Pound sterling
The pound sterling is the world's oldest currency still in use and has been in continuous use since its inception by King Offa 1244 years ago.
It is still ranked in 4th place for trading.
King Offa 780
The King of Mercia England, in the latter half of the 8th Century, began the minting of the earliest English silver pennies. The pound was divided into 20 shillings and 240 silver pennies.
Story behind Sterling
Its name derives from the Latin word Libra for weight or balance, via the construction Libra Pondo, meaning a pound weight. The '£' symbol, is an ornate letter 'L', and the abbreviation for the unit of mass, lb (pound) because its value originally equated to the price of a pound of silver not gold.
The reverse of the modern coins form a sheild.
