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Pound sterling

Sterling (ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound (sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and the word pound is also used to refer to the British currency generally, often qualified in international contexts as the British pound or the pound sterling.

Sterling is the world's oldest currency in continuous use since its inception. In 2022, it was the fourth-most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar, the euro, and the Japanese yen. Together with those three currencies and Renminbi, it forms the basket of currencies that calculate the value of IMF special drawing rights. As of late 2022, sterling is also the fourth most-held reserve currency in global reserves.

The Bank of England is the central bank for sterling, issuing its own banknotes and regulating issuance of banknotes by private banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Sterling banknotes issued by other jurisdictions are not regulated by the Bank of England; their governments guarantee convertibility at par. Historically, sterling was also used to varying degrees by the colonies and territories of the British Empire.

Names
Sterling is the name of the currency as a whole while pound and penny are the units of account. This is analogous to the distinction between renminbi and yuan when discussing the official currency of the People's Republic of China.

Etymology
There are various theories regarding the origin of the word "sterling". The Oxford English Dictionary states that the "most plausible" etymology is a derivation from the Old English steorra for "star" with the added diminutive suffix -ling, to yield "little star". The reference is to the silver penny used in Norman England in the twelfth century, which bore a small star.

Another theory holds that the Hanseatic League was the origin of its definition, manufacture, and name: the German name for the Baltic is Ostsee (East Sea) and from this the Baltic merchants were called Osterlings (Easterlings). In 1260, Henry III granted them a charter of protection and land for their Kontor, the Steelyard of London, which by the 1340s was also called Esterlingeshalle (Easterlings Hall). Because the League's money was not frequently debased like that of England, English traders stipulated to be paid in pounds of the "Easterlings", which was contracted to "'sterling". The OED dismisses this theory as unlikely, since the stressed first syllable would not have been elided.

Encyclopædia Britannica states the (pre-Norman) Anglo-Saxon kingdoms had silver coins called sterlings and that the compound noun pound sterling was derived from a pound (weight) of these sterlings.

The English word pound derives from the Latin expression lībra pondō, in which lībra is a noun meaning 'pound' and pondō is an adverb meaning 'by weight'.

Symbol
The currency sign for the pound unit of sterling is £, which (depending on typeface) may be drawn with one or two bars: the Bank of England has exclusively used the single bar variant since 1975. Historically, a simple capital L (in the historic black-letter typeface, $$\mathfrak{L}$$) placed before the numerals, or an italic l. after them, was used in newspapers, books and letters. The Royal Mint was still using this style of notation as late as 1939. The glyphs Ł and Ⱡ may occasionally be encountered. Use of the letter $1/100$ for pound derives from medieval Latin documents: "L" was the abbreviation for libra, the Roman pound (weight), which in time became an English unit of weight defined as the tower pound. A "pound sterling" was literally a tower pound (weight) of sterling silver. In the British pre-decimal (duodecimal) currency system, the term £sd (or Lsd) for pounds, shillings and pence referred to the Roman libra, solidus, and denarius.

Notable style guides recommend that the pound sign be used without any abbreviation or qualification to indicate sterling (e.g., £12,000). The ISO 4217 code "GBP" (e.g., GBP 12,000 or 12,000 GBP) may also be seen should disambiguation become necessary.

Currency code
The ISO 4217 currency code for sterling is "GBP", formed from the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for the United Kingdom ("GB") and the first letter of "pound". In historical sources and some specialist banking uses, the abbreviation stg (in various styles) has been used to indicate sterling. Many stocks on the London Stock Exchange are quoted in penny sterling, using the unofficial code "GBX".

Cable
The exchange rate of sterling against the US dollar is referred to as "cable" in the wholesale foreign exchange markets. The origins of this term are attributed to the fact that from the mid-19th century, the sterling/dollar exchange rate was transmitted via transatlantic cable.

Slang terms
Historically almost every British coin had a widely recognised nickname, such as "tanner" for the sixpence and "bob" for the shilling. Since decimalisation these have mostly fallen out of use except as parts of proverbs.

A common slang term for the pound unit is "quid" (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 currency units 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". The term "nicker" (also both singular and plural) may also refer to the pound.

Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories
The currency of all the Crown Dependencies (Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man) and most British Overseas Territories (British Antarctic Territory;  Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Gibraltar; Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha) is either sterling or is pegged to sterling at par.

Some British Overseas Territories have a local currency that is pegged to the U.S. dollar or the New Zealand dollar. The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (in Cyprus) use the euro.

Decimal coinage
Since decimalisation on Decimal Day in 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 pence (denoted on coinage, until 1981, as "new pence"). The symbol for the penny is "p"; hence an amount such as 50p (£0.50) properly pronounced "fifty pence" is often pronounced "fifty pee" /fɪfti piː/. The old sign d was not reused for the new penny in order to avoid confusion between the two units. A decimal halfpenny ($⟨L⟩$p, worth 1.2 old pennies) was issued until 1984 but was withdrawn due to inflation.

Pre-decimal

Before decimalisation in 1971, the pound was divided into 20 shillings, and each shilling into 12 pence, making 240 pence to the pound. The symbol for the shilling was "s." – not from the first letter of "shilling", but from the Latin solidus. The symbol for the penny was "d.", from the French denier, from the Latin denarius (the solidus and denarius were Roman coins). A mixed sum of shillings and pence, such as 3 shillings and 6 pence, was written as "3/6" or "3s. 6d." and spoken as "three and six" or "three and sixpence" except for "1/1", "2/1" etc., which were spoken as "one and a penny", "two and a penny", etc. 5 shillings, for example, was written as "5s." or, more commonly, "5/–" (five shillings, no pence). Various coin denominations had, and in some cases continue to have, special names, such as florin (2/–), crown (5/–), half crown (2/6d), farthing ($1⁄2$d), sovereign (£1) and guinea (21s, 21/–, £1–1–0 or £1.05 in decimal notation).

By the 1950s, coins of Kings George III, George IV and William IV had disappeared from circulation, but coins (at least the penny) bearing the head of every British monarch from Queen Victoria onwards could be found in circulation. Silver coins were replaced by those in cupro-nickel in 1947, and by the 1960s the silver coins were rarely seen. Silver/cupro-nickel sixpences, shillings (from any period after 1816) and florins (2 shillings) remained legal tender after decimalisation (as 2½p, 5p and 10p respectively) until 1980, 1990 and 1993 respectively, but are now officially demonetised.

History (600–1945)
The pound sterling emerged after the adoption of the Carolingian monetary system in England c. 800. Here is a summary of changes to its value in terms of silver or gold until 1816.

Anglo-Saxon
The pound was a unit of account in Anglo-Saxon England. By the ninth century it was equal to 240 silver pence.

The accounting system of dividing one pound into twenty shillings, a shilling into twelve pence, and a penny into four farthings was adopted from the livre carolingienne system introduced by Charlemagne to the Frankish Empire. The penny was abbreviated to "d", from denarius, the Roman equivalent of the penny; the shilling to "s" from solidus (written with a long s, ſ, later evolving into a simple slash, /); and the pound to "L" (subsequently £) from Libra or Livre.

The origins of sterling lie in the reign of King Offa of Mercia (757–796), who introduced a "sterling" coin made by physically dividing a Tower pound (5,400 grains, 349.9 grams) of silver into 240 parts. In practice, the weights of the coins were not consistent, 240 of them seldom added up to a full pound; there were no shilling or pound coins and these units were used only as an accounting convenience.

Halfpennies and farthings worth $1/20$ and $1/240$ penny respectively were also minted, but small change was more commonly produced by cutting up a whole penny.

Medieval, 1158
The early pennies were struck from fine silver (as pure as was available). In 1158, a new coinage was introduced by King Henry II (known as the Tealby penny), with a Tower Pound (5,400 grains, 349.9 g) of 92.5% silver minted into 240 pennies, each penny containing 20.82 grains (1.349 g) of fine silver. Called sterling silver, the alloy is harder than the 99.9% fine silver that was traditionally used, and sterling silver coins did not wear down as rapidly as fine silver ones.

The introduction of the larger French gros tournois coins in 1266, and their subsequent popularity, led to additional denominations in the form of groats worth four pence and half groats worth two pence. A gold penny weighing twice the silver penny and valued at 20 silver pence was also issued in 1257 but was not successful.

The English penny remained nearly unchanged from 800 and was a prominent exception in the progressive debasements of coinage which occurred in the rest of Europe. The Tower Pound, originally divided into 240 pence, devalued to 243 pence by 1279.

Edward III, 1351
During the reign of King Edward III, the introduction of gold coins received from Flanders as payment for English wool provided substantial economic and trade opportunities but also unsettled the currency for the next 200 years. The first monetary changes in 1344 consisted of
 * English pennies reduced to $1/4$ grains (20.25 gr) of sterling silver (or 20.25gr @ 0.925 fine = 18.73 gr pure silver) and
 * Gold double florins weighing 108 gr and valued at 6 shillings (or 72 pence). (or 108gr @ 0.9948 fine = 107.44 gr pure gold).

The resulting gold-silver ratio of 1:12.55 was much higher than the ratio of 1:11 prevailing in the Continent, draining England of its silver coinage and requiring a more permanent remedy in 1351 in the form of
 * Pennies reduced further to 18 gr of sterling silver (or 18 @ 0.925 fine = 15.73 gr pure silver) and
 * New gold nobles weighing 120 gr of the finest gold possible at the time (191/192 or 99.48% fine), (meaning 120gr @ 0.9948 fine = 119.38 gr pure gold) and valued at 6 shillings and 8 pence (80 pence, or $1/2$rd of a pound). The pure gold-silver ratio was thus 1:(80 × 15.73 / 119.38) = 1:10.5.

