Introduction:
The British pound sterling is referred to as the GBP. It is the official currency in the United Kingdom and its territories of South Georgia, British Antarctic Territory, South Sandwich Islands, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. It is one of the major currencies of the world and is closely followed by traders around the globe. Zimbabwe, an African country, is an independent country which uses GBP as an official currency along with Zimbabwean Dollar. There are a lot of currencies that are attached to GBP. A few of them are Gibraltar Pound, Guernsey Pound, Jersey Pound, Falkland Islands Pound, Manx Pounds, Northern Ireland Notes, and Scotland Notes.
Pence:
The pound is broken down to smaller units. Penny sterling is one-hundredth of GBP. Pence is its plural. Several stocks are traded in pence. Stock exchanges use GBP or GBX to denote that the stocks are traded in pence and not in pounds. Despite the official full form of GBP being pound sterling, it is referred to as STG or just ‘sterling’ in foreign exchange activities and accounting.
History:
The British Pound was accorded as the United Kingdom’s official currency in the year 1707 when Scotland united with England to create a single country. Nevertheless, the creation of the British Pound dates back to the year 760. The British Pound relishes the fact that it is the world’s oldest currency that is still in use today.
The GBP, apart from being the official currency in the United Kingdom, was earlier serving as the official currency in several countries that were colonised by the British. Canada, New Zealand, and Australia are a few of the notable countries that were colonised by the British where the GBP was in use. The Bank of England began printing notes in the year 1855 and prior to that, the currency notes were made handwritten.
