The currency of England, or "pounds of silver stars"

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

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has a long history. Traditions, foundations and customs passed through the centuries are the trademark and face of the country, the basis of the British behavior model. In addition, the history of the development of the Kingdom is surrounded by a huge number of myths and legends. Just like the currency of England - no one knows exactly how the pound sterling appeared.

It is known that the British monetary standard that has survived to this day has a nine-century history. At the same time, for the entire given period of time, not a single hypothesis of the origin of the name of the English currency has found one hundred percent confirmation. If the word "pound" is clear and simple, then the second part, "sterling", combines a huge number of theories of its appearance.

However, let's consider in order. In Latin, there is a word "pondus", which means "heaviness" or "weight" in translation. It is this word that the currency of England contains in its name. What does the second, incomprehensible component of the monetary standard of foggy Albion mean? One hypothesis suggests that the word sterling originates from the Old Frankish word "esterlin", which means "asterisk" in translation. Agree that the name is pretty cute, but has little to do with money.funds. However, this hypothesis claims that the currency in England got its name from the Norman coins (pence), the reverse side of which was full of miniature stars. Based on this assumption, pounds sterling is a pound pence.

There is also another theory, the author of which is the monk W alter de Pinchback. According to his research, the second part of the name of the English banknote originates from the word "Easterling", which means "Eastern Lands". Sounds even more fantastic than the first hypothesis. However, in the 12th century in England there was a representation of these same lands. At that time, the organization was called the Hanseatic League of Free Cities. Therefore, it is quite possible that the currency of England - the pound sterling - also has such a meaning as "a pound of silver that appeared from the Eastern lands."

Notable is the fact that, as a member of the European Union, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has retained its national currency. Currently, the currency of England is in circulation both in paper and in metal form. At the same time, iron rounds are produced in denominations from 1 r (pence / penny) to 2 £ (pound sterling). Paper tenders come in denominations from £5 to £50. Moreover, the British are very wary of the last bill.

Every resident of foggy Albion knows which currency is the main one in England, however, apart from pounds sterling, there are other recognizedmoney by law. These are Scottish and Irish banknotes. However, even though they are also the national means of payment, they are not particularly accepted in shops in England. To save time, it is better and easier to exchange them for pounds sterling.