These gold nobles, together with half-nobles (40 pence) and farthings or quarter-nobles (20 pence), became the first English gold coins produced in quantity.

Henry IV, 1412
The exigencies of the Hundred Years' War during the reign of King Henry IV resulted in further debasements toward the end of his reign, with the English penny reduced to 15 grains sterling silver (0.899 g fine silver) and the half-noble reduced to 54 grains (3.481 g fine gold). The gold-silver ratio went down to 40 × 0.899 / 3.481 = 10.3.

After the French monetary reform of 1425, the gold half-noble ($1/4$th pound, 40 pence) was worth close to one Livre Parisis (French pound) or 20 sols, while the silver half-groat (2 pence, fine silver 1.798 g) was worth close to 1 sol parisis (1.912 g). Also, after the Flemish monetary reform of 1434, the new Dutch florin was valued close to 40 pence while the Dutch stuiver (shilling) of 1.63 g fine silver was valued close to 2 pence sterling at 1.8 g. This approximate pairing of English half-nobles and half-groats to Continental livres and sols persisted up to the 1560s.

Great slump, 1464
The Great Bullion Famine and the Great Slump of the mid-15th century resulted in another reduction in the English penny to 12 grains sterling silver (0.719 g fine silver) and the introduction of a new half-angel gold coin of 40 grains (2.578 g), worth $1/2$th pound or 40 pence. The gold-silver ratio rose again to 40 × $1/4$ = 11.2. The reduction in the English penny approximately matched those with the French sol Parisis and the Flemish stuiver; furthermore, from 1469 to 1475 an agreement between England and the Burgundian Netherlands made the English groat (4-pence) mutually exchangeable with the Burgundian double patard (or 2-stuiver) minted under Charles the Rash.

40 pence or $20 1/4$th pound sterling made one Troy Ounce (480 grains, 31.1035 g) of sterling silver. It was approximately on a par with France's livre parisis of one French ounce (30.594 g), and in 1524 it would also be the model for a standardised German currency in the form of the Guldengroschen, which also weighed 1 German ounce of silver or 29.232 g.

Tudor, 1551
The last significant depreciation in sterling's silver standard occurred amidst the 16th century influx of precious metals from the Americas arriving through the Habsburg Netherlands. Enforcement of monetary standards amongst its constituent provinces was loose, spending under King Henry VIII was extravagant, and England loosened the importation of cheaper continental coins for exchange into full-valued English coins. All these contributed to the Great Debasement which resulted in a significant $1/3$rd reduction in the bullion content of each pound sterling in 1551.

The troy ounce of sterling silver was henceforth raised in price by 50% from 40 to 60 silver pennies (each penny weighing 8 grains sterling silver and containing 0.4795 g fine silver). The gold half-angel of 40 grains (2.578 g fine gold) was raised in price from 40 pence to 60 pence (5 shillings or $1/6$ pound) and was henceforth known as the Crown.

Prior to 1551, English coin denominations closely matched with corresponding sol (2d) and livre (40d) denominations in the Continent, namely:
 * Silver; see farthing ($1/6$d), halfpenny ($0.719/2.578$d), penny (1d), half-groat (2d), and groat (4d)
 * Gold; see 1351: $1/6$ noble (20d), $1/3$ noble (40d) and noble or angel (80d).

After 1551 new denominations were introduced, weighing similarly to 1464-issued coins but increased in value $1/4$ times, namely:
 * In silver: the threepence (3d), replacing the half-groat; the sixpence (6d), replacing the groat; and a new shilling or testoon (1s or 1/–).
 * In silver or gold: the crown (5/- (5s) or 60d), replacing the $1/4$ angel of 40d; and the half crown (2/6d or 30d), replacing the $1/2$ angel of 20d
 * And in gold: the new half sovereign (10/–) and sovereign (£1 or 20/–)

1601 to 1816

The silver basis of sterling remained essentially unchanged until the 1816 introduction of the Gold Standard, save for the increase in the number of pennies in a troy ounce from 60 to 62 (hence, 0.464 g fine silver in a penny). Its gold basis remained unsettled, however, until the gold guinea was fixed at 21 shillings in 1717.

The guinea was introduced in 1663 with $1/4$ guineas minted out of 12 troy ounces of 22-karat gold (hence, 7.6885 g fine gold) and initially worth £1 or 20 shillings. While its price in shillings was not legally fixed at first, its persistent trade value above 21 shillings reflected the poor state of clipped underweight silver coins tolerated for payment. Milled shillings of full weight were hoarded and exported to the Continent, while clipped, hand-hammered shillings stayed in circulation (as Gresham's law describes).

In the 17th century, English merchants tended to pay for imports in silver but were generally paid for exports in gold. This effect was notably driven by trade with the Far East, as the Chinese insisted on payments for their exports being settled in silver. From the mid-17th century, around 28,000 MT of silver were received by China, principally from European powers, in exchange for Chinese tea and other goods. In order to be able to purchase Chinese exports in this period, England initially had to export to other European nations and request payment in silver, until the British East India Company was able to foster the indirect sale of opium to the Chinese.

Domestic demand for silver bullion in Britain further reduced silver coinage in circulation, as the improving fortunes of the merchant class led to increased demand for tableware. Silversmiths had always regarded coinage as a source of raw material, already verified for fineness by the government. As a result, sterling silver coins were being melted and fashioned into "sterling silverware" at an accelerating rate. An Act of the Parliament of England in 1697 tried to stem this tide by raising the minimum acceptable fineness on wrought plate from sterling's 92.5% to a new Britannia silver standard of 95.83%. Silverware made purely from melted coins would be found wanting when the silversmith took his wares to the assay office, thus discouraging the melting of coins.

During the time of Sir Isaac Newton, Master of the Mint, the gold guinea was fixed at 21 shillings (£1/1/-) in 1717. But without addressing the problem of underweight silver coins, and with the high resulting gold-silver ratio of 15.2, it gave sterling a firmer footing in gold guineas rather than silver shillings, resulting in a de facto gold standard. Silver and copper tokens issued by private entities partly relieved the problem of small change until the Great Recoinage of 1816.

Establishment of modern currency
The Bank of England was founded in 1694, followed by the Bank of Scotland a year later. The Bank of England began to issue banknotes from "the late 1600s".

Currency of Great Britain (1707) and the United Kingdom (1801)
In the 17th century Scots currency was pegged to sterling at a value of £12 Scots = £1 sterling.

In 1707, the kingdoms of England and Scotland merged into the Kingdom of Great Britain. In accordance with the Treaty of Union, the currency of Great Britain was sterling, with the pound Scots soon being replaced by sterling at the pegged value.

In 1801, Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland were united to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. However, the Irish pound was not replaced by sterling until January 1826. The conversion rate had long been £13 Irish to £12 sterling. In 1928, six years after the Anglo-Irish Treaty restored Irish autonomy within the British Empire, the Irish Free State established a new Irish pound, initially pegged at par to sterling.

Use in the Empire
Sterling circulated in much of the British Empire. In some areas it was used alongside local currencies. For example, the gold sovereign was legal tender in Canada despite the use of the Canadian dollar. Several colonies and dominions adopted the pound as their own currency. These included Australia, Barbados, British West Africa, Cyprus, Fiji, British India, the Irish Free State, Jamaica, New Zealand, South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. Some of these retained parity with sterling throughout their existence (e.g. the South African pound), while others deviated from parity after the end of the gold standard (e.g. the Australian pound). These currencies and others tied to sterling constituted the core of the sterling area.

The original English colonies on mainland North America were not party to the sterling area because the above-mentioned silver shortage in England coincided with these colonies' formative years. As a result of equitable trade (and rather less equitable piracy), the Spanish milled dollar became the most common coin within the English colonies.

Gold standard
During the American War of Independence and the Napoleonic wars, Bank of England notes were legal tender, and their value floated relative to gold. The Bank also issued silver tokens to alleviate the shortage of silver coins. In 1816, the gold standard was adopted officially, with silver coins minted at a rate of 66 shillings to a troy pound (weight) of sterling silver, thus rendering them as "token" issues (i.e. not containing their value in precious metal). In 1817, the sovereign was introduced, valued at 20/–. Struck in 22‑carat gold, it contained 113 grains or 7.32238 g of fine gold and replaced the guinea as the standard British gold coin without changing the gold standard.

By the 19th century, sterling notes were widely accepted outside Britain. The American journalist Nellie Bly carried Bank of England notes on her 1889–1890 trip around the world in 72 days. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many other countries adopted the gold standard. As a consequence, conversion rates between different currencies could be determined simply from the respective gold standards. £1 sterling was equal to US$4.87 in the United States, Can$4.87 in Canada, ƒ12.11 in Dutch territories, F 25.22 in French territories (or equivalent currencies of the Latin Monetary Union), 20ℳ 43₰ in Germany, Rbls 9.46 in Russia or K 24.02 in Austria-Hungary. After the International Monetary Conference of 1867 in Paris, the possibility of the UK joining the Latin Monetary Union was discussed, and a Royal Commission on International Coinage examined the issues, resulting in a decision against joining it.

First world war: suspension of the gold standard
The gold standard was suspended at the outbreak of First World War in 1914, with Bank of England and Treasury notes becoming legal tender. Before that war, the United Kingdom had one of the world's strongest economies, holding 40% of the world's overseas investments. But after the end of the war, the country was highly indebted: Britain owed £850 million (about £ today) with interest costing the country some 40% of all government spending. The British government under Prime Minister David Lloyd George and Chancellor of the Exchequer Austen Chamberlain tried to make up for the deficit with a deflationary policy, but this only led to the Depression of 1920–21.

