The pound sterling (IPA: /pa?nd 'st??.l??/, symbol: £; ISO code: GBP), subdivided into 100 pence (singular: penny), is the currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown dependencies (the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory.

The Gibraltar pound, Falkland Islands pound and Saint Helena pound are separate currencies, pegged to the pound sterling.

Sterling is currently the third-largest reserve currency, after the US dollar and the euro. The pound sterling is the fourth-most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the US dollar, the euro, and the Japanese yen.

The full, official name, pound sterling, (plural: pounds sterling) is used mainly in formal contexts and also when it is necessary to distinguish the United Kingdom currency from other currencies with the same name. Otherwise the term pound is normally used. The currency name is sometimes abbreviated to just sterling, particularly in the wholesale financial markets, but not when referring to specific amounts; for example, "Payment is accepted in sterling" but never "These cost five sterling". The abbreviations "ster." or "stg." are sometimes used. The term British pound is commonly used in less formal contexts, although it is not an official name of the currency. A common slang term is quid (singular and plural).

There is some uncertainty as to the origin of the term "pound sterling". Some sources say it dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, when coins called sterlings were minted from silver; 240 of these sterlings weighed one pound, and large payments came to be made in "pounds of sterlings". Other references, including the Oxford English Dictionary, say a sterling was a silver penny used in England by the Normans, and date the term to around 1300. For more discussion of the etymology of "sterling" see Sterling silver.

The currency sign is the pound sign, originally £ with two cross-bars, then later more commonly £ with a single cross-bar. The pound sign derives from the blackletter "L", an abbreviation of Librae in Roman £sd units (librae, solidi, denarii) used for pounds, shillings and pence in the British pre-decimal duodecimal currency system. Libra was the basic Roman unit of weight, derived from the Latin word for scales or balance.

The ISO 4217 currency code is GBP (Great Britain pound). Occasionally, the abbreviation UKP is used but this is incorrect. The Crown dependencies use their own (non-ISO) codes: GGP (Guernsey pound), JEP (Jersey pound) and IMP (Isle of Man pound). Stocks are often traded in pence, so traders may refer to pence sterling, GBX (sometimes GBp), when listing stock prices.

Subdivisions and other units

Decimal

Since decimalisation in 1971, the pound has been subdivided into 100 pence (until 1981 described on the coinage as "new pence"). The symbol for the penny is "p"; hence an amount such as 50p (£0.50) is usually pronounced "fifty pee" rather than "fifty pence". This also helped to distinguish between new and old pence amounts during the changeover to the decimal system.

Pre-decimal

Prior to decimalisation, 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 the word, 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". 5 shillings was written as "5s" or, more commonly, "5/-". The stroke, /, indicating shillings, was originally an adaptation of the long s.

Various coin denominations had, and in some cases continue to have, special names — such as "crown", "farthing", "sovereign" and "guinea". See Coins of the pound sterling and List of British coins and banknotes for details.

The pound and 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 the pound to appreciate against other major currencies, and with the US dollar depreciating at the same time, the pound hit a 15-year high against the US dollar on 18 April 2007, having reached US$2 for the first time since 1992 the day before.[18] The pound and many other currencies continued to appreciate against the dollar, and sterling hit a 26-year high of $2.1161 on 7 November 2007. However, since the global financial crisis in late 2008, the pound has since depreciated at one of the fastest rates in the history, reaching an all-time low of $1.35 per £1 on January 23, 2009. In addition, since late 2007 the pound has weakened against the euro, falling below €1.25 in April 2008. A further decline was seen during the remainder of 2008; most dramatically in December when the rate hit an all-time low at €1.0219 (29/12). The pound appreciated in early 2009 and, as of mid-January, is at €1.07.

The first decimal coins were introduced in 1968. These were cupro-nickel 5p and 10p coins which were equivalent to and circulated alongside the 1/- and 2/- coins. The curved equilateral heptagonal, cupro-nickel 50p coin replaced the 10/- note in 1969. The decimal coinage was completed when decimalisation came into effect in 1971 with the introduction of the bronze ½p, 1p and 2p coins and the withdrawal of the 1d and 3d coins. 6d coins circulated at a value of 2½p until 1980. In 1982, the word "new" was dropped from the coinage and a 20p coin was introduced, followed by a £1 coin in 1983. The ½p coin was last produced in 1983 and demonetized in 1984. The 1990s saw the replacement of bronze with copper-plated steel and the reduction in size of the 5p, 10p and 50p coins. The old 1/- coins, which had continued to circulate with a value of 5p, were demonetized in 1991 following the reduction in size of the 5p coin, and 2/- coins were similarly demonetized in 1993. The bi-metallic British two pound coin#The modern circulating coin (1997–present £2 coin) was introduced in 1998.

The first sterling notes were issued by the Bank of England shortly after its foundation in 1694. Denominations were initially written on the notes at the time of issue. From 1745, the notes were printed in denominations between £20 and £1000, with any odd shillings added in hand. £10 notes were added in 1759, followed by £5 in 1793 and £1 and £2 in 1797. The lowest two denominations were withdrawn following 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 £1000 issued.

Value against other currencies

The pound is freely bought and sold on the foreign exchange markets around the world, and its value relative to other currencies therefore fluctuates (rising when traders buy pounds, falling when traders sell pounds). It has traditionally been among the highest-valued base currency units in the world. As of 29 December 2008, £1 was worth US$1.451 or €1.023.

Historical exchange rates (since 1990) are given in Exchange rates section of the Economy of the United Kingdom entry.

