1817, which included 10 shilling and 1 pound coins called half sovereigns and sovereigns. The silver 4d coin was reintroduced in 1836, followed by 3d coins in 1838 and 4d coins which were minted for colonial use only after 1855. The 2 shilling florin was introduced in 1848, followed by the double florin in 1887, which did not last long. In 1860 copper was replaced by bronze in the production of farthings, halfpennies and pennies.

During the First World War, the issue of half sovereigns and sovereigns was temporarily suspended, and although the gold standard was restored, the coins were not widely used again. In 1920, the silver standard, which had been 925 silver since 1552, dropped to .500. A nickel brass 3p coin was introduced in 1937, with the last silver 3p coins issued seven years later. In 1947, the remaining silver coins were replaced with cupronickel. Inflation led to the cessation of minting of the farthing in 1956 and its withdrawal from circulation in 1960. In an effort to move to the decimal system, the halfpenny and half-crown were withdrawn from circulation in 1969.

Decimal system

The first decimal coins were introduced in 1968. These were cupronickel 5p and 10p coins which were equivalent and used alongside the 1s and 2s coins. The curved equilateral heptagonal cupronickel silver 50p coin was replaced by the 10 Tshilling note in 1969. The changeover to decimalization was completed when it was adopted in 1971, with the introduction of bronze ½, 1 and 2 penny coins and the elimination of 1 and 3 penny coins. The 6p coin was in circulation until 1980 with a value of £2½. In 1982, the word "new" was dropped from coinage and the 20p coin was introduced, followed by the introduction of the £1 coin in 1983. The ½ penny coin was introduced in 1983 and discontinued in 1984. The 1990s saw the replacement of bronze with copper-plated steel and a reduction in the size of the 2p, 10p and 50p coins.
The old 1 shilling coins, which remained in use and were equal to 5 pence, were withdrawn from circulation in 1991, following the reduction in size of the 5 penny coin, and the 2 shilling coins were similarly withdrawn from circulation in 1993. Bimetallic British £2 coins. The modern coin (1997-present £2 coin) was introduced in 1998.

Currently, the oldest coins in circulation in the United Kingdom are the copper 1p and 2p coins, introduced in 1971. Before decimalization, small coins could not be older than a hundred years or more, with the image of any of the five monarchs on the obverse.

In April 2008, a widespread redesign of the coins was announced to be released in the summer of 2008. The new 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50p coins will feature parts of the king's shield on the reverse, while the new £1 coin will feature the entire shield.

Banknotes

The first paper sterlings were issued by the Bank of England shortly after its founding in 1694. Denominations were originally designated on banknotes at the time of printing. From 1745, notes were printed in denominations ranging from £20 to £1,000, with shillings added for odd numbers. £10 notes appeared in 1759, followed by £5 notes in 1793 and £1 and £2 notes in 1797. The two lowest denominations were abolished after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. In 1855, banknotes were printed in full in denominations of £5, £10, £20, £50, £100, £200, £300, £500 and £1000.

The Scottish Bank began issuing banknotes in 1695. Although the Scottish pound was still national currency In Scotland, the banknotes issued had a denomination of sterling and reached £100. From 1727, the Royal Bank of Scotland also began issuing banknotes. Both banks issued coins with nominal value guineas as well as pounds. In the 19th century, regulations limited the smallest denomination note issued by the Bank of Scotland to a denomination of £1, a note not permitted in England.

With the introduction of sterling into Ireland in 1825, the Bank of Ireland began issuing sterling notes, later followed by the rest of the Irish banks. These notes included the usual denominations of 30 shillings and 3 pounds. The highest denomination of banknotes issued by an Irish bank was the £100 denomination.

In 1826, banks within 65 miles (105 km) of London were allowed to issue their own paper money. From 1844, new banks were not allowed to issue banknotes in England and Wales, but not in Scotland and Ireland. Consequently, the number of private banknotes decreased in England and Wales and increased in Scotland and Ireland. The last English private banknotes were issued in 1921.

