The History of The British Pound英镑历史.ppt

The History of The British Pound Outline The Introduction of British Pound The early pennies The Gold Standard and Sterlings Supremacy During The World War One The End of the Gold Standard Reconstruction at Bretton Woods The British Pound The British Pound, the pound sterling, or more commonly, the pound, is the currency used in the United Kingdom. The pound sterling holds the title of the oldest currency still in use today. Its origins date back to around 760 during the reign of King Offa of Mercia. King Offa introduced the silver penny, which quickly spread in through the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and became the standard coin in what is now known as England. The early pennies From about 760 to 1158, were struck from fine silver. However, in 1158, King Henry II introduced new coinage struck from 92.5% silver, which became known as the sterling pound. These new sterling silver coins were much more durable than the previous fine silver coins, which in turn allowed them to last longer in circulation. Silver pennies were often the sole coinage used from the eighth century to thirteenth century. British currency was exclusively silver until the introduction of the gold noble in 1344. The percentage of silver in the coinage continued to fluctuate throughout the Tudor reign, but silver remained the basis for legal tender. In 1694 King William III established the Bank of England to fund his fight with France. Paper money was introduced in this year and soon the legal basis changed to gold. The Gold Standard and Sterlings Supremacy From 1717 the UK defined sterlings value in terms of gold rather than its original silver, but it was not until the 1870s when Germany adopted gold that the gold standard came about, ushering in an era of grand scale international trade. The principle of the standard, that a nation must back its banknotes with the equivalent in gold, established exchange rate stability. Sterlings strength was the basis of the gold standard, and was behi