is pound sterling the same as british pound
Pound sterling The pound sterling (symbol: Â£; ISO code: GBP), commonly known as the pound and less commonly referred to as Sterling, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the British Antarctic Territory,[8][9] and Tristan da Cunha.[10] It is subdivided into 100 pence (singular: penny, abbreviated: p). A number of nations that do not use sterling also have currencies called the pound. At various times, the pound sterling was commodity money or bank notes backed by silver or gold, but it is currently fiat money, backed only by the economy in the areas where it is accepted. The pound sterling is the world's oldest currency still in use and which has been in continuous use since its inception.[11]
Imperial units British law now defines each imperial unit in terms of the metric equivalent. The metric system is in official use within the United Kingdom for most official applications with Imperial units remaining in widespread use amongst the public.[36] All UK roads use the imperial system except for weight limits, and newer height or width restriction signs give metric alongside imperial.[37]
Pound sterling A common slang term for the pound sterling or pound is quid, which is singular and plural, except in the common phrase "Quids in!" The term may have come via Italian immigrants from "scudo", the name for a number of coins used in Italy until the 19th century; or from Latin 'quid' via the common phrase quid pro quo, literally, "what for what," or, figuratively, "An equal exchange or substitution".[23]
Irish pound The European Exchange Rate Mechanism finally broke the one-for-one link that existed between the Irish pound and the pound sterling; by 30 March 1979 an exchange rate was introduced.[7]