NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Great Britain Pound

The pound sterling, which strictly speaking refers to basic currency unit of sterling, now the pound, is the currency of the United Kingdom (UK). 1 pound 2000 front File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... 1 pound 2000 back File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This article discusses the British One Pound circulating coin issued since 1983, only. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... As a unit of currency, the term pound originates from the value of a Troy pound weight (Latin libra), of high purity silver, and is the currency unit of a number of countries: Cyprus pound in Cyprus Egyptian pound in Egypt Lebanese pound in Lebanon Syrian pound in Syria British...

The sign for the pound is £ (or rarely just "L"). Both symbols derive from libra, the Latin word for "pound". The standard ISO 4217 currency code is GBP = Great Britain Pound. Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Officially the pound is the name for at least three different units of mass: The pound (avoirdupois). ... ISO 4217 is an international standard describing three letter codes to define the names of currencies established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ...

The pound sterling is one of the world's most widely traded currencies, along with the United States dollar, the Japanese yen, the Australian Dollar and the euro. It is the highest valued of the major currency units. The United States dollar, or American dollar, is the official currency of the United States. ... Japanese 10 yen coin (obverse) showing Phoenix Hall of Byodoin Yen is the currency used in Japan. ... The Australian dollar, AUD or A$, is the official currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including the Australian Antarctic Territory, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu. ... The euro (â‚¬; ISO 4217 code EUR) is the currency of twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, collectively known as Eurozone. ... The highest valued currency unit is the currency in which a single unit buys the highest number of any given other currency or the largest amount of a given good. ...

In the UK, in order to distinguish the unit of currency from the unit of weight, and perhaps from other units of currency that have the same name, a pound is sometimes referred to more formally as a pound sterling or sometimes simply sterling. The slang term quid is also substituted in informal conversation for "pound(s) sterling". The sterling was originally a name for a silver penny of 1/240 pound. In modern times the pound has replaced the penny as the basic unit of currency as inflation has steadily eroded the value of the currency. Originally a silver penny had the purchasing power of slightly less than a modern pound. Slang is the non-standard use of words in a language of a particular social group, and sometimes the creation of new words or importation of words from another language. ... Quid has several meanings: A small, circular item similar to a dollar; for example, sand dollars Slang (British) for one Pound Sterling (£). The Irish pound was also referred to by this name. ... Sterling is: The currency of the United Kingdom, see Pound Sterling. ...

Subdivisions

One pound is divided into 100 pence, the singular of which is "penny". The symbol for the penny is "p"; hence an amount such as 50p is often pronounced "fifty pee" rather than "fifty pence". Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1476x876, 129 KB)The various British Coins: 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, Â£1, Â£2. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1476x876, 129 KB)The various British Coins: 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, Â£1, Â£2. ... Image File history File links 5 GBP Schein aus Polymer, Vorderseite Source: Â© Northern Bank File links The following pages link to this file: Pound sterling ... Image File history File links 5 GBP Schein aus Polymer, Vorderseite Source: Â© Northern Bank File links The following pages link to this file: Pound sterling ... Above: A variety of coins considered to be lower-value, including an Irish 2p piece and many US pennies. ...

Prior to decimalisation in 1971, each pound was divided into 240 pence — although it was usually expressed as being divided into twenty shillings, with each shilling equal to twelve pence. The symbol for the shilling was "/" or "s" — not from the first letter of the word, but rather from the Latin word solidus. The symbol for the penny was "d", from the Latin word denarius. (The solidus and denarius were Roman coins.) Having 240 pennies in a pound was useful because it enabled the pound to be divided equally into halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, sixths, eighths, tenths, twelfths, fifteenths, sixteenths, twentieths, twenty-fourths, thirtieths, fortieths, forty-eightieths, sixtieths, eightieths, and one-hundred-and-twentieths. The decimal pound system is less flexible as the pound can only be divided into halves, quarters, fifths, tenths, twentieths, twenty-fifths, and fiftieths. Decimalisation (or Decimalization) refers to any process of converting from traditional units, usually of money, to a decimal system. ... 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... The shilling (or informally: bob) was a British coin first issued in 1548 for Henry VIII, although arguably the testoon issued about 1487 for Henry VII was the first shilling. ... A solidus (the Latin word for solid) was originally a gold coin issued by the Romans. ... The Roman currency system included the denarius, a small silver coin, as the most common coin in circulation. ...

