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]
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]
Pound (mass) In the UK, the process of metrication and European units of measurement directives were expected to eliminate the use of the pound and ounce, but in 2007 the European Commission abandoned the requirement for metric-only labelling on packaged goods there, and allowed for dual metricâ€“imperial marking to continue indefinitely.[10][11] When used as a measurement of body weight the UK practice remains to use the stone of 14 pounds as the primary measure e.g. "11 stone 4 pounds", rather than "158 pounds" (as done in the US),[12] or "72 kilograms" as used elsewhere.
Gibraltar pound Notes issued are either backed by Bank of England notes at a rate of one pound to one pound sterling, or can be backed by securities issued by the Government of Gibraltar.[4] Although Gibraltar notes are denominated in "pounds sterling", they are not legal tender anywhere in the United Kingdom. Gibraltar's coins are the same weight, size and metal as British coins, although the designs are different, and they are occasionally found in circulation across Britain.
Banknotes of the pound sterling Not since 1945 has there been bigger notes than £50 issued for general circulation by the Bank of England, although banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland still use £100 notes. However, the Bank of England does produce higher-value notes that are used to maintain parity with Scottish and Northern Irish notes. Banknotes issued by Scottish and Northern Irish banks have to be backed pound for pound by Bank of England notes (other than a small amount representing the currency in circulation in 1845), and special £1 million and £100 million notes are used for this purpose. Their design is based on the old Series A notes.[41][71]
Threepence (British coin) Following decimalisation, the brass threepence ceased to be legal tender after 31 August 1971.