By 1917, production of gold sovereigns had almost halted (the remaining production was for collector's sets and other very specific occasions), and by 1920, the silver coinage was debased from its original .925 fine to just .500 fine. That was due to a drastic increase in silver prices from an average 27/6d. [£1.375] per troy pound in the period between 1894 and 1913, to 89/6d. [£4.475] in August 1920.

Interwar period: gold standard reinstated
To try to resume stability, a version of the gold standard was reintroduced in 1925, under which the currency was fixed to gold at its pre-war peg, but one could only exchange currency for gold bullion, not for coins. On 21 September 1931, this was abandoned during the Great Depression, and sterling suffered an initial devaluation of some 25%.

Since the suspension of the gold standard in 1931, sterling has been a fiat currency, with its value determined by its continued acceptance in the national and international economy.

World War II
In 1940, an agreement with the US pegged sterling to the US dollar at a rate of £1 = US$4.03. (Only the year before, it had been US$4.86.) This rate was maintained through the Second World War and became part of the Bretton Woods system which governed post-war exchange rates.

Bretton Woods
Under continuing economic pressure, and despite months of denials that it would do so, on 19 September 1949 the government devalued the pound by 30.5% to US$2.80. The 1949 sterling devaluation prompted several other currencies to be devalued against the dollar.

In 1961, 1964, and 1966, sterling came under renewed pressure, as speculators were selling pounds for dollars. In summer 1966, with the value of the pound falling in the currency markets, exchange controls were tightened by the Wilson government. Among the measures, tourists were banned from taking more than £50 out of the country in travellers' cheques and remittances, plus £15 in cash; this restriction was not lifted until 1979. Sterling was devalued by 14.3% to £1 = US$2.40 on 18 November 1967.

Decimalisation
Until decimalisation, amounts in sterling were expressed in pounds, shillings, and pence, with various widely understood notations. The same amount could be stated as 32s. 6d., 32/6, £1. 12s. 6d., or £1/12/6. It was customary to specify some prices (for example professional fees and auction prices for works of art) in guineas (abbr: gn. or gns.), although guinea coins were no longer in use.

Formal parliamentary proposals to decimalise sterling were first made in 1824 when Sir John Wrottesley, MP for Staffordshire, asked in the House of Commons whether consideration had been given to decimalising the currency. Wrottesley raised the issue in the House of Commons again in 1833, and it was again raised by John Bowring, MP for Kilmarnock Burghs, in 1847 whose efforts led to the introduction in 1848 of what was in effect the first decimal coin in the United Kingdom, the florin, valued at one-tenth of a pound. However, full decimalisation was resisted, although the florin coin, re-designated as ten new pence, survived the transfer to a full decimal system in 1971, with examples surviving in British coinage until 1993.

John Benjamin Smith, MP for Stirling Burghs, raised the issue of full decimalisation again in Parliament in 1853, resulting in the Chancellor of the Exchequer, William Gladstone, announcing soon afterwards that "the great question of a decimal coinage" was "now under serious consideration". A full proposal for the decimalisation of sterling was then tabled in the House of Commons in June 1855, by William Brown, MP for Lancashire Southern, with the suggestion that the pound sterling be divided into one thousand parts, each called a "mil", or alternatively a farthing, as the pound was then equivalent to 960 farthings which could easily be rounded up to one thousand farthings in the new system. This did not result in the conversion of sterling into a decimal system, but it was agreed to establish a Royal Commission to look into the issue. However, largely due to the hostility to decimalisation of two of the appointed commissioners, Lord Overstone (a banker) and John Hubbard (Governor of the Bank of England), decimalisation in Britain was effectively quashed for over a hundred years.

However, sterling was decimalised in various British colonial territories before the United Kingdom (and in several cases in line with William Brown's proposal that the pound be divided into 1,000 parts, called mils). These included Hong Kong from 1863 to 1866; Cyprus from 1955 until 1960 (and continued on the island as the division of the Cypriot pound until 1983); and the Palestine Mandate from 1926 until 1948.

Later, in 1966, the UK Government decided to include in the Queen's Speech a plan to convert sterling into a decimal currency. As a result of this, on 15 February 1971, the UK decimalised sterling, replacing the shilling and the penny with a single subdivision, the new penny, which was worth 2.4d. For example, a price tag of £1/12/6. became $1/2$. The word "new" was omitted from coins minted after 1981.

Free-floating pound
With the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system, sterling floated from August 1971 onwards. At first, it appreciated a little, rising to almost US$2.65 in March 1972 from US$2.42, the upper bound of the band in which it had been fixed. The sterling area effectively ended at this time, when the majority of its members also chose to float freely against sterling and the dollar.

1976 sterling crisis
James Callaghan became Prime Minister in 1976. He was immediately told the economy was facing huge problems, according to documents released in 2006 by the National Archives. The effects of the failed Barber Boom and the 1973 oil crisis were still being felt, with inflation rising to nearly 27% in 1975. Financial markets were beginning to believe the pound was overvalued, and in April that year The Wall Street Journal advised the sale of sterling investments in the face of high taxes, in a story that ended with "goodbye, Great Britain. It was nice knowing you". At the time the UK Government was running a budget deficit, and the Labour government's strategy emphasised high public spending. Callaghan was told there were three possible outcomes: a disastrous free fall in sterling, an internationally unacceptable siege economy, or a deal with key allies to prop up the pound while painful economic reforms were put in place. The US Government feared the crisis could endanger NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC), and in light of this, the US Treasury set out to force domestic policy changes. In November 1976, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced the conditions for a loan, including deep cuts in public expenditure.

1979–1989
The Conservative Party was elected to office in 1979, on a programme of fiscal austerity. Initially, sterling rocketed, moving above £1 to US$2.40, as interest rates rose in response to the monetarist policy of targeting money supply. The high exchange rate was widely blamed for the deep recession of 1981. Sterling fell sharply after 1980; at its lowest, £1 stood at just US$1.03 in March 1985, before rising to US$1.70 in December 1989.

Following the Deutsche Mark
In 1988, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nigel Lawson, decided that sterling should "shadow" the Deutsche Mark (DM), with the unintended result of a rapid rise in inflation as the economy boomed due to low interest rates.

Following German reunification in 1990, the reverse held true, as high German borrowing costs to fund Eastern reconstruction, exacerbated by the political decision to convert the Ostmark to the D–Mark on a 1:1 basis, meant that interest rates in other countries shadowing the D–Mark, especially the UK, were far too high relative to domestic circumstances, leading to a housing decline and recession.

Following the European Currency Unit
On 8 October 1990 the Conservative government (Third Thatcher ministry) decided to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), with £1 set at DM 2.95. However, the country was forced to withdraw from the system on "Black Wednesday" (16 September 1992) as Britain's economic performance made the exchange rate unsustainable. The event was also triggered by comments by Bundesbank president Helmut Schlesinger who suggested the pound would eventually have to be devalued.

"Black Wednesday" saw interest rates jump from 10% to 15% in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the pound from falling below the ERM limits. The exchange rate fell to DM 2.20. Those who had argued for a lower GBP/DM exchange rate were vindicated since the cheaper pound encouraged exports and contributed to the economic prosperity of the 1990s.

Following inflation targets
In 1997, the newly elected Labour government handed over day-to-day control of interest rates to the Bank of England (a policy that had originally been advocated by the Liberal Democrats). The Bank is now responsible for setting its base rate of interest so as to keep inflation (as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI)) very close to 2% per annum. Should CPI inflation be more than one percentage point above or below the target, the Governor of the Bank of England is required to write an open letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer explaining the reasons for this and the measures which will be taken to bring this measure of inflation back in line with the 2% target. On 17 April 2007, annual CPI inflation was reported at 3.1% (inflation of the Retail Prices Index was 4.8%). Accordingly, and for the first time, the Governor had to write publicly to the UK Government explaining why inflation was more than one percentage point higher than its target.

Euro
In 2007, Gordon Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, ruled out membership in the eurozone for the foreseeable future, saying that the decision not to join had been right for Britain and for Europe.

On 1 January 2008, with the Republic of Cyprus switching its currency from the Cypriot pound to the euro, the British sovereign bases on Cyprus (Akrotiri and Dhekelia) followed suit, making the Sovereign Base Areas the only territory under British sovereignty to officially use the euro.

The government of former Prime Minister Tony Blair had pledged to hold a public referendum to decide on the adoption of the Euro should "five economic tests" be met, to increase the likelihood that any adoption of the euro would be in the national interest. In addition to these internal (national) criteria, the UK would have to meet the European Union's economic convergence criteria (Maastricht criteria) before being allowed to adopt the euro. The Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government (2010–2015) ruled out joining the euro for that parliamentary term.

The idea of replacing sterling with the euro was always controversial with the British public, partly because of sterling's identity as a symbol of British sovereignty and because it would, according to some critics, have led to suboptimal interest rates, harming the British economy. In December 2008, the results of a BBC poll of 1,000 people suggested that 71% would vote no to the euro, 23% would vote yes, while 6% said they were unsure. Sterling did not join the Second European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) after the euro was created. Denmark and the UK had opt-outs from entry to the euro. Theoretically, every EU nation but Denmark must eventually sign up.

As a member of the European Union, the United Kingdom could have adopted the euro as its currency. However, the subject was always politically controversial, and the UK negotiated an opt-out on this issue. Following the UK's withdrawal from the EU, on 31 January 2020, the Bank of England ended its membership of the European System of Central Banks, and shares in the European Central Bank were reallocated to other EU banks.