After Decimal Day, the value of one penny was therefore different from its pre-decimalisation value. For the first few years after 1971, the new type of penny was commonly referred to as a "new penny". Coins for denominations of ½p, 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p and 50p all bore the name NEW PENCE (or NEW PENNY) until 1982, when the inscription changed to ONE PENNY, TWO PENCE, FIVE PENCE and so on. On February 15, 1971, variously known as Decimal Day, Decimalisation Day and D-Day, the United Kingdom and Ireland decimalised their historical currencies. ... 1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Legal tender and regional issues

Laws of legal tender are uniquely complex in the UK. In England and Wales, banknotes issued by the Bank of England are legal tender, meaning that they must be accepted in payment of a debt. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, no banknotes are legal tender, and each bank which issues banknotes does so in the form of its own 'promissory notes'. Scottish and Northern Irish notes are sometimes rejected by shops when used in England. Scottish and Northern Irish notes' designs are also different from the English notes' designs. The single Pound coin also has many varied designs on the reverse side, which differ from year to year with new designs appearing; however, all of these are Royal Mint coins and of equivalent legality. Legal tender or forced tender is payment that cannot be refused in settlement of a debt by virtue of law. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 kmÂ² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... National motto: Cymru am byth (Welsh: Wales for ever) Waless location within the UK Official languages English, Welsh Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff First Minister Rhodri Morgan Area - Total Ranked 3rd UK 20,779 kmÂ² Population - Total (2001) - Density Ranked 3rd UK 2,903,085 140/kmÂ² Ethnicity: 97. ... The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom, sometimes known as The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street or The Old Lady. The Bank of England // Functions of the bank It performs all the recognized functions of a central bank -- to maintain price stability, and subject to... Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (Latin: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the UK Languages with Official Status1 English Scottish Gaelic Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 kmÂ² 1. ... Royal motto: Quis separabit (Latin: Who will separate?) Northern Irelands location within the UK Official languages English, Irish, Ulster Scots Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Area - Total Ranked 4th 13,843 kmÂ² Population - Total (2001) - Density Ranked 4th 1,685,267 122/kmÂ² NUTS 1... In logic (and usually without being paired with reverse), obverse has a meaning close to contrapositive. ...

The nature of legal tender is even more restricted in Scotland — only Royal Mint coins are legal tender, and even then the use of smaller coins is limited (the five and ten pence coins are only legal tender to a value of five pounds, for example). However, one and two pound coins are legal tender to an indefinite amount. This was not always the case, as during World War II the Scottish banknotes were made legal tender by the Currency (Defence) Act 1939; this status was withdrawn on January 1, 1946. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that engulfed much of the globe... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

To further complicate matters, some notes of the Bank of England were until recently legal tender in Scotland and Northern Ireland. This status only applied to notes under a value of five pounds, so following the withdrawal of the Bank of England one pound note in 1985, no circulating notes were covered by this clause.

All commonly circulating British coins are legal tender throughout the UK, as are the rarely seen five pound and twenty-five pence ("crown") coins. Several gold coins issued by the Mint are still legal tender, though as they have a bullion value far greater than their face value they are never used in circulation and tend to be kept by collectors. This article concerns British coinage, the coinage of the United Kingdom. ... A precious metal is a rare metallic element of high, durable economic value. ... Coin collecting is the hobby of collecting coins. ...

Gibraltar and the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Saint Helena, the Falkland Islands and the Isle of Man, which are not part of the United Kingdom, also issue their own currencies, which are fixed to the value of sterling. None of the regional currencies are legal tender in England or in other regions, but they are commonly accepted by large businesses and banks. However, an exchange commission may be charged. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 kmÂ² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ...

British banknotes are the banknotes of the United Kingdom and British Islands, denominated in pounds sterling (GBP). ... The Isle of Man issues pound sterling notes fixed at a 1:1 exchange rate. ... The Guernsey Pound (currency code GGP) is the currency used in Guernsey. ... The Jersey pound is the pound sterling issued in Jersey. ... The Gibraltar pound (ISO 4217 currency code: GIP) is often quoted as the currency of Gibraltar. ... The Falkland Islands issue their own currency, the pound. ... The island of Saint Helena issues its own currency, the Pound, which is linked to the Pound Sterling. ...

