About the origin of the pound sterling (GBP)

The British currency pound sterling (short GBP , currency symbol £ ) is the oldest and most stable currency in the world. While the coinage is more than 1200 years old now, there is the title and introduction of the term " Sterling "guesswork. In the Middle Ages began the speculations about the etymology of the word. The origin of the term " penny "has still not clarified.

The term pound is 1300 years as a unit has been used before and have remained unchanged since then. Over time, this was for the English monetary system as a set specification also used.
Already in the 8th Century, the Saxons began as the first people, according to the Romans, England back to mint coins. The so-called Sceattas (translates as treasure) were made of silver. Towards the end of the first millennium, just before the Viking invasions, they started with the minting of pennies . The origin of the name, there are several theories, one has the name of a Saxon king back on, King Penda ", others believe in a common origin of the words Penny (eng.), pennies (dt) and Penge (Scandinavian). These terms are therefore been used in the sense of security.
Beginning of the 10th Century saw the English kings forced the incursions of the Danes, the drastic increase of coin production. This money was used as a "Danegold" a kind of protection money for the Danes, or funding for the defense. Already in the year 928, King Athelstan the Statue of Greatly adopted and carried a single currency for Britain. These served mainly to control because they operate up to 30 mints in part. Due to the ongoing conflict, but this project could only be realized in 1066 final and to this day, without change, as GBP was. The term pound was, as often large sums of money have been transferred, this time moving into the monetary system. Corresponded to 240 pence a pound, accordingly, the weight was adjusted for a penny.
The term sterling at the end of the 11th First century "Esterlin" in a French document as mentioned. It is clear that a specific type of sterling silver as a term was used for, from the English Silberpennies were minted. Whether the word Sterling now but from the description of a special coin emerged ("Steorling" means "coin with a star") or as a reference to "Easterling" ("Easterling" = inhabitants of the Hanseatic cities) was used is unclear.
Today, the GBP (= Great Britain Pound , which is the pound sterling ), the heights and depths wandered through several, and its dominance as a reserve currency against the U.S. dollar in 1944 (Bretton Woods system) lost, still considered one of the four most actively traded currencies. The GBP is also as a reserve currency remains popular here and is ranked third. However it had since 2008 something in strength against the euro lose.