In 1914, the Treasury introduced 10 shilling and £1 notes to replace gold coins. These notes remained in circulation until 1928, when they were replaced by Bank of England notes. Irish independence reduced the number of Irish banks issuing sterling notes to five operating in Northern Ireland. Second World War had a radical influence on the issue of Bank of England notes. Fearing a mass production of counterfeit money by the Nazis (see Operation Bernhard), all notes in denominations of £10 and above were stopped, leaving only the 10 shilling, £1 and £5 notes available for issue. The issue of banknotes in Scotland and Northern Ireland was not affected, with denominations remaining in £1, £5, £10, £20, £50 and £100.

The Bank of England reintroduced £10 notes in 1964. In 1969, the 10 shilling note was replaced by a 50 penny coin as part of preparations for the transition to decimalization. Bank of England £20 notes were reintroduced in 1970, followed by £50 notes in 1982. The subsequent introduction of the £1 coin in 1983 allowed the Bank of England £1 notes to be abolished in 1988. The Bank of England was followed by the Bank of Scotland and the Bank of Northern Ireland, only the Royal Bank of Scotland continued to issue banknotes of this denomination.

Legal tender and regional issues

Legal tender in the United Kingdom (according to the Royal Mint) means "that a debtor cannot be prosecuted for non-payment if he pays in legal tender in court. This does not mean that any transaction must be carried out in legal tender or only to the extent permitted by law.Both parties may agree to accept any form of payment, legal tender or otherwise, in accordance with their wishes.To comply with the strict rules governing this legal tender, it is necessary to designate, e.g. the exact amount, since further changes cannot be demanded." In the United Kingdom, £1 and £2 coins are legal tender for any amount, while other coins are legal tender only for a limited amount. In England and Wales, Bank of England notes are also legal tender for any amount. Scotland and Northern Ireland currently have no legal tender banknotes, although the Bank of England 10 shilling and £1 banknotes were so, as were Scottish banknotes, during the Second World War (the Security Act 1939; this status was abolished January 1, 1946). However, the banks made contributions to the Bank of England to cover the number of banknotes they issued. In the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, local banknotes are legal tender in their respective jurisdictions. Banknotes from Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are sometimes not accepted in shops in England. Shopkeepers in Britain can refuse any form of payment, even if it is in legal tender, since debt does not exist when payment is offered at the same time as there is an offer of goods or services. When paying a restaurant bill or other payment, legal tender is accepted, but payment is usually made by some other method (such as credit card or check). Commemorative £5 and 25p ("crown") coins, which are rarely seen, are also legal tender, as are weight coins issued by the mint.

About the value of British money

In 2006, the House of Commons Library published a document which included an index of the value of the pound for each year from 1750 to 2005, with the value of the pound in 1974 being 100. (This was a new version previously published documents in 1998 and 2003). Looking at the period from 1750 to 1914, the document states: "Despite years of significant price fluctuations before 1914 (depending on harvests, wars, etc.), there has been no sustained increase in prices since 1945." It is further stated that “Since 1945, prices have risen every year by a cumulative factor of 27.” The index in 1750 was 5.1, peaking at 16.3 in 1813 before quickly declining after the end of the Napoleonic Wars to 10.0 and remaining in the range of 8.5 - 10.0 at the end of the nineteenth century. The index's reading in 1914 was 9.8 and peaked at 25.3 in 1920, before falling to 15.8 in 1933 and 1934 - prices were only three times higher than prices 180 years earlier. Inflation had a strong effect during and after the Second World War - the index was 20.2 in 1940, 33.0 in 1950, 49.1 and 1960, 73.1 in 1970, 263.7 in 1980, 497.5 in 1990, 671.8 in 2000 and 757.3 in 2005.