Present value against other currencies

The pound is now freely bought and sold on the commodity markets around the world and the value therefore fluctuates (rising when traders buy pounds, falling when traders sell pounds). It has traditionally been among the highest-valued of all base currency units in the world. Chicago Board of Trade Commodity market Commodity markets are markets where raw or primary products are exchanged. ...

On 2 September 2005, £1.00 was worth US$1.84, €1.46 and ¥201. September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ... 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... The euro (â‚¬; ISO 4217 code EUR) is the currency of twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, collectively known as Eurozone. ... Japanese 10 yen coin (obverse) showing Phoenix Hall of Byodoin Yen is the currency used in Japan. ...

History

As a unit of currency, the term pound originates from the value of a troy pound of high purity silver known as sterling silver. Troy weight is a system of units of mass customarily used for precious metals and gemstones. ... Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92. ...

Sterling (with a basic currency unit of the Tealby penny, rather than the pound) was introduced as the English currency by King Henry II in 1158, though the name sterling wasn't acquired until later. The word sterling is from the Old French esterlin transformed in stiere in Old English (strong, firm, immovable). For silver pennies produced after 1820 see Maundy money The silver penny was introduced to England around the year 785 by King Offa of Mercia, in the English midlands. ... Henry II (March 5, 1133 â€“ July 6, 1189) ruled as Count of Anjou, Duke of Normandy, and as King of England (1154â€“1189) and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland, eastern Ireland, and western France. ... Events January 11 - Vladislav II becomes King of Bohemia End of the formal reign of Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan, also the beginning of his cloistered rule, which will last to his death in 1192. ...

The pound sterling, established in 1560–61 by Elizabeth I and her advisors, foremost among them Sir Thomas Gresham, brought order to the financial chaos of Tudor England that had been occasioned by the "Great Debasement" of the coinage, which brought on a debilitating inflation during the years 1543–51. By 1551, according to Fernand Braudel (Braudel 1984, pp 356ff), the silver content of a penny had dropped to one part in three. The coinage had become mere fiduciary currency (as modern coins are), and the exchange rate in Antwerp where English cloth was marketed to Europe, had deteriorated. All the coin in circulation was called in for reminting at the higher standard, and paid for at discounted rates. Events February 27 - The Treaty of Berhick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland The first tulip bulb was brought from Turkey to the Netherlands. ... // Events The Edict of Orleans suspends the persecution of the Huguenots. ... Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 â€“ 24 March 1603 ) was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. ... Sir Thomas Gresham (~1519 - 21 November 1579) was an English merchant and financier who worked for King Edward VI of England and for Edwards half-sister Queen Elizabeth I of England. ... // Events February 21 - Battle of Wayna Daga - A combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeat the armies of Adal led by Ahmed Gragn. ... Events Russia, Reforming Synod of the metropolite Macaire, Orthodoxy: introduction of a calendar of the saints and an ecclesiastical law code ( Stoglav ) Major outbreak of the sweating sickness in England. ... Fernand Braudel (August 24, 1902â€“November 27, 1985) was a historian who revolutionized the 20th century study of the discipline by considering the effects of economics and geography on global history, a prominent member of the Annales School of historiography, who concentrated on meticulous historical analysis in the social sciences. ... The Cathedral of our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, Antwerp) in the Handschoenmarkt, in the old quarter of Antwerp is the largest cathedral in the Low Countries and home to a number of triptychs by Renaissance Belgian painter Rubens. ...

The pound sterling maintained its intrinsic value — "a fetish in public opinion" Braudel called it — uniquely among European currencies, even after the United Kingdom officially adopted the gold standard, until after World War I, weathering financial crises in 1621, in 1694–96, when John Locke pamphleteered for the pound sterling as "an invariable fundamental unit" and again in 1774 and 1797. Not even the violent disorders of the Civil War devalued the pound sterling in European money markets. Braudel attributes to the fixed currency, which was never devalued over the centuries, England's easy credit, security of contracts and rise to financial superiority during the 18th century. The pound sterling has been the money of account of the Bank of England from its inception in 1694. Events February 9 - Gregory XV is elected pope. ... Events February 6 - The colony Quilombo dos Palmares is destroyed. ... The year 1696 had the earliest equinoxes and solstices for 400 years in the Gregorian calendar, because this year is a leap year and the Gregorian calendar would have behaved like the Julian calendar since March 1500 had it have been in use that long. ... John Locke John Locke (August 29, 1632 â€“ October 28, 1704) was a 17th-century philosopher concerned primarily with society and epistemology. ... 1774 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1797 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The term English Civil War (or Wars) refers to the series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom, sometimes known as The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street or The Old Lady. The Bank of England // Functions of the bank It performs all the recognized functions of a central bank -- to maintain price stability, and subject to... Events February 6 - The colony Quilombo dos Palmares is destroyed. ...

