Pound is the name of various units of currency. It is used in some countries today and previously was used in many others. The English word "pound" derives from the Latin expression lībra pondō, in which lībra is a noun meaning 'pound' and pondō is an adverb meaning 'by weight'. [1] [2] The currency's symbol is '£', a stylised form of the blackletter 'L' () (from libra), crossed to indicate abbreviation. [3]
The term was adopted in England from the weight [a] of silver used to make 240 pennies, [6] and eventually spread to British colonies all over the world. While silver pennies were produced seven centuries earlier, the first pound coin was minted under Henry VII in 1489. [5]
Country/territory | Currency | ISO 4217 code | Tied to sterling? |
---|---|---|---|
Egypt | Egyptian pound | EGP | No |
Falkland Islands | Falkland Islands pound | FKP | Yes |
Gibraltar | Gibraltar pound | GIP | Yes |
Guernsey | Guernsey pound | GBP | Yes |
Alderney | Alderney pound | GBP (informally) | Yes |
Isle of Man | Manx pound | GBP | Yes |
Jersey | Jersey pound | GBP | Yes |
Lebanon | Lebanese pound | LBP | No |
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | Saint Helena pound | SHP | Yes |
South Sudan | South Sudanese pound | SSP | No |
Sudan | Sudanese pound | SDG | No |
Syria | Syrian pound | SYP | No |
United Kingdom | Sterling [b] | GBP | N/A |
British Antarctic Territory [8] | |||
British Indian Ocean Territory [9] | |||
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands [10] |
All of the following currencies have been replaced by the US dollar.
Silver coins known as "sterlings" were issued in the Saxon kingdoms, 240 of them being minted from a pound of silver... Hence, large payments came to be reckoned in "pounds of sterlings", a phrase later shortened...
Sterling (UK).: The name given to the currency of the United Kingdom (cf. cable). Also called pound sterling or pounds.
Pound is the name of various units of currency. It is used in some countries today and previously was used in many others. The English word "pound" derives from the Latin expression lībra pondō, in which lībra is a noun meaning 'pound' and pondō is an adverb meaning 'by weight'. [1] [2] The currency's symbol is '£', a stylised form of the blackletter 'L' () (from libra), crossed to indicate abbreviation. [3]
The term was adopted in England from the weight [a] of silver used to make 240 pennies, [6] and eventually spread to British colonies all over the world. While silver pennies were produced seven centuries earlier, the first pound coin was minted under Henry VII in 1489. [5]
Country/territory | Currency | ISO 4217 code | Tied to sterling? |
---|---|---|---|
Egypt | Egyptian pound | EGP | No |
Falkland Islands | Falkland Islands pound | FKP | Yes |
Gibraltar | Gibraltar pound | GIP | Yes |
Guernsey | Guernsey pound | GBP | Yes |
Alderney | Alderney pound | GBP (informally) | Yes |
Isle of Man | Manx pound | GBP | Yes |
Jersey | Jersey pound | GBP | Yes |
Lebanon | Lebanese pound | LBP | No |
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | Saint Helena pound | SHP | Yes |
South Sudan | South Sudanese pound | SSP | No |
Sudan | Sudanese pound | SDG | No |
Syria | Syrian pound | SYP | No |
United Kingdom | Sterling [b] | GBP | N/A |
British Antarctic Territory [8] | |||
British Indian Ocean Territory [9] | |||
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands [10] |
All of the following currencies have been replaced by the US dollar.
Silver coins known as "sterlings" were issued in the Saxon kingdoms, 240 of them being minted from a pound of silver... Hence, large payments came to be reckoned in "pounds of sterlings", a phrase later shortened...
Sterling (UK).: The name given to the currency of the United Kingdom (cf. cable). Also called pound sterling or pounds.