Banknotes of the pound sterling

Banknotes of the pound sterling
A selection of sterling banknotes
Pound sterling banknotes
Map of the British Islands and overseas territories
The UK and Crown dependencies (red) and overseas territories (blue) using the pound or their local issue
ISO 4217
CodeGBP
Denominations
Currency symbol£
Subunitp (penny)
(1/100)
Banknotes
Freq. used£5, £10, £20, £50
Rarely used
  • £1 (not used by the Bank of England, Bank Of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, or in NI)
  • £100 (not issued by the Bank of England)
Higher valued banknotes do exist, such as the £1,000,000 (Giant) and £100,000,000 (Titan), however, usage is restricted[1][citation needed]– such as through backing Scottish and Northern Ireland banknotes[2]
Issuance
Central bankBank of England
Note-issuing banks
England and WalesBank of England
Scotland
Northern Ireland
Crown dependencies
PrinterDe La Rue
Demographics
England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man
British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (Tristan da Cunha only), Gibraltar

The pound sterling (symbol: £; ISO 4217 currency code: GBP) is the official currency of the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Tristan da Cunha.

The Bank of England has a legal monopoly of banknote issuance in England and Wales. For historical reasons, six banks (three in Scotland and three in Northern Ireland), also issue their own banknotes that circulate in the respective areas, but the law requires that the issuing banks hold a sum of Bank of England banknotes (or gold) equivalent to the total value of notes issued.[3]

Versions of the pound sterling issued by Crown dependencies and other areas are regulated by their local governments and not by the Bank of England. Three British Overseas Territories (Gibraltar, Saint Helena, and the Falkland Islands) also have currencies called pounds which are at par with the pound sterling.

  1. ^ "Security by Design" (PDF). Bank of England. 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2008.
  2. ^ Bowlby, Chris. "Britain's £1m and £100m banknotes". BBC News. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  3. ^ "No. 58254". The London Gazette. 21 February 2007. p. 2544.