GBP - what currency? What country does it belong to?

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

Each state has its own short currency symbols. In Russia it is RUB, in America it is USD, in Europe it is EUR. Surely, many have heard the abbreviation of the monetary unit more than once - GBP. What currency has this abbreviation, which country does it belong to, and what is its market rate today? In this article, we will analyze this interesting question in detail. And also learn a little about the history of origin and little-known facts about the GBP. The currency of which country, or rather countries, is hidden under this designation and why is it so named? Let's figure it out!

GBP: whose currency?

This abbreviation stands for Great Britain Pound. From here it is easy to understand that this monetary unit is the national currency of Great Britain. A more familiar name for us is "pound sterling" or pound sterling. It is not uncommon to hear abbreviations like "pound" or "English pound" as well. So, we found out the main question regarding the GBP - what kind of currency and which state does it belong to. It turned out that it operates on the territory of the whole kingdom -Great Britain. This means that GBP circulates not only in England, but also in other countries of the United Kingdom - in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In these territories, it is the official currency.

But that's not all there is to say about the GBP. What is the parallel currency in the lands of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, which belong to the Kingdom of Great Britain? That's right, pound sterling. GBP is also legal tender in the Falkland Islands, Saint Helena, Gibr altar, Tristan da Cunha and Ascension. Thus, the territory "covered" by the British pound is expanding significantly. But what is its origin and why is it exactly "pound" - a term also known as a unit of mass? Let's find out now.

GBP origin story

As is often the case, there are several versions of the appearance of the common name "pound sterling" today. Consider the most plausible and popular of them.

Version One

W alter Pinchebeck's theory is quite widespread. It reads as follows: initially the monetary unit of Great Britain was called Easterling Silver, which can be deciphered as "silver from the east / eastern lands." His 925 alloys were used in northern Germany for coin making. But what about England?

The fact is that the British called this area Easterling (5 cities that joined the Hanseatic League in the 11th century) and conducted active trade with it. Naturally, whatthe goods sold were paid with these coins. In 1158, Henry II made 925 alloy the standard for English coins. Gradually, the name used in everyday speech was reduced to Sterling Silver and simply Sterling. Since 1964, it has finally been assigned to the national currency of England, and the State Bank began issuing banknotes of the same name.

Version two

There is another version about the origin of the GBP. What kind of currency became its "progenitor", according to another theory? According to some sources, in ancient England, silver coins were used, which in the amount of 240 pieces weighed exactly 1 tower pound (this is approximately 350 grams). Based on this criterion, the full weight of the coins and their authenticity/degree of wear were checked. If such a quantity of silver weighed less than one pound, they were considered false. Based on this, an expression appeared that later became common - "a pound of pure silver" or "pound sterling" ("sterling" from Old English - "silver").

In modern Great Britain, the abbreviation is most often used - pound, which means "pound". In official documents, the full name is written - "pound sterling", in exchange trading the word "sterling" was assigned to the monetary unit of Britain.

GBP issue and circulation

The national currency of Great Britain is issued not only in England, but also in other countries of the kingdom. Banknotes denominated in pounds sterling may also be issued by banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. At the same time, they participate in the commodity-money turnover throughout the UK. For example, Scottish pounds sterling can be accepted in England, and Irish pounds in Scotland, etc.

However, this does not mean that they are legal tender even in the issuing countries themselves. In the strict sense, only banknotes issued by the Bank of England (on the territory of England and Wales) are considered legal tender, and therefore in practice there are cases of refusal to accept Scottish or Irish pounds.

It is also interesting that the overseas territories of Britain and its crown lands also issue their own banknotes in their own currency, which are equal to the pound sterling and have similar names (Gibr altar, Manx, Jersey pound, etc.).

GBP and currencies of other countries

The British pound sterling is one of the most expensive monetary units in the world currency market. On April 30, 2014, one English pound cost 60 rubles 12 kopecks. Over the year, its value has grown by more than ten rubles (which is a fairly significant change). The average rate of buying GBP in exchange offices is 59 rubles 22 kopecks, selling - 61 rubles 41 kopecks.

Currency traders, as well as those who sell/buy dollars for pounds sterling (and vice versa), will also be interested in GBP/USD exchange rates. As of April 30, this ratio for the Central Bank of the Russian Federation was 1.68. In relation to the dollarThe British pound also gained significantly over the year. In April 2013, the rate was approximately 1 to 1.55. And what is the situation with the GBP/EUR pair? At the moment, the pound sterling / euro exchange rate is approximately 1.22. A year ago, this ratio was lower - at the level of 1.19, and last month it was 1.20 euros per one British pound.

Thus, lately we can talk about a clear and constant trend of growth and strengthening of the British pound against the currencies of other countries, in particular the US dollar, euro and ruble.

Conclusion

In this article, we found out a lot of interesting and useful information about the GBP: what kind of currency and which countries it belongs to, what is the history of its origin and what are the modern rules for its issuance/turnover. In addition, we reviewed some of the most interesting GBP rates for us in the global currency market, and also compared the current values with those that took place a year ago. We hope this information was new for you and allowed you to expand your knowledge about the English pound.