British Pound Sterling (GBP) Profile

Currency name
Currency code
Currency symbol

£

Subunit
1/100, penny(plural: pence), symbol: p
Coins freq used
£1, £2, 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p
Coins rarely used
£5, 25p, £500 (Silver Kilo) , £1,000 (Gold Kilo)
Banknotes freq used
£5, £10, £20, £50
Banknotes rarely used
£1,£100
Central bank
Bank of England (www.bankofengland.co.uk)
Currency users

1. United Kingdom
2. British Crown dependencies: The Isle of Man; The Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey.
3. Certain British Overseas Territories: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; British Antarctic Territory, Tristan da Cunha, and British Indian Ocean Territory.
Notes: British Indian Ocean Territory uses Pound Sterling (GBP) as official currency, but U.S. dollars are used more often than not.

Currency notes

1.Nicknames: Pound Sterling, Sterling, Quid, Nicker
2.plural of pound: pounds

Currency user list

Pound sterling users

Pound sterling, commonly known as the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom (UK), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, British Crown dependencies (the Isle of Man, The Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey), and certain British Overseas Territories: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; the British Antarctic Territory, Tristan da Cunha, and British Indian Ocean Territory.

The United Kingdom (also commonly known as Britain) is an EU (European Union) member but does not use the euro as its official currency. The United Kingdom entered the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) in October 1990 but was forced to exit within two years later. ERM was a monetary system established in 1979, which was first participated in by eight countries: Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Ireland. The purpose of ERM is to reduce exchange rate variability and achieve monetary stability among Europe, meanwhile to prepare for the introduction of the euro.

Pound sterling in 3 British Crown dependencies

Pound sterling (GBP) is the legal currency of the three British Crown dependencies: Isle of Man, Guernsey, and Jersey. They also produce their own local issues of sterling: Manx pound (Isle of Man pound), Guernsey pound, and Jersey pound.

Manx pound, Guernsey pound, and Jersey pound are not separate currencies but issues of coins and banknotes denominated in Pound sterling (GBP). They do not have ISO 4217 codes; however, for commercial use, codes of IMP (Manx pound), GGP (Guernsey pound), and JEP (Jersey pound) are generally used.

Both Guernsey pound and Jersey pound circulate freely in the UK and may be accepted in some places. Manx pound is not generally accepted in the UK.

Currency of 14 British overseas territories:

British Overseas Territories are under the jurisdiction of Britain. They are the parts from the old British Empire. Some haven’t acquired independence, but some have voted to remain as territories. The fourteen British overseas territories are Anguilla, British Antarctic Territory, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St. Helena (together with Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha), Turks and Caicos Islands, Pitcairn Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Akrotiri & Dhekelia (Sovereign base areas in Cyprus).

British Crown dependencies include the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, and the Isle of Man. They use British Pound Sterling (GBP) as their official currency.

Some British overseas territories produce their separate pounds which are pegged at parity to the Pound Sterling. These pounds are Gibraltar pound (currency code: GIP), Falkland Islands (code: FKP), and Saint Helena pound (code: SHP).

Currencies of 14 British Overseas Territories,  Exchange rate refer to: Feb.4th,2013
14 British Overseas Territories Currency name Currency code 1 USD= 1 Euro= 1 GBP= Notes
British Antarctic Territory Pound sterling GBP 0.63556 0.86030 1.00000  
Tristan da Cunha Pound sterling GBP 0.63556 0.86030 1.00000  
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Pound sterling GBP 0.63538 0.86043 1.00000  
Falkland Islands Falkland Islands pound FKP 0.63538 0.86043 1.00000 FKP is pegged with GBP at par
Gibraltar Gibraltar pound GIP 0.63538 0.86043 1.00000 GIP is pegged with GBP at par
St. Helena Saint Helena pound SHP 0.63538 0.86043 1.00000 SHP is pegged with GBP at par
Ascension Island Saint Helena pound SHP 0.63538 0.86043 1.00000 SHP is pegged with GBP at par
British Indian Ocean Territory Pound Sterling GBP 1.00000 1.53960 1.57369 Pound sterling is official currency, but the U.S.dollar is used more often than not.
British Virgin Islands United States dollar USD 1.00000 1.53960 1.57369  
Turks and Caicos Islands United States Dollar USD 1.00000 1.53960 1.57369  
Anguilla East Caribbean dollar XCD 2.70000 3.65560 4.24931 Pegged with U.S. dollar
at 1 USD= 2.70 XCD
Montserrat East Caribbean dollar XCD 2.70000 3.65560 4.24931 Pegged with U.S. dollar
at 1 USD= 2.70 XCD
Bermuda Bermuda dollar BMD 1.00000 1.53960 1.57369 BMD is pegged with USD at par
Cayman Islands Cayman Islands dollar KYD 0.82000 1.11015 1.29054 KYD is pegged with USD,
at 1 KYD = 1.2 USD
Pitcairn Islands New Zealand dollar NZD 1.18276 1.60127 1.86147  
Akrotiri & Dhekelia (Sovereign base areas in Cyprus) Euro ERU 0.73861 1.00000 1.16233  