The gold standard

Sterling unofficially moved to the gold standard from silver thanks to an overvaluation of gold in England that drew gold from abroad and occasioned a steady export of silver coin, in spite of a re-evaluation of gold in 1717 by Sir Isaac Newton, Master of the Royal Mint. The de facto gold standard continued until its official adoption following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, in 1816 (Braudel, p. 361). This lasted until Britain, in common with many other countries, abandoned the standard after World War I in 1919. During this period, the pound was generally valued at around US$4.90. 1922 U.S. gold certificate The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed weight of gold and currency issuers guarantee, under specified rules, to redeem notes in that amount of gold. ... // Events January 4 â€” The Netherlands, Britain & France sign Triple Alliance February 26-March 6 What is now the northeastern United States was paralyzed by a series of blizzards that buried the region. ... Sir Isaac Newton in Godfrey Knellers 1689 portrait Sir Isaac Newton, PRS (25 December 1642 â€“ 20 March 1727 by the Julian calendar in use in England at the time; or 4 January 1643 â€“ 31 March 1727 by the Gregorian calendar) was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and alchemist... The Royal Mint is the name of the body permitted to make (mint) coins in the United Kingdom. ... The Napoleonic Wars was a series of wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule of France. ... 1816 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ... 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ...

Discussions took place following the 1865 International Monetary Conference in Paris concerning the possibility of the UK joining the Latin Monetary Union, and a Royal Commission on International Coinage examined the issues [1]. Although the UK decided against joining, some of the arguments [2] make interesting reading in the context of the current debate on the adoption of the euro. 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... The Latin Monetary Union (1865-1927) was a 19th century attempt to unify several European currencies into a single currency that could be used in all the member states, at a time when most national currencies were still made out of gold and silver. ... In countries that are Commonwealth Realms a Royal Commission is a major government inquiry into an issue. ... The euro (â‚¬; ISO 4217 code EUR) is the currency of twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, collectively known as Eurozone. ...

Prior to World War I, the United Kingdom had one of the world's strongest economies, holding 40 per cent of the world's overseas investments. However, by the end of the war the country owed £850 million, mostly to the United States, with interest costing the country some 40 per cent of all government spending. World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ...

In an attempt to resume stability, a variation on the gold standard was reintroduced in 1926, under which the currency was pegged to the gold price at pre-war levels, although people were only able to exchange their currency for gold bullion, rather than for coins. This was abandoned on September 21, 1931, during the Great Depression, and sterling devalued 20 per cent. 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The term pegging, derived from the verb to peg (to hold stable or fixed), has multiple definitions when used alone. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... 1931 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... This article deals with the effects of the Great Depression of the 1930s on the United Kingdom. ...

In common with all other world currencies, there is no longer any link to precious metals. The U.S. dollar was the last to leave gold, in 1971. The pound was made fully convertible in 1946 as a condition for receiving a U.S. loan of US$3.75 billion in the aftermath of World War II. 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... The word billion and its equivalents in other languages refer to one of two different numbers. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that engulfed much of the globe...

Pound sterling was used as the currency of the British Empire. As this became the Commonwealth of Nations, dominions introduced their own currencies (such as the Australian pound and Irish pound) - first pegged to sterling, and later breaking parity (Australia in 1931 and Ireland in 1979). The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps The British Empire was the worlds first global power, a product of the European Age of Exploration that began with the global maritime empires of Portugal and Spain in the late 1400s. ... The Commonwealth of Nations is an association of independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former colonies once governed by the United Kingdom as part of the British Empire. ... Fifty pound note The Australian pound was Australias currency from 1910 to 1966. ... The Irish pound (Irish: punt) was the currency unit of the Republic of Ireland until 1999. ...

Following the U.S. dollar

Since leaving gold, there have been several attempts to peg the value of the pound to other currencies, initially the U.S. dollar. The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ...

