| Money of Northern
Ireland
The pound sterling is the official currency of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland. It is often simply called
the pound, with "pound sterling" used mainly
in formal contexts or when it is necessary to distinguish
the unit of currency from others that have the same name
(the term British pound is also often used for this purpose).
The term quid in British slang
is possibly derived from the Royal mint at Quidhampton,
Wiltshire,
England. The currency in
general is sometimes called just sterling (e.g. "payment
must be in sterling").
The pound was originally the value of one pound (weight)
of sterling silver (hence "pound sterling").
The sign for the pound is the pound sign, £ (or
rarely just "L"). The symbol, £, for
the pound is derived from the first letter of the Latin
word for pound, the librum..
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 (£0.50)
is usually pronounced "fifty pee" rather than "fifty
pence."
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 "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 French word denier (sum of money), which in
turn was from the Latin word denarius. (The solidus and
denarius were Roman coins.) A mixed sum of shillings
and pence such as "two shillings and six pence" would
be written as "2/6" and spoken as "two
and six". Five shillings would be written as "5s" or,
more commonly, "5/–".
The multiples involved in the pre-decimal currency were
such that amounts such as a pound or a shilling had many
factors into which they could be exactly divided. However,
as these monetary amounts decreased in spending power,
and their subdivision therefore became a less important
issue, it was decided instead to introduce decimal currency
in order to simplify arithmetic.
After Decimal Day (21 February 1971), 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 Half Penny, One
Penny, Two Pence, Five Pence and so on. The old one shilling
("1/–") and two shillings ("2/–",
florin) coins were equivalent in value to 5p and 10p
respectively, and as such these coins remained valid
within the decimal system until the 5p and 10p coins
were each later replaced with smaller versions in the
early 1990s.
[back to top]
Sterling
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).
The sterling was originally a name for a silver penny
of 1/240 pound. Originally a silver penny had the purchasing
power of slightly less than a modern 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.
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, 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.
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.
[back to top]
Bank of (Northern) Ireland
notes
All Bank of Ireland notes feature the Queen's University
of Belfast on the obverse. The principal difference between
the denominations is their colour and size.
- 5 pound note, blue
- 10 pound note, pink
- 20 pound note, green
- 50 pound note, blue-green
First Trust Bank notes
First
Trust Bank is the successor to the Allied Irish
Banks (AIB). It was formed by a merger of the
Northern Irish parts of AIB and TSB. AIB was
itself the successor to the Provincial Bank of
Ireland following another merger. The banknotes
issued by First Trust Bank continue the series
started by the Provincial Bank of Ireland, also
issued by AIB.
First
Trust Bank's current notes depict generic people
of Northern Ireland on the front, alternately
male and female, but with a pair of older people
on the £100 note. The obverse generally
features designs associated with the Spanish
Armada, or coastal features.
|
 A £100 First
Trust Bank note
|
- 10 pound note
featuring the vessel Girona (galleass) on the obverse
- 20 pound note featuring the chimney
at Lagada Point on the obverse
- 50 pound note featuring a commemorative
medal on the obverse
- 100 pound note featuring the
Armada on the obverse
A £5 note
featuring Dunluce Castle on the obverse was issued by the
Provincial Bank of Ireland and by AIB, but has not been
issued by First Trust Bank.
[back to top]
-
5 pound note
featuring the U.S. space shuttle
-
10 pound note featuring
J. B. Dunlop on the front and the portico of
Belfast's city hall on the back
-
20 pound note featuring
Harry Ferguson on the front and the portico
of Belfast City Hall on the back
-
50 pound note featuring
Sir S.C. Davidson on the front and the portico
of Belfast City Hall on the back
-
100 pound note featuring
Sir James Martin on the front and the portico
of Belfast City Hall on the back
|
A £20
Northern Bank note (this version was
withdrawn in 2005).
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|
£5
Northern Bank note (front)
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Following the theft
of £22 million from its money handling
centre in Belfast on 22 December 2004, allegedly
by the
Provisional IRA, Northern Bank announced on 7
January 2005 that all its notes were to be recalled
and
reissued in different colours and styles, and
using the bank's new logo. The reissue began
on 14 March
2005 and was scheduled to take one month; old
notes remain exchangeable at branches of Northern
Bank. |
The principal
colours of Northern Bank notes of greater than £5
face value were changed with the 2005 reissue, and
are now (former colour in brackets):
- £10 green (brown)
- £20 blue (purple)
- £50 purple (green)
- £100 red (black)
|
Ulster Bank notes
Ulster
Bank's current notes all share a rather plain
design of a view of Belfast harbour flanked
by landscape views; the design of the reverse
is dominated by the bank's coats-of-arms.
The principal difference between the denominations
is their colour and size.
- 5 pound note,
purple.
- 10 pound note,
blue-green.
- 20 pound note,
purple.
- 50 pound note,
blue.
