pound sterling

A British unit of currency and the world’s oldest still circulating currency.

Until the 1971 currency reform, under the Carolingian monetary or coinage system, there were 20 shillings (abbreviated as s) in the pound sterling and 12 pence (d) in the shilling.

The currency has its origins in the 9th century. Until 1819, the pound sterling was a bimetallic currency, i.e. a unit consisting of 240 silver pennies with a defined weight and silver content (sterling silver) or as a unit of 0.95 gold guineas with a defined weight and gold content. As of 1816, the pound sterling was based on the gold standard.

To give an idea of the relative values: in 1750, two to four pounds sterling was the average annual per capita sum needed by an English working-class household to purchase food (Muldrew 2011). In the 18th century, a pound sterling (i.e. 20 shillings, with 12 pence in the shilling) was worth five Reichsthaler or about 150 Groschen.

The most common abbreviation for the pound sterling is £.

Cite as: pound sterling. In: Travel Reports of a Pioneer: Digital Edition of the Travel Journals of Johann Conrad Fischer 1794–1851. Published by Franziska Eggimann. Edited by Franziska Eggimann, Nicolau Lutz, Valerija Rukavina und Christopher Zoller-Blundell. Schlatt 2023, Version 1.2, https://johannconradfischer.com/en/keywords/gfa-keywords-8410, viewed on 6 June 2025.