Great Britain Pound Banknotes

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The information about Britain.

The United Kingdom is a country in Northwestern Europe. It is a sovereign country including Great Britain, some parts of Ireland, and many small islands of the British Isle. The total area of the UK is 93,628 square miles. London is the largest and also the capital city. English is the official and national language. Despite its humble size, the UK has the fifth-largest GDP in the world and many high rankings in the economy. The current currency of the UK is the Pound Sterling.

The history of the Pound Sterling.

Besides being the official currency of Britain, the Pound Sterling (GBP) is also in circulation in other countries including Jersey, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar,...Because it is considered as the oldest currency still in circulation. Its very first find was back in 928 by the first King of England -Athelstan. His act was aimed to help the nation grow. The name Pound Sterling is derived from an old Latin word called “poundus” which means weight.

The first sterling banknote series was introduced in 1964 by the Bank of England. Denominations were handwritten at that time. Unfortunately, there are no specific documents about the exact denomination in circulation.

In 1754, the second series was introduced in denominations available at 20, 50, 100, 200, 300, 500, and 1 000 pounds. In 1795, the £10 was introduced, followed by the £5 in 1795, and £1 and £2 in 1797. However, the lowest two notes were withdrawn in late 1815.

In 1855, the denominations were available at 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 300, 500, and 1 000 pounds; all the issued banknotes were printed on purpose.

From 1844, new banks in England and Wales were not allowed to issue notes. This led to a massive decrease in the number of private banknotes. Also, the last private banknotes issued in England were back in 1921.

The Treasury took over money production in 1914. There was only one series issued with the dismissal of £1 notes after becoming coin denominations. However, it was taken away by the Bank of England in 1928. By the time of WWII, afraid of the forgery of the Nazis, large denominations banknotes were ceased, leaving only 10 shillings, £1, and £5 notes in circulation.

After the war, £10 was reintroduced in 1964 by the Bank of England, followed by £20 in 1970, £50 in 1981. In addition, the 10 shillings and £1 notes became coins.

After leaving the EU, the pound sterling had fallen to 30 years low and 2.5 trillion Dollars was wiped away. The pound sterling is still one of the most traded currencies in the world though.

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