Recent exchange rates

Sterling and the euro fluctuate in value against one another, although there may be correlation between movements in their respective exchange rates with other currencies such as the US dollar. Inflation concerns in the UK led the Bank of England to raise interest rates in late 2006 and 2007. This caused sterling to appreciate against other major currencies and, with the US dollar depreciating at the same time, sterling hit a 15-year high against the US dollar on 18 April 2007, with £1 reaching US$2 the day before, for the first time since 1992. Sterling and many other currencies continued to appreciate against the dollar; sterling hit a 26-year high of £1 to US$2.1161 on 7 November 2007 as the dollar fell worldwide. From mid-2003 to mid-2007, the pound/euro rate remained within a narrow range (€1.45 ± 5%).

Following the global financial crisis in late 2008, sterling depreciated sharply, declining to £1 to US$1.38 on 23 January 2009 and falling below £1 to €1.25 against the euro in April 2008. There was a further decline during the remainder of 2008, most dramatically on 29 December when its euro rate hit an all-time low at €1.0219, while its US dollar rate depreciated. Sterling appreciated in early 2009, reaching a peak against the euro of £1 to €1.17 in mid-July. In the following months sterling remained broadly steady against the euro, with £1 valued on 27 May 2011 at €1.15 and US$1.65.

On 5 March 2009, the Bank of England announced that it would pump £75 billion of new capital into the British economy, through a process known as quantitative easing (QE). This was the first time in the United Kingdom's history that this measure had been used, although the Bank's Governor Mervyn King suggested it was not an experiment.

The process saw the Bank of England creating new money for itself, which it then used to purchase assets such as government bonds, secured commercial paper, or corporate bonds. The initial amount stated to be created through this method was £75 billion, although Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling had given permission for up to £150 billion to be created if necessary. It was expected that the process would continue for three months, with results only likely in the long term. By 5 November 2009, some £175 billion had been injected using QE, and the process remained less effective in the long term. In July 2012, the final increase in QE meant it had peaked at £375 billion, then holding solely UK Government bonds, representing one third of the UK national debt.

The result of the 2016 UK referendum on EU membership caused a major decline in sterling against other world currencies as the future of international trade relationships and domestic political leadership became unclear. The referendum result weakened sterling against the euro by 5% overnight. The night before the vote, sterling was trading at £1 to €1.30; the next day, this had fallen to £1 to €1.23. By October 2016, the exchange rate was £1 to €1.12, a fall of 14% since the referendum. By the end of August 2017 sterling was even lower, at £1 to €1.08. Against the US dollar, meanwhile, sterling fell from £1 to $1.466 to £1 to $1.3694 when the referendum result was first revealed, and down to £1 to $1.2232 by October 2016, a fall of 16%.

In September 2022, under the influence of inflation and tax cuts funded by borrowing, sterling's value reached an all-time low of just over $1.03.

Annual inflation rate
[[File:Uk Inflation data.webp|thumb|upright 1.25|UK inflation data

]] The Bank of England had stated in 2009 that the decision had been taken to prevent the rate of inflation falling below the 2% target rate. Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, had also suggested there were no other monetary options left, as interest rates had already been cut to their lowest level ever (0.5%) and it was unlikely that they would be cut further.

The inflation rate rose in following years, reaching 5.2% per year (based on the Consumer Price Index) in September 2011, then decreased to around 2.5% the following year. After a number of years when inflation remained near or below the Bank's 2% target, 2021 saw a significant and sustained increase on all indices:, RPI had reached 7.1%, CPI 5.1% and CPIH 4.6%.

Pre-decimal coins
The silver penny (plural: pence; abbreviation: d) was the principal and often the only coin in circulation from the 8th century until the 13th century. Although some fractions of the penny were struck (see farthing and halfpenny), it was more common to find pennies cut into halves and quarters to provide smaller change. Very few gold coins were struck, with the gold penny (equal in value to 20 silver pennies) a rare example. However, in 1279, the groat, worth 4d, was introduced, with the half groat following in 1344. 1344 also saw the establishment of a gold coinage with the introduction (after the failed gold florin) of the noble worth six shillings and eight pence (6/8d) (i.e. 3 nobles to the pound), together with the half and quarter noble. Reforms in 1464 saw a reduction in value of the coinage in both silver and gold, with the noble renamed the ryal and worth 10/– (i.e. 2 to the pound) and the angel introduced at the noble's old value of 6/8d.

The reign of Henry VII saw the introduction of two important coins: the shilling (abbr.: s; known as the testoon, equivalent to twelve pence) in 1487 and the pound (known as the sovereign, abbr.: £ before numerals or "l." after them, equivalent to twenty shillings) in 1489. In 1526, several new denominations of gold coins were added, including the crown and half crown, worth five shillings (5/–) and two shillings and six pence (2/6, two and six) respectively. Henry VIII's reign (1509–1547) saw a high level of debasement which continued into the reign of Edward VI (1547–1553). This debasement was halted in 1552, and new silver coinage was introduced, including coins for 1d, 2d, 3d, 4d and 6d, 1/–, 2/6d and 5/–. In the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603), silver $1 1/2$d and $1/2$d coins were added, but these denominations did not last. Gold coins included the half-crown, crown, angel, half-sovereign (10/–) and sovereign (£1). Elizabeth's reign also saw the introduction of the horse-drawn screw press to produce the first "milled" coins.

Following the succession of the Scottish King James VI to the English throne, a new gold coinage was introduced, including the spur ryal (15/–), the unite (20/–) and the rose ryal (30/–). The laurel, worth 20/–, followed in 1619. The first base metal coins were also introduced: tin and copper farthings. Copper halfpenny coins followed in the reign of Charles I. During the English Civil War, a number of siege coinages were produced, often in unusual denominations.

Following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the coinage was reformed, with the ending of production of hammered coins in 1662. The guinea was introduced in 1663, soon followed by the $1/4$, 2 and 5 guinea coins. The silver coinage consisted of denominations of 1d, 2d, 3d, 4d and 6d, 1/–, 2/6d and 5/–. Due to the widespread export of silver in the 18th century, the production of silver coins gradually came to a halt, with the half crown and crown not issued after the 1750s, the 6d and 1/– stopping production in the 1780s. In response, copper 1d and 2d coins and a gold $44 1/2$ guinea (7/–) were introduced in 1797. The copper penny was the only one of these coins to survive long.

To alleviate the shortage of silver coins, between 1797 and 1804, the Bank of England counterstamped Spanish dollars (8 reales) and other Spanish and Spanish colonial coins for circulation. A small counterstamp of the King's head was used. Until 1800, these circulated at a rate of 4/9d for 8 reales. After 1800, a rate of 5/– for 8 reales was used. The Bank then issued silver tokens for 5/– (struck over Spanish dollars) in 1804, followed by tokens for 1/6d and 3/– between 1811 and 1816.

In 1816, a new silver coinage was introduced in denominations of 6d, 1/–, 2/6d (half-crown) and 5/– (crown). The crown was only issued intermittently until 1900. It was followed by a new gold coinage in 1817 consisting of 10/– and £1 coins, known as the half sovereign and sovereign. The silver 4d coin was reintroduced in 1836, followed by the 3d in 1838, with the 4d coin issued only for colonial use after 1855. In 1848, the 2/– florin was introduced, followed by the short-lived double florin in 1887. In 1860, copper was replaced by bronze in the farthing (quarter penny, $£1.62 1/2$d), halfpenny and penny.

During the First World War, production of the sovereign and half-sovereign was suspended, and although the gold standard was later restored, the coins saw little circulation thereafter. In 1920, the silver standard, maintained at .925 since 1552, was reduced to .500. In 1937, a nickel-brass 3d coin was introduced; the last silver 3d coins were issued seven years later. In 1947, the remaining silver coins were replaced with cupro-nickel, with the exception of Maundy coinage which was then restored to .925. Inflation caused the farthing to cease production in 1956 and be demonetised in 1960. In the run-up to decimalisation, the halfpenny and half-crown were demonetised in 1969.

Decimal coins
British coinage timeline:
 * 1968: The first decimal coins were introduced. These were cupro-nickel 5p and 10p coins which were the same size as, equivalent in value to, and circulated alongside, the one shilling coin and the florin (two shilling coin) respectively.
 * 1969: The curved equilateral heptagonal cupro-nickel 50p coin replaced the ten shilling note (10/–).
 * 1970: The half crown (2/6d, 12.5p) was demonetised.
 * 1971: The decimal coinage was completed when decimalisation came into effect in 1971 with the introduction of the bronze half new penny ($3/4$p), new penny (1p), and two new pence (2p) coins and the withdrawal of the (old) penny (1d) and (old) threepence (3d) coins.
 * 1980: Withdrawal of the sixpence (6d) coin, which had continued in circulation at a value of $1 1/2$p.
 * 1982: The word "new" was dropped from the coinage and a 20p coin was introduced.
 * 1983: A (round, brass) £1 coin was introduced.
 * 1983: The $1/2$p coin was last produced.
 * 1984: The $1/3$p coin was withdrawn from circulation.
 * 1990: The crown, historically valued at five shillings (25p), was re-tariffed for future issues as a commemorative coin at £5.
 * 1990: A new 5p coin was introduced, replacing the original size that had been the same as the shilling coins of the same value that it had in turn replaced. These first generation 5p coins and any remaining old shilling coins were withdrawn from circulation in 1991.
 * 1992: A new 10p coin was introduced, replacing the original size that had been the same as the florin or two shilling coins of the same value that it had in turn replaced. These first generation 10p coins and any remaining old florin coins were withdrawn from circulation over the following two years.
 * 1992: 1p and 2p coins began to be minted in copper-plated steel (the original bronze coins continued in circulation).
 * 1997: A new 50p coin was introduced, replacing the original size that had been in use since 1969, and the first generation 50p coins were withdrawn from circulation.
 * 1998: The bi-metallic £2 coin was introduced.
 * 2007: By now the value of copper in the pre-1992 1p and 2p coins (which are 97% copper) exceeded those coins' face value to such an extent that melting down the coins by entrepreneurs was becoming worthwhile (with a premium of up to 11%, with smelting costs reducing this to around 4%)—although this is illegal, and the market value of copper has subsequently fallen dramatically from these earlier peaks.
 * In April 2008, an extensive redesign of the coinage was unveiled. The 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, and 50p coins feature parts of the Royal Shield on their reverse; and the reverse of the pound coin showed the whole shield. The coins were issued gradually into circulation, starting in mid-2008. They have the same sizes, shapes and weights as those with the old designs which, apart from the round pound coin which was withdrawn in 2017, continue to circulate.
 * 2012: The 5p and 10p coins were changed from cupro-nickel to nickel-plated steel.
 * 2017: A more secure twelve-sided bi-metallic £1 coin was introduced to reduce forgery. The old round £1 coin ceased to be legal tender on 15 October 2017.