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Description
of British Coinage
| Denomination |
Diameter |
Thickness |
Mass |
Composition |
Edge |
| 1
penny / £0.01 |
20.03 mm |
1.65 mm |
3.56 g |
Copper-plated steel |
Smooth |
| 2
pence / £0.02 |
25.90 mm |
1.85 mm |
7.13 g |
Copper-plated steel |
Smooth |
| 5
pence / £0.05 |
18.00 mm |
1.70 mm |
3.25 g |
Cupro-nickel |
milled, wire or flat edge |
| 10
pence / £0.10 |
24.50 mm |
1.85 mm |
6.50 g |
Cupro-nickel |
milled, wire or flat edge |
| 20
pence / £0.20 |
21.40 mm |
1.70 mm |
5.00 g |
Cupro-nickel |
smooth, seven-sided |
| 50
pence / £0.50 |
27.30 mm |
1.78 mm |
8.00 g |
Cupro-nickel |
smooth, seven-sided |
| 1
pound / £1.00 |
22.50 mm |
3.15 mm |
9.50 g |
Nickel brass |
milled with variable inscription |
| 2
pound / £2.00 |
28.40 mm |
2.50 mm |
12.00 g |
Inner: Cupro-nickel
Outer: Nickel-brass |
milled with variable inscription |
Depiction
of British coinage - reverse side
[back
to top]
Pre-decimal
system
Pre-decimalisation,
the pound was divided into 240 pennies (or pence)
rather than 100, though it was rarely expressed in
this way. Rather it was expressed in terms of pounds,
shillings and pence, where:
£ 1
|
=
|
20
shillings (20s) |
£ 1
|
=
|
1 quid |
1
shilling
|
=
|
1 bob |
1
shilling
|
=
|
12 pence (12d) |
£ 1
|
=
|
240 pence |
| 1 Gold Sovereign |
=
|
£ 1 |
1
guinea
|
=
|
21 shillings |
1
crown
|
=
|
5 shillings |
half
crown
|
=
|
2 and 6 (2s6d) |
florin
|
=
|
2 shillings |
1
farthing
|
=
|
¼ penny |
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The
pound was originally the
value of one pound (weight) of sterling silver
(hence "pound sterling").
-
The
name "shilling" is
believed to come from the old Scandinavian
word skilling, meaning a division,
or a mark on a
stick.
-
The
name "sovereign" related
to the majestic and impressive
size and portraiture of the
coin, the earliest of which
showed the
king facing, seated on a throne,
while the reverse shows the
Royal coat of arms on a shield
surrounded
by a Tudor double rose.
-
Guinea
was not an official name
for the coin, but much
of the gold used
to produce the early coins
came from Guinea in Africa,
the Africa Company having
a charter which
allowed them to put their
symbol, an elephant or later an elephant
and castle, beneath the
king's effigy on the coins,
and the term "guinea" originated
from this.
-
The
crown was originally known
as the "crown
of the double rose."
-
The
name penny comes from the Old English pennige
(roughly pronounced "penny-yeah").
It shares its roots with
the German pfennig,
which was a German denomination.
-
Florin
was chosen, partly because of its
connection with
old English coinage,
and partly because
other European countries
also had coins
of approximately the same size and
weight called florins.
-
Farthing means
fourth part.
The penny
was further subdivided at various times, though these
divisions vanished as inflation made them irrelevant:
1 penny = 2 halfpennies
and (earlier) 4 farthings (half-farthing, third-farthing,
and quarter-farthing coins were actually minted
in the late 1800s, but circulated only in certain
British colonies and not in Britain itself).
Using
the example of five shillings and sixpence, the standard
ways of writing
shillings and pence were:
5s 6d
5/6 (see below
for the / mark)
5/- for 5 shillings only,
with the dash to stand for zero pennies.
This
sum would be spoken as "five
shillings and sixpence" or "five and six." The
old abbreviation for the penny, d, was derived
from the Roman denarius,
and the abbreviation for the shilling, s, from the
Roman solidus. The shilling was also denoted by the
slash symbol, also called a solidus for this reason.
The English penny was derived from a silver coin
(the sceat of 20 grains weight) which was in general
circulation in Europe during the middle ages. The
weight of this coin was originally 20 grains but
had reached 24 grains by the time of King Alfred
(A.D. 871–899) or 1/240 of a troy pound, a
weight known as a pennyweight—around 1.555
grams. The
pre-decimalisation coins with exact decimal equivalent
values continued
in use after 1971 alongside the new coins, albeit
with new names, (e.g., the Shilling became the 5p
coin, and the Florin equating to 10p). The others
were withdrawn almost immediately but most of those
that did have precise equivalents in the new system
remained legal tender until they were replaced by
smaller coins in the early 1990s. Pre-decimalisation
shillings were used as 5p coins, with many people
calling the new 5p coin a shilling, since it remained
1/20 of a pound, but was now worth 5p instead of
12d. The pre-decimalisation sixpence, also known
as a sixpenny bit or sixpenny piece, was rated at
2½p but was demonetised in 1980. [back
to top] How
the old system worked Very conveniently,
for those such as banks who handled coins in bulk,
the weight of the pre-decimal coins bore exact relationships
with each other:
- two sixpences weighed the
same as one shilling
- four sixpences weighed
the same as one florin (two shillings)
- five sixpences weighed
the same as one half-crown
Bronze coins were useful measures
of weight and length. The diameter
of the halfpenny was almost exactly one inch, while
five pennies placed side-by-side provided a reasonably
accurate six-inch measure. Three pennies or five halfpennies
weighed one ounce. Slang Some
pre-decimalisation coins or denominations became
commonly known by slang
terms, perhaps the most well-known being bob for
a shilling and quid for a pound. A farthing was a
mag, a silver threepence was a joey and the later
cupro-nickel threepence was called a threepenny bit
(pronounced threp'ny bit), a sixpence was a tanner
and a half crown was a half dollar. Quid remains
as popular slang for one or more pounds to this day
in Britain in the form "a quid" and then "two
quid" etc. thereafter.
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