pound (currency)

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
Pound sterling, issued by the Bank of England for use in England and Wales. There are also a number of related currencies at a fixed 1:1 exchange rates issued in other parts of the British Isles and British overseas territories.

Saint Helenian pound of Saint Helena
Falkland Islands pound in the Falkland Islands
Pound Scots of Scotland
Isle of Man pound
Northern Ireland Pound
Gibraltar pound in Gibraltar
Guernsey pound in Guernsey
Jersey pound in Jersey

Pound is also the name for the former currency of the Republic of Ireland, the Irish pound. This currency was first issued under the name Saorstt pound in 1928 and maintained a fixed 1:1 exchange rate with sterling until 1979. The currency was replaced by the euro in 1999. The symbol for the pound, particularly with respect to the pound sterling legal tender in the UK and pegged to the pounds of her possessions, is a script capital letter L pierced horizontally with an endash or an equal: . The same symbol was used in Italy and the Republic of Ireland for the cognate lira and the Irish pound respectively, before the euro was introduced in these countries (although in recent times the official symbol for the Italian lira has been a capital L). In the beginning, a pound in money was the value of a pound weight of silver.

Pound (Currency)

See also