Pound sterling

:GBP redirects here. For other uses, see GBP (disambiguation).

Legal tender and regional issues

Laws of legal tender are uniquely complex in the UK. In England and Wales, banknotes issued by the Bank of England are legal tender, meaning that they must be accepted in payment of a debt. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, no banknotes are legal tender, and each bank which issues banknotes does so in the form of its own 'promissory notes'. Scottish and Northern Irish notes are sometimes rejected by shops when used in England. Scottish and Northern Irish notes' designs are also different from the English notes' designs. The single Pound coin also has many varied designs on the reverse side, which differ from year to year with new designs appearing; however, all of these are Royal Mint coins and of equivalent legality.

Related Topics:
Legal tender - England - Wales - Bank of England - Scotland - Northern Ireland - Reverse

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The nature of legal tender is even more restricted in Scotland — only Royal Mint coins are legal tender, and even then the use of smaller coins is limited (the five and ten pence coins are only legal tender to a value of five pounds, for example). However, one and two pound coins are legal tender to an indefinite amount. This was not always the case, as during World War II the Scottish banknotes were made legal tender by the Currency (Defence) Act 1939; this status was withdrawn on January 1 1946.

Related Topics:
World War II - January 1 - 1946

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To further complicate matters, some notes of the Bank of England were until recently legal tender in Scotland and Northern Ireland. This status only applied to notes under a value of five pounds, so following the withdrawal of the Bank of England one pound note in 1985, no circulating notes were covered by this clause.

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All commonly circulating British coins are legal tender throughout the UK, as are the rarely seen five pound and twenty-five pence ("crown") coins. Several gold coins issued by the Mint are still legal tender, though as they have a bullion value far greater than their face value they are never used in circulation and tend to be kept by collectors.

Related Topics:
British coins - Bullion - Collectors

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Gibraltar and the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Saint Helena, the Falkland Islands and the Isle of Man, which are not part of the United Kingdom, also issue their own currencies, which are fixed to the value of sterling. None of the regional currencies are legal tender in England or in other regions, but they are commonly accepted by large businesses and banks. However, an exchange commission may be charged.

Related Topics:
Gibraltar - Guernsey - Jersey - Saint Helena - Falkland Islands - Isle of Man - United Kingdom - England

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:See : British banknotes, Isle of Man pound, Guernsey Pound, Jersey pound, Gibraltar pound, Falkland pound, Saint Helenian pound

Related Topics:
British banknotes - Isle of Man pound - Guernsey Pound - Jersey pound - Gibraltar pound - Falkland pound - Saint Helenian pound

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