PROJECT

Topic:Royal Money
Worked by:Zabit Shima
Class:XII-5
1. THE ROMANS INVENTED THE BRITISH POUND

• The currency has been used in some form for over 1,200 years and has
its origins in the Roman Empire, which had a strong presence in the
U.K.
• The British pound’s name originally came from the Latin word “libra,”
which means weight or balance. This makes sense because, back in
Roman times, a pound of silver was the unit of measurement for money.
• In fact, the pound was equivalent to the value of one pound of silver.
This is why it’s also called “pound sterling” because it used to be worth
one pound of silver.

2. BRITISH CURRENCY IS AMONG THE
OLDEST IN THE WORLD.
ALTHOUGH IT HAS ITS ORIGINS IN THE
700S, THE FIRST BRITISH POUND NOTE
WAS CREATED BY THE BANK OF
ENGLAND OVER 300 YEARS AGO, IN
1694.
THESE NOTES WERE ORIGINALLY
HANDWRITTEN, WITH PRINTED NOTES
APPEARING BETWEEN 1696 AND 1699.
3.Pence are weighed cleverly.
Did you know that two one-pence
coins weigh the same as a single
two-pence coin? The same holds
true for the rest of the British
pound’s pence. This is a clever
nod to the pound’s origins as a
weight-centered currency. It’s
also an effective anti-
counterfeiting measure.
4.THE BANK OF ENGLAND REVERSES THE FACE OF
EACH MONARCH ON ITS COINS.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II WAS THE LONGEST-REIGNING
MONARCH IN THE U.K.’S HISTORY. SHE TOOK THE
THRONE IN 1952 AND REIGNED UNTIL HER PASSING IN
2022. BECAUSE OF HER LONG TENURE, MANY PEOPLE
DON’T REALIZE THAT THE BANK OF ENGLAND HAS
POLICIES IN PLACE EVERY TIME THERE’S A NEW RULER.
WHEN A NEW MONARCH TAKES THE CROWN, THE BANK
OF ENGLAND
REVERSES THE WAY THE MONARCH FACES ON THE
COIN. QUEEN ELIZABETH’S NOSE IS TURNED TO THE
RIGHT ON U.K. COINS. IF AND WHEN KING CHARLES III
IS ADDED TO THE BRITISH POUND, HE WILL FACE THE
OPPOSITE WAY, WITH HIS NOSE TOWARD THE LEFT.
 5. BRITISH POUNDS ARE
M A D E O F P O LY M E R , N O T
PA P E R .
PA P E R M O N E Y W I L L E A S I LY
D E T E R I O R AT E O V E R T I M E ,
WHICH IS WHY THE BRITISH
POUND IS MADE OF A
P O LY M E R M I X . T H I S N O T
O N LY M A K E S T H E B I L L
H A R D E R TO C O U N T E R F E I T,
BUT ALSO INCREASES ITS
L I F E S PA N .

6. BRITISH POUNDS ARE

OFTEN COUNTERFEITED.
THE POUND HAS A BIG
COUNTERFEITING PROBLEM.
I N FA C T, I T ’ S O N E O F T H E
MOST COUNTERFEITED
CURRENCIES IN THE WORLD.
THE U.K. GOVERNMENT
E S T I M AT E S T H AT
AT L E A S T 2 . 5 % O F I T S P O U N
D COINS
A R E C O U N T E R F E I T.
7. When it was in the EU, the U.K. continued to use pounds.
Most of the nations in the European Union (EU) use the euro, a
unified currency created in 2002. But even when Great Britain
was in the EU, it opted to continue using British pounds instead.
In 2016, the U.K.’s citizens voted to leave the EU. The pound‘s
value dipped to a 31-year low in response, and the U.K.’s
financial systems experienced significant disruption.