England's money: history, current state, names

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The British national currency is not in vain considered the most stable in the world. The country does not accept any other units, except for pounds sterling. The article will consider the history of the appearance of this currency, its current value and other possible names.

History

When did England's money appear? Their history dates back to the Anglo-Saxons, where the monetary unit was the penny, which was previously used in the Roman Empire. And the pound was a unit of weight, which contained two hundred and forty pennies. The penny then replaced the sterling.

In medieval England they began to mint coins from pure silver, in which there were no impurities. This has become the standard of any state mint. But in the middle of the sixteenth century, when Henry the Second became king of England, he decided to save some of the state treasury. Coins began to be minted from 925 silver, which contained about 7-8% of impurities of various kinds. Such money of England (a photo of the coin is presented below) was used until the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Coins made of such silver practically did not wear out andhave been in circulation for a long time.

However, long before that, gold pennies were in circulation. In the middle of the fourteenth century they were replaced by silver ones. The fact is that by that time the silver pennies began to depreciate.

At the same time, the price of the pound began to rise significantly. But the money of England with a smaller denomination, on the contrary, was losing its momentum. In the next century, the Scottish pound was equated with the British. But a century later, the Scottish pounds were withdrawn from circulation. In Britain, only the pound became officially used.

At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, a huge amount of gold appeared in the country, and there was an equally large shortage of silver. This was due to the fact that foreign merchants brought here only "despicable metal". It was the UK that first began to use coins from it in the public domain.

At the end of the seventeenth century, an English bank was created. At the same time, a bank in Scotland was formed. Together, they began to issue paper money, which became the first for England. The current money of England, the photo of the banknotes of which is presented below, originated during this period.

A little later, the pound began to spread around the world, as Great Britain turned into the British Empire and began to acquire colonies. This is where English money began to appear. The pound remained the same, only the word in front of it changed. He was Australian, Cypriot and so on. Territories that becamecolonies, simultaneously entered the sterling zone.

In 1944, an agreement was concluded between the United States and Great Britain, according to which the exchange of national currencies was approved. One pound was equal to four dollars. This agreement was called Bretton Woods. But after 10 years, England's money fell 3 times. The dollar has become a stronger currency.

Current state

Now the pound sterling is recognized as the national currency of the United Kingdom. One pound contains one hundred pence, which are issued in denominations of 50, 25, 20, 10, 5, 2, 1 pence. Pounds are also represented in coins. Banknotes are issued in denominations of 50, 20, 10 and 5 pounds. One side of the bill must contain the image of Elizabeth II. The other usually depicts one of the most prominent historical figures in England. In Northern Ireland and Scotland, the design of banknotes is different from those used in Foggy Albion.

England's money is not completely economically stable, its exchange rate always depends on several factors.

Variety of names

Most often, when we talk about English money, we use the word "pound". But some people are confused by this, because they think that the pound sterling is the only correct name for the unit. In fact, everything is like this: "pound sterling" is the name for official documents and papers. Even the English use the word "pound" more often. It is also common to use the term "sterling". And it has a right to exist.

Conclusion

Thus, the money of England, the photos of which are given in this article, are valued higher than the dollar. However, they are economically less stable units, which has been repeatedly confirmed in the course of their history.