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The pound (sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, [ 4 ][ c ] and the word pound is also used to refer to the British currency generally, [ 7 ] 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. [ 8 ]
The United Kingdom's pound sterling was the primary reserve currency of much of the world in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. [1] However, by the middle of the 20th century, the United States dollar had become the world's dominant reserve currency. [2] [better source needed] Worldwide use of the US dollar:
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.
A widely traded currency pair is the relation of the euro against the US dollar, designated as EUR / USD. The quotation EUR/USD 1.2500 means that one euro is exchanged for 1.2500 US dollars. Here, EUR is the base currency and USD is the quote currency (counter currency). This means that 1 Euro can be exchangeable to 1.25 US Dollars.
1947. The British shilling, abbreviated "1s" or "1/-", was a unit of currency and a denomination of sterling coinage worth ⁄ of one pound, or twelve pence. It was first minted in the reign of Henry VII as the testoon, and became known as the shilling, from the Old English scilling, [1] sometime in the mid-16th century. It circulated until 1990.
The market convention is to quote most exchange rates against the USD with the US dollar as the base currency (e.g. USDJPY, USDCAD, USDCHF). The exceptions are the British pound (GBP), Australian dollar (AUD), the New Zealand dollar (NZD) and the euro (EUR) where the USD is the counter currency (e.g. GBPUSD, AUDUSD, NZDUSD, EURUSD).
The £ grapheme in a selection of fonts. The pound sign (£) is the symbol for the pound unit of sterling – the currency of the United Kingdom and its associated Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories and previously of Great Britain and of the Kingdom of England. The same symbol is used for other currencies called pound, such as ...
The pound sterling banknotes in current circulation consist of Series G Bank of England notes in denominations of £5, £10, £20 and £50. The obverse of these banknotes issued through 4 June 2024 feature the portrait of Elizabeth II originally introduced in 1990. Starting on 5 June 2024, the Bank of England began issuing notes featuring a ...