Value in relation to other currencies

The pound can be freely bought and sold on foreign exchange markets around the world, and therefore its value relative to other currencies fluctuates (increasing when traders buy, decreasing when selling). This order is traditional among the main monetary units with the highest value in the world. On April 19, 2008, £1 was equal to $1.99 US or €1.26.

• Historical exchange rates (since 1990) can be found in the Exchange Rates section of the UK Economics Accounting List.
• you can see the current wholesale rates of sterling currencies against other currencies.

The pound as the main international reserve currency

Sterling is used as a reserve currency around the world and is currently ranked as the third largest reserve currency. The percentage that the pound makes up of the total reserve has increased in recent years due to the stability of the British economy and government, continued appreciation in value relative to other currencies and relatively high interest rates compared to other major currencies such as the dollar, euro and yen.

The pound sterling is the oldest currency in Europe that is still in circulation today. This is the national currency of Great Britain. In addition, it is a legal remedy for the crown lands of the United Kingdom (for example, the Isles of Man and Guernsey) and other British territories (we are talking, for example, about the Falklands, Gibraltar, the Ascension Islands and Tristan da Cunha). The letter code of the British pound is GBP. This is a generally accepted abbreviation of the full name of the currency - Great Britain Pound.

Traditionally, the pound is denoted by the symbol £ - a capital handwritten letter L with one or two horizontal lines.

History of the pound sterling from the 8th to the 17th centuries

The pound sterling appeared in the eighth century. The appearance of the currency is associated with the estate of Offa, the ruler of Mercia and East Anglia. It was under him that the minting of the penny coin was started and the penny coin was introduced into circulation (the name “sterling” appeared much later). And the unit of weight common in Britain at that time was the pound. One pound (373 grams) contained 240 pennies. That is, it turns out that people paid for goods in pounds of coins.

From the 8th to the 13th centuries, the penny was the most common coin in English territory. Even though smaller denominations of money were also minted, people preferred to divide the penny into two or four parts and pay in those parts.

Until 1158, coins were made of pure silver. Since 1344, silver began to be replaced by gold, this is especially true for large denominations of English money. But the penny remained silver, and its value constantly decreased. By 1544, these coins were no longer minted entirely from silver, a precious metal began to be diluted with ordinary copper.

Another important date in the history of the British currency is 1487 This year the shilling was introduced into circulation(then in England they used duodecimal monetary system and a shilling was equal to 12 pence). And the first pound gold coin was issued in England in 1489 - it received the special name “sovereign”.

And in 1663, another popular gold coin appeared - the guinea., worth 21 shillings. The guinea was minted until 1813, and at some point it even managed to seriously supplant the sovereign.

Particularly worth mentioning is the so-called Scottish pounds. Initially, they were no different from those made in England, but then the standard of the metals used in them began to decline. As a result, in 1603, the monarch James VI decided to consider 1 pound sterling equal to 12 Scots pounds. And about a century later, Scottish pounds were completely withdrawn from circulation and exclusively English coins and banknotes began to circulate throughout the island.

Why is the pound sterling called this way?

The most credible version of the origin of the name of the currency was proposed by a researcher named Pinchebeck. He concluded that Northern Germany, which had developed trade relations with England in the 12th century, used coins made from a unique silver alloy for payment. It was called "Easterling Silver" ("silver from the lands in the east").

The English ruler Henry II liked this alloy, and during his reign many coins began to be minted exclusively from it. In everyday conversations the phrase "Easterling Silver" changed to "Sterling Silver". This is where the name familiar to our ears allegedly came from - pound sterling. In 1694, when the English bank first began printing banknotes, this name appeared on them, which means it became official. A year later, the Bank of Scotland was created, and it also began to issue money from paper. Thus, banknotes, along with coins, became a legal means of payment.

History of British currency from the beginning of the 17th to the middle of the 20th century

The more the size of the British Empire grew, the more special varieties of pounds began to appear, which were in circulation in specific subordinate colonies. These means of payment were called, respectively, the New Zealand, Zambian, Australian, Rhodesian pound... And they all had a strict peg to the main currency - the pound sterling itself. As a result, a gigantic “sterling zone” was formed - the pound became the main world currency and the basis of the financial reserves of many countries on the planet in the 18th and 19th centuries. Later it was replaced in this capacity by the American dollar.