, the oldest circulating coins in the UK are the 1p and 2p copper coins introduced in 1971. No other coins from before 1982 are in circulation. Prior to the withdrawal from circulation in 1992, the oldest circulating coins usually dated from 1947: although older coins were still legal tender, inflation meant that their silver content was worth more than their face value, so they tended to be removed from circulation and hoarded. Before decimalisation in 1971, a handful of change might have contained coins over 100 years old, bearing any of five monarchs' heads, especially in the copper coins.

Banknotes
The first sterling notes were issued by the Bank of England shortly after its foundation in 1694. Denominations were initially handwritten on the notes at the time of issue. From 1745, the notes were printed in denominations between £20 and £1,000, with any odd shillings added by hand. £10 notes were added in 1759, followed by £5 in 1793 and £1 and £2 in 1797. The lowest two denominations were withdrawn after the end of the Napoleonic wars. In 1855, the notes were converted to being entirely printed, with denominations of £5, £10, £20, £50, £100, £200, £300, £500 and £1,000 issued.

The Bank of Scotland began issuing notes in 1695. Although the pound Scots was still the currency of Scotland, these notes were denominated in sterling in values up to £100. From 1727, the Royal Bank of Scotland also issued notes. Both banks issued some notes denominated in guineas as well as pounds. In the 19th century, regulations limited the smallest note issued by Scottish banks to be the £1 denomination, a note not permitted in England.

With the extension of sterling to Ireland in 1825, the Bank of Ireland began issuing sterling notes, later followed by other Irish banks. These notes included the unusual denominations of 30/– and £3. The highest denomination issued by the Irish banks was £100.

In 1826, banks at least 65 mi from London were given permission to issue their own paper money. From 1844, new banks were excluded from issuing notes in England and Wales but not in Scotland and Ireland. Consequently, the number of private banknotes dwindled in England and Wales but proliferated in Scotland and Ireland. The last English private banknotes were issued in 1921.

In 1914, the Treasury introduced notes for 10/– and £1 to replace gold coins. These circulated until 1928 when they were replaced by Bank of England notes. Irish independence reduced the number of Irish banks issuing sterling notes to five operating in Northern Ireland. The Second World War had a drastic effect on the note production of the Bank of England. Fearful of mass forgery by the Nazis (see Operation Bernhard), all notes for £10 and above ceased production, leaving the bank to issue only 10/–, £1 and £5 notes. Scottish and Northern Irish issues were unaffected, with issues in denominations of £1, £5, £10, £20, £50 and £100.

Due to repeated devaluations and spiralling inflation the Bank of England reintroduced £10 notes in 1964. In 1969, the 10/– note was replaced by the 50p coin, again due to inflation. £20 Bank of England notes were reintroduced in 1970, followed by £50 in 1981. A £1 coin was introduced in 1983, and Bank of England £1 notes were withdrawn in 1988. Scottish and Northern Irish banks followed, with only the Royal Bank of Scotland continuing to issue this denomination.

UK notes include raised print (e.g. on the words "Bank of England"); watermarks; embedded metallic thread; holograms; and fluorescent ink visible only under UV lamps. Three printing techniques are involved: offset litho, intaglio and letterpress; and the notes incorporate a total of 85 specialized inks.

The Bank of England produces notes named "giant" and "titan". A giant is a one million pound note, and a titan is a one hundred million pound bank note. Giants and titans are used only within the banking system.

Polymer banknotes
The Northern Bank £5 note, issued by Northern Ireland's Northern Bank (now Danske Bank) in 2000, was the only polymer banknote in circulation until 2016. The Bank of England introduced £5 polymer banknotes in September 2016, and the paper £5 notes were withdrawn on 5 May 2017. A polymer £10 banknote was introduced on 14 September 2017, and the paper note was withdrawn on 1 March 2018. A polymer £20 banknote was introduced on 20 February 2020, followed by a polymer £50 in 2021.

Monetary policy
As the central bank of the United Kingdom which has been delegated authority by the government, the Bank of England sets the monetary policy for the British pound by controlling the amount of money in circulation. It has a monopoly on the issuance of banknotes in England and Wales and regulates the amount of banknotes issued by seven authorized banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. HM Treasury has reserve powers to give orders to the committee "if they are required in the public interest and by extreme economic circumstances" but such orders must be endorsed by Parliament within 28 days.

Unlike banknotes which have separate issuers in Scotland and Northern Ireland, all British coins are issued by the Royal Mint, an independent enterprise (wholly owned by the Treasury) which also mints coins for other countries.

Legal tender and national issues
Legal tender in the United Kingdom is defined such that "a debtor cannot successfully be sued for non-payment if he pays into court in legal tender." Parties can alternatively settle a debt by other means with mutual consent. Strictly speaking, it is necessary for the debtor to offer the exact amount due as there is no obligation for the other party to provide change.

Throughout the UK, £1 and £2 coins are legal tender for any amount, with the other coins being legal tender only for limited amounts. Bank of England notes are legal tender for any amount in England and Wales, but not in Scotland or Northern Ireland. (Bank of England 10/– and £1 notes were legal tender, as were Scottish banknotes, during World War II under the Currency (Defence) Act 1939, which was repealed on 1 January 1946.) Channel Islands and Manx banknotes are legal tender only in their respective jurisdictions.

Bank of England, Scottish, Northern Irish, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, and Falkland banknotes may be offered anywhere in the UK, although there is no obligation to accept them as a means of payment, and acceptance varies. For example, merchants in England generally accept Scottish and Northern Irish notes, but some unfamiliar with them may reject them. However, Scottish and Northern Irish notes both tend to be accepted in Scotland and Northern Ireland, respectively. Merchants in England generally do not accept Jersey, Guernsey, Manx, Gibraltarian, and Falkland notes but Manx notes are generally accepted in Northern Ireland. Bank of England notes are generally accepted in the Falklands and Gibraltar, but for example, Scottish and Northern Irish notes are not. Since all of the notes are denominated in sterling, banks will exchange them for locally issued notes at face value, though some in the UK have had trouble exchanging Falkland Islands notes.

Commemorative £5 and 25p (crown) coins, and decimal sixpences (6p, not the pre-decimalisation 6d, equivalent to $1/4$p) made for traditional wedding ceremonies and Christmas gifts, although rarely if ever seen in circulation, are formally legal tender, as are the bullion coins issued by the Mint.

Pegged currencies
In Britain's Crown Dependencies, the Manx pound, Jersey pound, and Guernsey pound are unregulated by the Bank of England and are issued independently. However, they are maintained at a fixed exchange rate by their respective governments, and Bank of England notes have been made legal tender on the islands, forming a sort of one-way de facto currency union. Internationally they are considered local issues of sterling so do not have ISO 4217 codes. "GBP" is usually used to represent all of them; informal abbreviations resembling ISO codes are used where the distinction is important.

British Overseas Territories are responsible for the monetary policy of their own currencies (where they exist), and have their own ISO 4217 codes. The Falkland Islands pound, Gibraltar pound, and Saint Helena pound are set at a fixed 1:1 exchange rate with the British pound by local governments.

Value
In 2006, the House of Commons Library published a research paper which included an index of prices for each year between 1750 and 2005, where 1974 was indexed at 100.

Regarding the period 1750–1914 the document states: "Although there was considerable year on year fluctuation in price levels prior to 1914 (reflecting the quality of the harvest, wars, etc.) there was not the long-term steady increase in prices associated with the period since 1945". It goes on to say that "Since 1945 prices have risen in every year with an aggregate rise of over 27 times".

The value of the index in 1751 was 5.1, increasing to a peak of 16.3 in 1813 before declining very soon after the end of the Napoleonic Wars to around 10.0 and remaining in the range 8.5–10.0 at the end of the 19th century. The index was 9.8 in 1914 and peaked at 25.3 in 1920, before declining to 15.8 in 1933 and 1934—prices were only about three times as high as they had been 180 years earlier.

Inflation has had a dramatic effect during and after World War II: the index was 20.2 in 1940, 33.0 in 1950, 49.1 in 1960, 73.1 in 1970, 263.7 in 1980, 497.5 in 1990, 671.8 in 2000 and 757.3 in 2005. The smallest coin in 1971 was the $1/2$p, worth about 6.4p in 2015 prices.

