British currency in the Middle East already risen in value against the pound sterling as a result of sterling's devaluation in 1967, and so the new Omani rial was not equal in value to the dinars in the nearby territories. The currency units that are used in Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and the Yemen are all descended from the pound sterling unit, while the currency units that are used in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are all descended from the Maria Theresa Thaler. This largely explains the factor of ten difference in value on average between Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman on
Pound sterling English traders stipulated to be paid in pounds of the "Easterlings", which was contracted to "'sterling". For further discussion of the etymology of "sterling", see sterling silver. The currency sign for the pound is £, which is usually written with a single cross-bar (as on sterling bank notes), though a version with a double cross-bar (₤) is also sometimes seen. This symbol derives from medieval Latin documents; the Roman words "libra", "solidus", and "denarius" (£sd) referred to pounds, shillings and pence in the British pre-decimal (duodecimal) currency system and the black-letter "L" was the abbreviation for "libra", the basic Roman