In 1816, Britain established an official gold standard (it was the first in the world to do so). And since 1817, 917 gold began to be used for the production of sovereigns. The production of such coins continued until the First World War. But then the sovereign began to disappear from the domestic market. And in 1932, its minting ceased due to the fact that the notorious gold standard was abolished. Nowadays, genuine sovereigns are found, as a rule, in museums and numismatist collections.

Pound after Bretton Woods agreements

This package of agreements, signed in 1944, became landmark for the history of money and the world economy. The Breton Woods agreements, among other things, established a rigid exchange rate between the pound sterling and the dollar: 1₤ was equal to $4.03.

At the end of World War II, the economic situation in Great Britain left much to be desired - the consequences of the confrontation with Hitler were taking its toll. The United States, on the contrary, has strengthened its position. All this led to the fact that the pound sterling quickly lost its status as the most significant currency. And already in 1949, the British authorities were forced to seriously adjust the exchange rate downward - the pound began to cost only $2.80.

In the sixties, new serious preconditions appeared to change the value of the British currency. It was trading lower on the stock exchanges, and then the authorities put the national currency under tighter control. In particular, restrictions were established on the export of cash in pounds abroad (no more than ₤50 at a time).

In 1971, Britain finally adopted the decimal system - that is, the pound was equated to 100 pence, and not to 240, as it was before. And therefore, on new small coins until 1982, the word “New” was minted in a prominent place, which made it possible to distinguish them from the old ones.

In mid-1972, the “free-floating exchange rate” regime was introduced, and it is still observed by the British authorities. That is, the value of the pound sterling began to be determined only by inflation and trading on foreign exchange markets. True, the consequences of the transition to a floating exchange rate in the short term were not very good: in 1976, the pound fell slightly again.

A the lowest figure was recorded in February 1985 - in that month the pound was equal to $1.05. On the other hand, in the early nineties and mid-2000s, there were periods when the pound sterling was worth more than $2 (and, in fact, was the most expensive currency on the planet). The current figures are somewhat more modest: in May 2017, 1₤ was approximately $1.3.

Pound sterling and euro

The relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union became a big test for the pound. Britain joined the EEC (the organization that is the ancestor of the European Union) back in 1973. But the transition to the euro never happened. In particular, because the British have always been proud of their currency, which has a history of more than a thousand years.

The key moment in this issue was the holding of a referendum in mid-2016, where citizens of the Kingdom decided whether the UK should leave the EU. The majority of votes were in favor of leaving, and now the pound sterling is not in danger of being replaced by the euro in principle.

Pound sterling today: banknotes and value for the global economy

The value of the pound as a reserve currency, as already noted, declined significantly in the second half of the 20th century. However, the fact that it is second only to the dollar and euro in terms of presence in the gold and foreign exchange reserves of other countries is already a significant result. The stability of the British economy and reasonable steps by the leadership contribute to high level trust in this currency throughout the planet.

The Bank of England today issues only 4 banknotes - in denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 50 pounds sterling. There are 2 series of these banknotes - E and F. Moreover, the F series is characterized by the presence of additional security measures - kinegrams and luminescent protection. AND on any of the banknotes, regardless of the denomination and series, there is an image of Elizabeth II.

However, banks in Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Scotland and so on also issue pound notes and coins. And there are significant differences between banknotes of different territories. It is believed that banknotes issued, say, in Scotland, have equal rights as means of payment throughout the UK (but not outside of it). But in practice, even this rule is not followed by some. Thus, some small private establishments in England sometimes do not accept banknotes that were printed in Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man. And it won’t even be possible to sue anyone for this due to the fact that in England there is a special specific restriction on the concept of a means of payment.