The following table shows the equivalent amount of goods and services that, in a particular year, could be purchased with £1.

The table shows that from 1971 to 2023, the buying power of a pound fell by 94.4%.

For example, the purchasing power of a pound in 2006 was slightly more than that of 10p in 1971; conversely, the purchasing power of a pound in 1971 was slightly less than that of £10 in 2006. The mythical "shopping basket" of goods and services that cost £10 in 1971 would cost £98.04 in 2006 (and £163.40 in 2022).

Exchange rate
Sterling is freely bought and sold on the foreign exchange markets around the world, and its value relative to other currencies therefore fluctuates.

Reserve
Sterling is used as a reserve currency around the world. , it is ranked fourth in value held as reserves.

title: Pound sterling


text:
Veterans Stadium

Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating capacities were 65,358 for football, and 56,371 for baseball.

It hosted the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1971 to 2003 and the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) from 1971 to 2002. The 1976 and 1996 Major League Baseball All-Star Games were held at the venue. It also hosted the annual Army-Navy football game between 1980 and 2001.

In addition to professional baseball and football, the stadium hosted other amateur and professional sports, large entertainment events, and other civic affairs. It was demolished by implosion in March 2004, being replaced by the adjacent Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field. A parking lot now sits on its former site.

Plans and construction
In 1959, Phillies owner R. R. M. Carpenter Jr. proposed building a new ballpark for the Philadelphia Phillies on 72 acre adjacent to the Garden State Park Racetrack in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The Phillies' were playing at Connie Mack Stadium, a stadium built in 1909 that was beginning to show its age. Connie Mack Stadium also had inadequate parking, and was located in a declining section of the city. The same year, alcohol sales at sporting events were banned in Pennsylvania but were still legal across the Delaware River in neighboring South Jersey.

The stadium proposed by Carpenter would have seated 45,000 fans but would be expandable to 60,000, and would have 15,000 parking spaces.

The American League's Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City following the 1954 season, while the NBA's Philadelphia Warriors moved to San Francisco to become the Golden State Warriors in 1962, and Philadelphians were not going to allow losing another professional sports franchise.

Financing
In 1964, Philadelphia voters approved a US$25-million-bond issue for a new stadium to serve as the home of both the Eagles, who played at the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field, and the Phillies. Because of cost overruns, the voters had to go to the polls again in 1967 to approve another $13 million. At a total cost of $60 million, it was at the time one of the most expensive stadiums ever constructed.

Naming
In 1968, Philadelphia City Council named the stadium Veterans stadium in honor of veterans. In December 1969, the Phillies announced that they anticipated that they would play the first month of the 1970 season at Connie Mack Stadium before moving to the new venue. However, the opening was delayed a year because of a combination of bad weather and cost overruns.

Structure and design
The stadium's design was nearly circular, and was known as an octorad design, which attempted to facilitate both football and baseball. San Diego Stadium in San Diego had been similarly designed. As was the case with other cities where this dual approach was used, such as RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., Shea Stadium in New York City, the Astrodome in Houston, Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, and Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, the fundamentally different sizes and shapes of the playing fields made the stadium inadequate to the needs of either sport.

Opening
The stadium opened with a $3 million scoreboard complex that at the time was the most expensive ever installed.

Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies played their first game at the stadium on April 10, 1971, beating the Montreal Expos, 4–1, before an audience of 55,352. The first ball was dropped by helicopter to Phillies back-up catcher Mike Ryan.

Jim Bunning, who was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996, was the winning pitcher, and Bill Stoneman of the Expos took the loss. Entertainer Mike Douglas, whose daily talk show was taped in Philadelphia, sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the game. The emcee for the opening ceremonies was Harry Kalas, the new Phillies play-by-play announcer.

Boots Day opened the game by grounding out to Bunning. Larry Bowa had the stadium's first hit, and Don Money hit the first home run in the stadium.

Philadelphia Eagles
On September 26, 1971, the Philadelphia Eagles played their first game at Veterans Stadium, hosting the Dallas Cowboys in a game the Eagles lost 42–7. The first Eagles touchdown at the stadium, and the Eagles only points during the game, came from Al Nelson's then-record 102-yard return of a missed field goal by Mike Clark in the fourth quarter.

Stadium deterioriation
As the stadium aged, its condition deteriorated. A hole in the wall allowed visiting teams' players to peep into the dressing room of the Eagles Cheerleaders. So many mice infested the stadium that the security force employed cats as mousers.

Philadelphia Eagles
The final Eagles game played at Veterans Stadium was the Eagles' 27–10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2002 NFC Championship Game on January 19, 2003. The Eagles moved into Lincoln Financial Field in August 2003.

Philadelphia Phillies
The final game ever played at the stadium was the afternoon of September 28, 2003, a 5–2 Phillies loss to the Atlanta Braves.

The final win at the stadium was recorded by Greg Maddux of the Braves; the final loss at the stadium was recorded by the Phillies' Kevin Millwood. The final Phillies run was scored by Marlon Byrd in the bottom of the 3rd inning, and the final run altogether by the Braves' Andruw Jones on a double by Robert Fick, who also had the last hit at Tiger Stadium while with the Detroit Tigers four years earlier in the top of the 5th.

The final hit at Veterans Stadium was a single by the Phillies' Pat Burrell in the bottom of the 9th inning. The next batter, Chase Utley, grounded into a double play to end the game and Veterans Stadium. A ceremony at Veterans Stadium following the final Phillies game at the stadium pulled at the heartstrings of the sellout crowd. Paul Owens, a former Phillies general manager, and Tug McGraw, a former Phillies pitcher, made their final public appearances at the park that day; both men died that winter.

The last publicly broadcast words uttered at Veterans Stadium came from Harry Kalas, who helped open the facility on April 10, 1971, who paraphrased his trademark home run call: "It's on a looooooong drive…IT'S OUTTA HERE!!!"

The following seasons, the Phillies played their first game at the newly constructed Citizens Bank Park on April 12, 2004.

Demolition and commemoration
On March 21, 2004, the 32-year-old stadium was imploded in 62 seconds. Frank Bardonaro, President of Philadelphia-based AmQuip Crane Rental Company, pressed the "charge" button and then he and Nicholas T Peetros Sr., Project Manager for Driscoll/Hunt Construction Company, pressed the "fire" button to trigger the implosion while Greg Luzinski and the Phillie Phanatic, the Phillies' mascot, pressed a ceremonial plunger for the fans, which did not set off any explosives. A parking lot for the current sporting facilities was constructed in 2004 and 2005 at the site.

On June 6, 2005, the anniversary of World War II's D-Day, a plaque and monument to commemorate the spot where the stadium stood and a memorial for all veterans was dedicated by the Phillies before their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. On September 28, 2005, the second anniversary of the stadium's final game, a historical marker commemorating where the ballpark once stood was dedicated. In April 2006, granite spaces marking the former locations of home plate, the pitcher's mound, and the three bases for baseball, as well as the goalpost placements for football, were added in Citizens Bank Park's Western Parking Lot U.

Before the stadium's implosion, The Vet's Liberty Bell replica was removed from its perch and placed in storage. In 2019, the bell was installed outside the third base entrance of Citizens Bank Park.

Health concerns
In the years following demolition, an apparent cancer cluster has emerged among several former Phillies players who played at Veterans Stadium who later developed glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. Six former Phillies who played while the team called Veterans Stadium home have died of the cancer.

According to a 2013 analysis by The Philadelphia Inquirer, the brain cancer rate of Phillies players while the team was at Veterans Stadium was three times higher than that of the general population. Some of the speculation centers around the possibility that chemicals in the stadium's AstroTurf field may have played a role, but there has been no research to support that theory definitively.

Stadium features
The stadium was a complicated structure with its seating layered in seven separate levels in its final configuration. The lowest, or "100 Level", extended only part way around the structure, between roughly the 25-yard lines for football games and near the two dugouts for baseball. The "200 Level" comprised field-level boxes, and the "300 Level" housed what were labeled "Terrace Boxes". These three levels collectively made up the "Lower Stands". The "400 Level" was reserved for the press and dignitaries; the upper level began with "500 Level" (or "loge boxes"), the "600 Level" (upper reserved, or individual seats), and finally, the highest, the "700 Level" (general admission for baseball). Originally, the seats were in shades of brown, terra cotta, orange and yellow, to look like an autumn day, but in 1995 and 1996, blue seats replaced the fall-hued ones.

At one time, the stadium could seat over 71,000 people for football, but restructuring in the late 1980s—including removal of several rows of the 700 Level around most of the stadium to accommodate construction of the Penthouse Suites—brought capacity down to around 66,000.

The stadium was harshly criticized by baseball purists. Even by multipurpose stadium standards, the upper deck was exceptionally high, and many of the seats in that area were so far from the field that it was difficult to see the game without binoculars. Like most of its contemporaries, foul territory was quite roomy. Approximately 70% of the seats were in fair territory, adding to the stadium's cavernous feel. There was no dirt in the infield except for sliding pits around the bases, and circular areas around the pitcher's mound and home plate. In the autumn, the football markings were clearly visible in the spacious outfield area. While the stadium's size enabled the Phillies to shatter previous attendance records, during the years the Phillies were not doing as well, even crowds of 35,000 looked sparse.

The stadium had been known for providing both the Eagles and the Phillies with great home-field advantage. In particular, the acoustics greatly enhanced the crowd noise on the field, making it nearly impossible for opposing players to hear one another.