Under continuing economic pressure, and despite months of denials that it would do so, on September 19, 1949, the government devalued the pound by 30 percent, from US$4.03 to US$2.80. (The U.S. dollar itself was derived from a 5 shilling coin used in the American colonies in the 1700s, hence the value of US$4 per pound sterling in use until then.) The move prompted several other governments to devalue against the dollar too, including Australia, Denmark, Ireland, Egypt, India, Israel, New Zealand, Norway and South Africa. 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Events and trends The Bonneville Slide blocks the Columbia River near the site of present-day Cascade Locks, Oregon with a land bridge 200 feet (60 m) high. ...

In the mid-1960s the pound came under renewed pressure since the exchange rate against the dollar was considered too high. In the summer of 1966, with the value of the pound falling in the currency markets, exchange controls were tightened by the Wilson government. Among the measures, tourists were banned from taking more than £50 out of the country, until the restriction was lifted in 1970. The pound was eventually devalued by 14.3 percent to US$2.41 in November 1967. The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-BÃ©del Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... This article is about the British politician. ... 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

With the break down of the Bretton Woods system – not least because British currency dealers created a substantial Eurodollar market – the pound was floated in the early 1970s and so subject to a market valuation. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... In finance, the prefix euro as in eurodollars or euroyen refer to currency deposited outside the country of their origin. ... A floating currency is a currency that uses a floating exchange rate as its exchange rate regime. ...

A further crisis followed in 1976, when it was apparently leaked that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) thought that the pound should be set at US$1.50, and as a result the pound fell to $1.57, and the government decided it had to borrow £2.3 billion from the IMF. In the early 1980s the pound moved above the $2 level as interest rates rose in response to the monetarist policy of targetting money supply and a high exchange rate was widely blamed for the deep recession of 1981. At its lowest, the pound stood at just US$1.05 in February 1985, before returning to US$1.66 during the 1990s. In late 2004, the pound was worth US$1.94, but has fallen to mid-$1.70s as of July, 2005. 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The flag of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the international organization entrusted with overseeing the global financial system by monitoring foreign exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering technical and financial assistance when asked. ... // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... Monetarism is a set of views concerning the determination of national income and monetary economics. ... Money supply (monetary aggregates, money stock), a macroeconomic concept, is the quantity of money available within the economy to purchase goods, services, and securities. ... A recession is usually defined in macroeconomics as a fall of a countrys real Gross Domestic Product in two or more successive quarters of a year. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Following the German mark

In 1988, Margaret Thatcher's Chancellor Nigel Lawson decided that the pound should "shadow" the German Deutsche Mark, with the unintended result of a rapid rise in inflation as the economy boomed due to inappropriately low interest rates. 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Right Honourable Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925), is a British stateswoman and was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, also Leader of the Opposition from 1975, and the only woman to date to hold the former... The Rt. ... The Right Honourable Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, PC (born March 11, 1932), a British politician, was Chancellor of the Exchequer between June 1983 and October 1989. ... The Deutsche Mark (DM, DEM) was the official currency of West and, from 1990, unified Germany. ...

Following the European currency unit

In another change of tack, in 1990 the Thatcher government decided to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), with the pound set at about DM 2.90. However, the country was forced to withdraw from the system on Black Wednesday (September 16, 1992) as an international group of currency speculators led by George Soros exploited the fixed exchange rate by speculating on the interest rate differences between Britain and Germany (earning several billion dollars in the process). 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The European exchange rate mechanism (or ERM) was a system introduced by the European Community in March 1979, as part of the European Monetary System (EMS), to reduce exchange-rate variability and achieve monetary stability in Europe, in preparation for Economic and Monetary Union and the introduction of a single... The Deutsche Mark (DM, DEM) was the official currency of West and, from 1990, unified Germany. ... In British politics and economics, Black Wednesday refers to September 16, 1992 when the government was forced to withdraw the Pound from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) by currency speculatorsâ€”most notably George Soros who earned over USD$1 billion in doing so. ... September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ... 1992 was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... George Soros George Soros (born August 12, 1930 in Budapest, Hungary as Soros GyÃ¶rgy) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American currency speculator and philanthropist. ...

Black Wednesday saw interest rates jump from 10 percent, to 12 percent, and then finally to 15 percent in a futile attempt to stop the pound from falling below the ERM limits. The exchange rate fell to DM 2.20 costing the country tens of billions of pounds. The Deutsche Mark (DM, DEM) was the official currency of West and, from 1990, unified Germany. ...

