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How the British pound has changed over time

The evolution of the UK's venerable currency
Roman inspiration
Creation of the pound
First English coins
Sterling silver
First gold coin
Lower value coins
Gold crown
First banknotes
Pound Scots
First printed notes
UK currency
Great Recoinage of 1816
Gold Standard
Lowest value coin
Bank of England monopoly
Scottish and Northern Irish notes
First fully printed notes
Global currency
Gold standard dumped
Lowest value note
Big-money notes
Queen's Elizabeth II's face
Famous figures
Decimalisation
Old money out
Maundy money
Shrinking cash
New decimal coins
£1 coin introduced
Security updates
New faces
Polymer notes
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Keystone/Getty

The evolution of the UK's venerable currency

Old enough to remember the White Fiver, £1 note or sixpence and halfpenny coins? The most ancient currency still in use, pound sterling has changed beyond all recognition since its creation in the eighth century. We chart its evolution to the present day, from solid-silver coinage to polymer notes.
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Daniel Coughlin

10 December 2018

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