700 Level
The "700 Level", the highest and cheapest seats at Veterans Stadium, became well known for being home to the loudest, rowdiest fans at Philadelphia Eagles games, and to a lesser extent, Philadelphia Phillies games. In his book If Football's a Religion, Why Don't We Have a Prayer?, Jereé Longman described the 700 Level as having a reputation for "hostile taunting, fighting, public urination and general strangeness." Due to an improvement in public facilities, there is no equivalent in either the current Lincoln Financial Field or Citizens Bank Park. The name has also been the inspiration for websites relating to Philadelphia sports, as well as a weekly "Letters to the Editor" section in the Sunday Sports pages of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Playing surface
The field's surface, originally composed of AstroTurf, contained many gaps and uneven patches. In several places, seams were clearly visible, giving it the nickname "Field of Seams". It perennially drew the ranking of the "NFL's worst field" in player surveys conducted by the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), and visiting players often fell prey to the treacherous conditions resulting in numerous contact and non-contact injuries. The NFLPA reportedly threatened to sue the city for the poor conditions, and many sports agents told the Eagles not to even consider signing or drafting their clients. The Eagles, for their part, complained to the city on numerous occasions about the conditions at the stadium. Baseball players also complained about the surface. It was much harder than other AstroTurf surfaces, and the shock of running on it often caused back pain.

Two of the most-publicized injuries blamed on the playing surface occurred exactly six years apart. On October 10, 1993, Chicago Bears wide receiver Wendell Davis had his cleats caught in a seam while he planted to jump for an underthrown bomb from QB Jim Harbaugh, tearing both of his patella tendons and ending his career, barring a short-lived comeback attempt with the Indianapolis Colts in 1995. On October 10, 1999, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin suffered a neck injury against the Eagles at Veterans Stadium that proved to be his final play in the NFL and led to his premature retirement.

Long before Davis' and Irvin's injuries, Cleveland Browns standout defensive tackle Jerry Sherk contracted a near-fatal staph infection from the Veterans Stadium turf during a 1979 game. The infection forced him to miss 22 of the Browns' next 23 games and ended a run of nine and a half seasons in the Browns' starting lineup. Sherk never started again and retired in 1981.

In 2001, the original AstroTurf was eventually replaced by a new surface, NexTurf. It was far softer, and reportedly much easier on the knees. However, the city crew that installed the new turf reportedly did not install it properly, resulting in seams being visible in several places.

The first football game on the new turf was scheduled to take place on August 13, 2001, when the Eagles were to play the Baltimore Ravens in a preseason game. However, Ravens coach Brian Billick refused to let the Ravens take the field for warm-ups when he discovered a trench around an area where third base was covered up by a NexTurf cutout. City crews unsuccessfully tried to fix the problem, forcing the game to be canceled. Later, players from both teams reported that they sank into the turf in locations near the infield cutouts. The Eagles' team president Joe Banner was irate after the game, calling the stadium's conditions "absolutely unacceptable" and "an embarrassment to the city of Philadelphia." City officials, however, promised that the stadium would be suitable for play when the regular season started.

The problem was caused by heavy rain over the weekend prior to the game, which made the dirt in the sliding pits and pitcher's mound so soft that the cutouts covering them in the football configuration became mushy and uneven. Even when new dirt was shoveled on top, it quickly became just as saturated as the old dirt. The problem was solved by using asphalt hot mix, which allowed for a solid, level playing surface, but required a jackhammer for removal whenever the stadium was converted from football back to baseball (between August and October of each year).

In March 2023, investigative reporters from the Philadelphia Inquirer bought souvenir samples of the old Veterans Stadium AstroTurf used from 1977 to 1981 and commissioned diagnostics through the Eurofins Environmental Testing laboratory. The resulting lab report linked per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals") to the turf. Six former Phillies who played at Veterans Stadium have died from glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer: Tug McGraw, Darren Daulton, John Vukovich, Johnny Oates, Ken Brett, and David West.

Fans
Fans who attended games at Veterans Stadium, especially for Philadelphia Eagles games, gained a reputation of being among the most vociferous in all of professional sports, especially in the notorious 700 Level, the highest seating level at Veterans Stadium prior to the construction of luxury skyboxes behind that seating area. The stadium became famous for the exuberant rowdiness of Eagles fans.

One of the more well-known examples of the fans' behavior was during the 1989 season at a follow-up game to what many called the "Bounty Bowl". On Thanksgiving day, November 23, 1989, the Eagles had defeated the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium, 27–0. In that game, Cowboys placekicker Luis Zendejas suffered a concussion during a rough block by linebacker Jessie Small after a kickoff. After the game, Cowboys rookie head coach Jimmy Johnson commented that Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan instituted a bounty on Zendejas and Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman. Two weeks later, on December 10, they played the rematch dubbed "Bounty Bowl II" at the stadium which the Eagles won 20–10. The stadium seats were covered with snow in the stands. The volatile mix of beer, the "bounty" and the intense hatred for "America's Team" (who finished 1–15 that season) led to fans throwing snowballs at Dallas players and coaches. Beer sales were banned after that incident for two games. A similar incident in 1995 at Giants Stadium during a nationally telecast San Diego Chargers–New York Giants game led the NFL to rule that seating areas must be cleared of snow within a certain time period before kickoff.

The Eagles fans' behavior during a 24–12 Monday Night Football loss to the San Francisco 49ers in 1997 and a 34–0 loss to Dallas a year later was such that the City of Philadelphia assigned a Municipal Court Judge, Seamus McCaffery, to the stadium on game days to deal with fans removed from the stands in what was referred to as "Eagles Court". Judge McCaffery would hold court in the stadium until the stadium's closure in 2003; the Eagles' replacement stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, does not have a court, but a holding cell instead. Two years later, fans threw D-Cell batteries at St. Louis Cardinals outfielder J. D. Drew after he spurned the Phillies' offer to play with them, and wound up going back into the draft and picked by the Cardinals.

Notable games and incidents

 * On June 25, 1971, Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit the longest home run in stadium history in a 14–4 Pirates win over the Phillies. The spot where the ball landed was marked with a yellow star with a black "S" inside a white circle until Stargell's 2001 death, when the white circle was painted black. The star remained until the stadium's 2004 demolition.
 * One of the most notable events in the stadium's history was Game 6 of the 1980 World Series on October 21. In the game, the Phillies clinched their first world championship with a 4–1 victory over the Kansas City Royals in front of 65,838 fans. Tug McGraw's series-ending strikeout of the Royals' Willie Wilson was instrumental in their win.
 * One of the most notable Eagles games at the stadium, which occurred less than three months after the Phillies won the 1980 World Series, was Eagles 20–7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the 1980 NFC Championship Game, played before 70,696 fans at the stadium on January 11, 1981. As a psychological ploy, the Eagles chose to wear their white jerseys for their home game in order to force the Cowboys into their "unlucky" blue jerseys. At the end of the game, Philadelphia police circled the field with horses and dogs as they had done for the Phillies' World Series victory; despite the police presence, Eagles fans successfully rushed the field.
 * Veterans Stadium was host to the latest-finishing game in baseball history, a twinight double-header between the Phillies and San Diego Padres that started on July 2, 1993, at 5:05 pm and ended at 4:40 am the following morning. The two games were interrupted multiple times by rain showers. The Padres won the first game, and led in the second, but lost in a come-from-behind victory for the Phillies in the tenth inning on an RBI single by Phillies closing pitcher Mitch Williams. The second game ended with an estimated 6,000 fans at the ballpark.
 * The Phillies clinched the NLCS at the stadium twice: the first in 1983 over area-born Tommy Lasorda and the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the second in the 1993 NLCS over future divisional rivals the Atlanta Braves. The 1993 season was the last LCS under the two-division League format.
 * The Phillies pitched two no-hit games at the stadium, the only nine-inning no-hitters in stadium history. Both were against the San Francisco Giants. Terry Mulholland pitched the first on August 15, 1990, in a 6–0 Phillies win. Kevin Millwood pitched the second on April 27, 2003, and beat the Giants 1–0, upstaging the Phillie Phanatic's birthday promotion that afternoon. The Montréal Expos' Pascual Pérez pitched a five-inning no-hitter shortened by rain on September 24, 1988. MLB changed its rules in 1991 to require that fully recognized no-hitters—past, present and future—be complete games of at least nine innings.
 * Another game that is well-remembered by Eagles fans was known as the "Body Bag Game", which took place on November 12, 1990, when the Washington Redskins visited the stadium for a Monday Night Football game. Eagles' head coach Buddy Ryan was quoted as saying that the Redskins' offense would "have to be carted off in body bags." The Eagles' number-one defense scored two touchdowns in a 28–14 Eagles win in which the Eagles knocked nine players with the Redskins out of the game, including their first and second string quarterbacks. The Redskins were forced to finish the game using running back/returner Brian Mitchell, who would become an Eagles player over a decade later at quarterback.
 * During the 1998 Army–Navy Game, a serious accident occurred when a support rail collapsed and eight West Point cadets were injured, which intensified calls for new stadiums for football and baseball in Philadelphia.
 * From 1979 into 1981, Tom Garvey, a Vietnam War veteran and friend of Eagles players, who ran the stadium's parking lots, apparently lived secretly (although known to 25 or 30) under 300-level seats at the stadium.

Amateur baseball
From 1970 to 1987, the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) played its annual all-star game at various major league stadiums. The games were interleague contests between the CCBL and the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (ACBL). The 1984 game was played at Veterans Stadium. The CCBL won the game 7–3 behind the performance of winning pitcher and future major leaguer Joe Magrane of the University of Arizona.