Following inflation targets

In 1997, the newly elected Labour government caused a surprise when Gordon Brown handed over day to day control of interest rates to the Bank of England. The bank is now responsible for setting its base rate of interest so as to keep inflation within a range set by government, with a secondary aim of maintaining high employment. There is no explicit exchange rate targetting. 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Labour Party is the principal centrist/centre-left political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics). ... This article is about the British Chancellor of the Exchequer. ... The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom, sometimes known as The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street or The Old Lady. The Bank of England // Functions of the bank It performs all the recognized functions of a central bank -- to maintain price stability, and subject to...

The euro

As a member of the European Union, the United Kingdom has the option of adopting the euro as its currency. However, the subject remains politically controversial, not least since the United Kingdom was forced to withdraw from its precursor, the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (see above). The pound did not join the Second European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) after the euro was created. The euro (â‚¬; ISO 4217 code EUR) is the currency of twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, collectively known as Eurozone. ...

Unique to Denmark and the UK is an opt-out from entry to the euro. Technically, every other EU nation must eventually sign up; however, this can be delayed indefinitely (as in the case of Sweden) by refusing to join ERM II.

On the value of British money

In 2003 the House of Commons Library published a research paper (PDF document) which included an index of the value of the pound for each year between 1750 and 2002, where the value in 1974 was indexed at 100. (This was an update to an original document published in 1998). 2003(MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and is now the dominant branch of Parliament. ... Events March 2 - Small earthquake in London April 4 - Small earthquake in Warrington, England August 23 - Small earthquake in Spalding, England September 30 - Small earthquake in Northampton, England November 16 â€“ Westminster Bridge officially opened Jonas Hanway is the first Englishman to use an umbrella James Gray reveals her sex to... 2002(MMII) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

The document shows that the value of the pound remained constant for the whole of the period until the First World War, allowing for inflationary fluctuations in wartime and with many periods when prices declined. The value of the index in 1750 was 5.1, increasing to a peak of 16.3 in 1813 before declining very soon after the end of the Napoleonic Wars to around 10.0 and remaining in the range 8.5–10.0 at the end of the nineteenth century. The index was 9.8 in 1914 and peaked at 25.3 in 1920, before declining again to 15.8 in 1933 and 1934 — prices were only about three times higher than they had been 180 years earlier. World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ... Events March 2 - Small earthquake in London April 4 - Small earthquake in Warrington, England August 23 - Small earthquake in Spalding, England September 30 - Small earthquake in Northampton, England November 16 â€“ Westminster Bridge officially opened Jonas Hanway is the first Englishman to use an umbrella James Gray reveals her sex to... 1813 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Napoleonic Wars was a series of wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule of France. ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1934 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Inflation had a dramatic effect during and after the Second World War — the index was 20.2 in 1940, 33.0 in 1950, 49.1 in 1960, 73.1 in 1970, 263.7 in 1980, 497.5 in 1990, 671.8 in 2000 and 695.1 in 2002. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... 2002(MMII) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Before sterling

Sceats were small silver coins used for trade in Anglo-Saxon times. ... A grain is a unit of mass equal to 0. ... Offa (or Alavivaz Olauus) (? - c. ... Events A revolt against Empress Irene leads to Constantine VI being declared sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire. ... A Tower pound was a unit of weight equal to 5400 grains (just over 3/4 of an ordinary (avoirdupois) pound). ... Events January 14 - Treaty of Madrid. ... Troy weight is a system of units of mass customarily used for precious metals and gemstones. ... 240 silver Saxon pennies made up a Saxon Pound, being a pound in weight. ...

References

Fernand Braudel (August 24, 1902â€“November 27, 1985) was a historian who revolutionized the 20th century study of the discipline by considering the effects of economics and geography on global history, a prominent member of the Annales School of historiography, who concentrated on meticulous historical analysis in the social sciences. ...

Contents

Subdivisions

Legal tender and regional issues

Present value against other currencies

History

The gold standard

Following the U.S. dollar

Following the German mark

Following the European currency unit

Following inflation targets

The euro

On the value of British money

Before sterling

References

See also

External links

Contents

Subdivisions GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Legal tender and regional issues

Present value against other currencies

History

The gold standard

Following the U.S. dollar

Following the German mark

Following the European currency unit

Following inflation targets

The euro

On the value of British money

Before sterling

References

See also

External links

Subdivisions