Pound (currency)
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As a unit of currency, the term pound originates from the value of a Troy pound weight (Latin libra), of high purity silver, and is the currency unit of a number of countries:
- Cyprus pound in Cyprus
- Egyptian pound in Egypt
- Lebanese pound in Lebanon
- Syrian pound in Syria
- British Pound sterling or GBP (Great British Pound), issued by the Bank of England for use in England and Wales. There are also a number of related currencies at a fixed 1:1 exchange rates issued in other parts of the British Isles and British overseas territories.
Pound is also the name for the former currency of the Republic of Ireland, the Irish pound. This currency was first issued under the name Saorstįt pound in 1928 and maintained a fixed 1:1 exchange rate with sterling until 1979. The currency was replaced by the euro in 1999. There were also historic currencies called the Australian pound, New Zealand pound and South African pound.
The symbol for the pound, particularly with respect to the pound sterling legal tender in the UK and pegged to the pounds of her possessions, is a script capital letter L pierced horizontally with an endash or an equal: £.
The same £ symbol was used in Italy and the Republic of Ireland for the cognate lira and the Irish pound respectively, before the euro was introduced in these countries (although in recent times the official symbol for the Italian lira has been a capital L).
See also
- Livre tournois – French Tours Pound
- Livre Parisis – French Paris Pound
- Northern Ireland Pound
- Roman currency, from which the pound is derived.
- Pound Scots of Scotland