Mark (unit) was also used as a unit of currency, e.g. in the 1087 poem "The Rime of King William" ("marks of gold"), in many Shakespearean plays set in medieval England, and in various incarnations in Germany and Finland until the adoption of the euro in 1999. Mark (unit) The Mark (from Middle High German: Marc, march, brand) is originally a medieval weight or mass unit, which supplanted the pound weight as a precious metals and coinage weight from the 11th century. The Mark is traditionally a half pound weight and was usually divided into 8 ounces or 16 Lot. The significance
United Kingdom and the euro United Kingdom and the euro The United Kingdom has never sought to adopt the euro as its official currency for the duration of its membership of the European Union (EU), and secured an opt-out at the euro's creation via the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. Polls have shown that the majority of British people have been against adopting the euro, and in a June 2016 referendum the UK voted to withdraw from the EU which would virtually eliminate the chance of any future adoption. Despite never being a member of the euro, the currency is used in the UK's Cypriot territories