British currency in the Middle East pound sterling until 1972, some twelve years after Cyprus gained independence from the United Kingdom. Initially the Cyprus pound was divided into 20 "shillings" ("σελίνι" / "σελίνια", "şilin"), in common with its United Kingdom counterpart. However, unlike the United Kingdom shilling, the Cyprus shilling was divided into 9 "piastres" ("γρόσι" / "γρόσια", "kuruş"), thus establishing a nomenclature link to earlier Ottoman currency. The piastre was itself divided into 40 "para" (like the kuruş). The para denomination did not appear on any coins or banknotes but was used on postage stamps. However, the -piastre coin was equal to 10 para (παράδες)
Pound sign a reasonable approximation could be made by typing an "f" over an "L". In the punched card era, equipment sold for commercial data processing in the UK needed not only to represent the pound sign, but also to handle pre-decimal currency (pounds, shillings, and pence, including halfpennies and farthings). On Microsoft Windows, Linux and Unix, the UK keyboard layout has the "£" symbol on the 3 number key and is typed using: On a US-International keyboard in Windows, the "£" can be entered using: On a US-International keyboard in Linux and Unix, the "£" can be entered using: In Windows,