The Liberty Bell Classic, Philadelphia Division I college baseball tournament, was played at the stadium from its inception in 1992 through 2003. The original eight schools were:

 * University of Pennsylvania (Penn Quakers)
 * University of Delaware (Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens)
 * Saint Joseph's University (the Hawks)
 * Drexel University (Drexel Dragons)
 * Villanova University (Villanova Wildcats)
 * Temple University (Temple Owls)
 * West Chester University of Pennsylvania (West Chester Golden Rams)
 * La Salle University (La Salle Explorers)

In the first championship game in 1992, the University of Delaware defeated Villanova 6–2.

The stadium hosted the 1998 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament, won by Fordham.

Minor league baseball
In November 1987, the new owners of the Phillies AAA franchise, the Maine Guides, considered playing the 1988 season at the Vet because Lackawanna County Stadium would not be ready until the 1989 season. The team would have had to play 12:35 pm day games when the Phillies had night games scheduled at the Vet. Ownership elected to remain in Old Orchard Beach for 1988, renamed the club the 'Maine Phillies', and moved to Moosic, Pennsylvania in 1989 as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons.

The Eastern League Trenton Thunder played two home games at the stadium in April 1994. The Thunder beat the Canton–Akron Indians, 10–9, in front of 483 fans on April 20, 1994, and won 9–3 on April 21. Future Phillies broadcaster Tom McCarthy was in the booth for the Thunder during these two games.

Soccer
The stadium was the home field for the Philadelphia Atoms and the Philadelphia Fury, both North American Soccer League teams. The Fury drew 18,191 fans for their April 1, 1978, opener at the stadium which they lost 3–0 to the Washington Diplomats. The Fury averaged 8,279 per-match in 1978 NASL, 5,624 per-match in 1979 NASL, and 4,778 in the 1980 NASL seasons. The club was moved to Montreal in 1981 NASL season.

The stadium hosted an exhibition match on August 2, 1991, between the U.S. National Team and English professional soccer club Sheffield Wednesday F.C. John Harkes played for Wednesday, the first American to play in the English Premier League. 44,261 fans saw the U.S. score two second-half goals to defeat Sheffield Wednesday 2–0.

Philadelphia established a bid committee to host matches for the 1994 World Cup which was to be played in the United States. Phillies president Bill Giles was on the Philadelphia bid committee and hoped to use Veterans Stadium for games. In addition to the challenge of installing a natural grass field for the games, FIFA would have required the Phillies to vacate the stadium for a month to allow for sufficient preparation time prior to the matches. Giles could only offer 17-days. The nine venues eventually chosen to host matches were all stadiums that did not host baseball games.

Professional softball
The Philadelphia Athletics of the American Professional Slo-Pitch League (APSPL) played their 1978 seasons at Veterans Stadium.

High school football
Veterans Stadium hosted Philadelphia's City Title high-school football championship game from 1973 to 1977 and in 1979. The series was suspended in 1980. With the entry of the Philadelphia Catholic League into what is now PIAA District XII (which was formed when the Public League joined the PIAA in 2002), the "City Title Game" was restored in 2008.

Professional wrestling
The only professional wrestling event held in Veterans Stadium was NWA/Jim Crockett Promotions The Great American Bash on July 1, 1986, with an attendance of 10,900. The event was the start of a 14-city summer tour.

Other events
The venue also played host to religious events including annual Jehovah's Witnesses conventions, which was open to the public each year it took place. It also played host to a Billy Graham crusade in 1992; the crusade was held on the same day that the Eagles' Jerome Brown was killed in a vehicular crash and Reggie White, who was invited to speak at the event, broke the news to the gathered crowd.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Veterans Stadium


text:
Irish pound

The pound (Irish: punt) was the currency of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the symbol was £ (or £Ir for distinction. ) The Irish pound was replaced by the euro on 1 January 1999. Euro currency did not begin circulation until the beginning of 2002.

First pound
The earliest Irish coinage was introduced in the late 10th century, with an £sd system of one pound divided into twenty shillings, each of twelve silver pence. Parity with sterling was established by King John around 1210, so that Irish silver could move freely into the English economy and help to finance his wars in France. However, from 1460, Irish coins were minted with a different silver content than those of England, so that the values of the two currencies diverged.

During the Williamite War of 1689–1691, King James II, no longer reigning in England and Scotland, issued an emergency base-metal coinage known as gun money.

In 1701, the relationship between the Irish pound and sterling was fixed at £13 Irish to £12 sterling (The Pound Scots had yet another value; it was absorbed into sterling in 1707 at a ratio of 12 to 1.) This relationship made it possible for Irish copper coins to circulate with English silver coins, since thirteen Irish pence had the same value as one English shilling.

In 1801, the Kingdom of Ireland became part of the United Kingdom, but the Irish pound continued to circulate until January 1826. Between 1804 and 1813, silver tokens worth 10d were issued by the Bank of Ireland and were denominated in pence Irish. The last copper coins of the Irish pound were minted in 1823, and in 1826 the Irish pound was merged with the pound sterling. After 1826, some Irish banks continued to issue paper currency, but these were denominated in sterling, and no more distinctly Irish coins were minted until the creation of the Irish Free State in the 20th century.

Saorstát pound
From continuing to use sterling after its independence (1922), the new Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) introduced its own currency from 1928. The new Free State pound was defined by the 1927 Act to have exactly the same weight and fineness of gold as did the sovereign at the time, having the effect of making the new currency pegged at 1:1 with sterling. De facto rather than de jure parity with sterling was maintained for another fifty years. As with sterling, the £sd system was used, with the Irish names punt (plural: puint), scilling (plural: scillingí) and pingin (plural: pinginí). Distinctive coins and notes were introduced, the coins from 1928 (in eight denominations: $1/100$d, $1/4$d, 1d, 3d, 6d, shilling (1/–), florin (2/–), half crown (2/6) and in 1966 a 10/– coin, a commemorative piece not meant for circulation) – all but the 3d and 6d had the same dimensions as their British counterparts, the Irish coins being thicker nickel coins in contrast to the thin silver ones issued in the UK. However, sterling specie generally continued to be accepted on a one-for-one basis everywhere, whereas Irish coin was not generally accepted in the United Kingdom, except in parts of Northern Ireland.

Irish pound
The name of the state was officially changed to "Ireland" (Irish: Éire) on the coming into force of the Constitution of Ireland on 29 December 1937. On 10 May 1938, the name of the currency became the Irish pound.

Decimalisation
The Report of the Metric System and Decimal Coinage Committee (1959) was amongst the first formal reports on decimalisation of the currency, discussion continued into the 1960s on the topic. When the British government decided to decimalise its currency, the Irish government followed suit. The Decimal Currency Act 1969 replaced the traditional shilling and penny with a centesimal subdivision, the "new penny" (pingin nua; symbol: p). The pound itself was not revalued by this act and therefore banknotes were unaffected, although the 10/– note was replaced by a 50p coin due to spiralling inflation. The new 5p coin correlated with the shilling coin, and the new 10p coin correlated with the florin coin. New coins were issued of the same dimensions and materials as the corresponding new British coins. The Decimal Currency Act 1970 made additional provisions for the changeover not related with the issue of coins.

Decimalisation was overseen by the Irish Decimal Currency Board, created on 12 June 1968. It provided changeover information to the public, including a pamphlet called Everyone's Guide to Decimal Currency. The changeover occurred on Decimal Day, 15 February 1971.

Breaking the link with sterling
The European Monetary System was introduced in the 1970s. Ireland decided to join it in 1978, while the United Kingdom stayed out.

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.

This period also saw the creation of the Currency Centre at Sandyford in 1978, where banknotes and coinage could be manufactured within the state. Before this, banknotes were printed by specialist commercial printers in England, and coins were struck by the British Royal Mint.

1979–1999: Free-floating currency
Until 1986, all decimal Irish coins were the same shape and size as their UK counterparts. After this, however, all new denominations or redesigned coins were of different sizes to the UK coinage. The new 20p coin introduced that year and the £1 coin (introduced in 1990) were completely different in size, shape and composition from the previously introduced UK versions. When the UK 5p and 10p coins were reduced in size, the Irish followed suit, but the new Irish 10p was smaller than the new UK version introduced in 1992 and the new Irish 5p was slightly larger than the UK version introduced in 1990. The Irish 50p was never reduced in size (as it was in the UK in 1997).

Despite not being legal tender, British sterling coins of the same shape and size were customarily accepted in Ireland. At time of the replacement with the euro, these were the 1p, 2p and 5p (although it was not exactly the same as the British 5p).

Replacement with the euro
On 31 December 1998, the exchange rates between the European Currency Unit and the Irish pound and 10 other EMS currencies (all but the pound sterling, the Swedish krona and the Danish krone) were fixed. The fixed conversion factor for the Irish pound was EUR1.00 = IEP0.787564. Of the 15 national currencies originally tied to the euro (including the currencies of Vatican City, Monaco and San Marino), the Irish pound was the only one whose conversion factor was less than 1, i.e. the unit of the national currency was worth more than one euro – almost EUR1.27 in this case.

Although the euro became the currency of the eurozone countries including Ireland on 1 January 1999, it was not until 1 January 2002 that the state began to withdraw Irish pound coins and notes, replacing them with euro notes and coins. All other eurozone countries withdrew their currencies in a similar fashion, from that date. Irish pound coins and notes ceased to be legal tender on 9 February 2002. All Irish coins and banknotes, from the start of the Irish Free State onwards, both decimal and pre-decimal, may be redeemed for euros at Ireland's Central Bank in Dublin.

title: Irish pound