The leu ([lew], plural: lei [lej]; ISO 4217 code RON; numeric code 946) is the currency of Romania. It is subdivided into 100 bani (singular: ban). On 1 July 2005, Romania underwent a currency reform, switching from the previous leu (ROL) to a new leu (RON). 1 RON is equal to 10,000 ROL.

Romania joined the European Union on 1 January 2007 and it is expected to adopt the euro in 2014.

On August 15, 1947, a revaluation took place, with a new leu replacing the old one at a rate of 20,000 old lei = 1 new leu. This revaluation, called a monetary reform or stabilisation measure (mica stabilizare, marea stabilizare), was carried out by the Communist authorities with absolutely no advance warning and without the possibility to exchange more than a fixed amount of money for the new currency. This was done in order to depose the former middle and upper classes of their last assets, after nationalization, to prepare for collectivization and to finalize the installation of communism. At the time of its introduction, 150 new lei equalled 1 U.S. dollar.

In the 1990s, after the downfall of communism, inflation ran high due to reform failures, the legalization of owning foreign currency in 1990, and the bankrupt policies of the former communist era, reaching rates as high as 300% per year in 1993. By September 2003, one euro was exchanged for more than 40,000 lei, this being its peak value. Following a number of successful monetary policies in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the situation became gradually more stable, with one digit inflation in 2005.

The Romanian leu briefly held the dubious distinction of being the world's least valued currency unit, from January (when the Turkish lira dropped six zeros) to July 2005. However, the 1,000,000 lei bill was not the highest Romanian denomination ever. This distinction belongs to the 5 million lei bill from 1947.

On 1 July 2005, the leu was revalued at the rate of 10,000 "old" lei (ROL) for one "new" leu (RON), thus psychologically bringing the purchasing power of the leu back in line with those of other major Western currencies. The term chosen for the action was "denominare", similar to the English "denomination", to signify not a conversion, but rather a total reinvention.

The first day brought difficulties adjusting to the new paper currencies and closed ATMs (that needed reprogramming) and forcing a new calculation habit that slowed down shops and annoyed some salespeople and shoppers. The old ROL currency banknotes remained in circulation until December 31, 2006 (coins remained in circulation only until December 31, 2005), but all accounts have been converted starting July 1, 2005. There is no conversion time limit between the currencies. Retailers had to display prices in both old and new currency from March 1, 2005 until June 30, 2006. The appreciation of the leu during 2005 was about 20% against a basket of major currencies.

As of 2006, the revaluation is a potential source of confusion, especially to visitors, since both old and new currency values are commonly quoted. When written, the very large amounts in old currency are usually obvious, but in speaking inhabitants might refer to an amount of 5 new lei as simply "fifty" in reference to its value 50,000 old lei.

In 1952, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10 and 25 bani, with the 1, 3 and 5 struck in aluminium bronze and the others in cupro-nickel. In 1955, cupro-nickel 50 bani were added.

In 1960, a new coinage was introduced, consisting of 15 and 25 bani, with 5 bani, 1 and 3 lei coins added in 1963. All were struck in nickel-clad steel. In 1975, aluminium replaced steel in the 5 and 15 bani, with the same change happening for the 25 bani in 1982. Aluminium 5 lei were introduced in 1978.

Following the end of the communist regime, a new coinage was introduced between 1990 and 1992, consisting of 1 leu in bronze clad steel, 5 and 10 lei in nickel plated steel, 20 and 50 lei in brass clad steel and nickel plated steel 100 lei.

As inflation took its toll, 500, 1000 and 5000 lei coins were introduced in 1999, 2000 and 2001, respectively, and were the only coins circulating when the revaluation occurred. They were all criticized for being clumsy and difficult to use. The 500 lei coins were very thick (about 0.3 cm). Despite their small value, it took only a handful of such coins to fill one's pocket. They were also made of poor material and could be occasionally found with bite marks. The 1000 lei coin was considered too small and was also cheaply made, and the 5000 lei coin was not circular (it was a dodecagon). This made it awkward to handle and difficult to use in slot machines, where it was frequently the only coin accepted. The 500, 1000 and 5000 lei coins became worth 5, 10 and 50 bani with the revaluation.

In 1952, the Ministry of Finance introduced notes for 1, 3 and 5 lei, and the Banca Republicii Populare Romane introduced 10, 25 and 100 lei notes. In 1966, the Banca Nationala a Republicii Socialiste Romania took over the production of all paper money, issuing notes for 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 lei.

In 1991, 500 and 1000 lei notes were introduced, followed by 200 and 5000 lei notes in 1992, 10,000 lei in 1994, 50,000 lei in 1996, 100,000 lei in 1998, 500,000 lei in 2000 and 1 million lei in 2003. There was also a 2000 lei note, introduced in 1999; it celebrated the total solar eclipse that occurred on August 11th, 1999. The final issues of the 2000, 10,000, 50,000, 100,000, 500,000 and 1 million lei were polymer notes.

Notes in circulation at the revaluation were:

* 10,000 lei (became 1 leu)
* 50,000 lei (became 5 lei)
* 100,000 lei (became 10 lei)
* 500,000 lei (became 50 lei)
* 1,000,000 lei (became 100 lei)

In 2005, polymer notes were introduced for 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 lei. 200 lei notes were added in 2006. The designs of the 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 lei notes are based on those of the earlier 10,000, 50,000, 100,000, 500,000 and 1 million lei notes which they replaced. The 10 lei bill was redesigned in November 2008 (most of the graphic elements are identical, some of the safety elements were withdrawn, making its safety degree similar the the lower values of 1 leu and 5 lei bills).