Pound sterling coins and banknotes

The sterling pound is regarded as one of the hard currencies and the third most held reserve currency in global reserves. After The United States dollar, the euro, and the Japanese yen, the sterling pound is the fourth most traded currency in the foreign exchange market.

Pound sterling is subdivided into 100 pence (singular: penny). Britain converted to decimal currency on February 15th, 1971. Currently, the oldest circulating coins in the U.K. are the 1p and 2p copper coins introduced in 1971. Frequently used Pound sterling coins are in denominations of 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1, £2. Frequently used Pound sterling banknotes are in denominations of £5, £10, £20, £50.

Pound sterling and the currency of pound

The pound is a currency unit now used in some nations as following.

Pound currencies (Exchange rate refer to: February 4th, 2013)
Currency name Currency code Users 1 USD= 1 EUR= 1 GBP= Notes
Egyptian pound EGP Egypt 6.6980 9.0472 10.5553  
Lebanese pound LBP Lebanon 1503.9800 2031.8400 2370.8900  
Sudanese pound SDG Sudan 4.4125 5.9644 6.9586  
South Sudanese  pound SSP South Sudan       SSP was newly introduced since after South Sudan became an independent state on 9 July 2011.
Syrian pound SYP Syria 70.9999 95.9257 111.9280  
Pound Sterling GBP 1. United Kingdom
2. British Crown dependencies : The  Isle of Man; The Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey.
3. Certain British Overseas Territories: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; the British Antarctic Territory, Tristan da Cunha,  and  British Indian Ocean Territory.
0.6341 0.8572 1.0000 British Indian Ocean Territory uses British Pound Sterling (GBP)as official currency, but US dollars are used more often than not. 
Falkland Islands pound FKP Falkland Islands 0.6341 0.8572 1.0000 1. Falkland Islands is British overseas territory.
2.FKP is pegged with Pound Sterling(GBP) at par.
Gibraltar pound GIP Gibraltar 0.6354 0.8604 1.0000 1. Gibraltar is British overseas territory.
2.GIP is pegged with Pound Sterling(GBP) at par.
Saint Helena pound SHP St. Helena & Ascension Island 0.6354 0.8604 1.0000 1. St. Helena & Ascension Island are British overseas territories.
2.SHP is pegged with Pound Sterling(GBP) at par.
Manx pound (Isle of Man pound) IMP Ise of Man 0.6354 0.8604 1.0000 1. IMP is not ISO code. It's generally used for commercial use. X
2.Isle of Man is British crown dependency.
3. Manx pound (Isle Man pound) is not a separate pound but an issue of coins and banknotes denominated in sterling pound. It can’t be accepted in UK.
Guernsey pound GGP Guernsey 0.6354 0.8604 1.0000 1. GGP is not ISO code. It's generally used for commercial use. X
2.Guernsey is British crown dependency.
3. Guernsey pound is not a separate pound but an issue of coins and banknotes denominated in sterling pound. It may be accepted in UK some places.
Jersey pound JEP Jersey 0.6354 0.8604 1.0000 1. JEP is not ISO code. It's generally used for commercial use. X
2.Jersey is British crown dependency.
3. Jersey pound is not a separate pound but an issue of coins and banknotes denominated in sterling pound. It may be accepted in UK some places.