Gibraltar pound
| ISO 4217 | |
|---|---|
| Code | GIP (numeric: 292) |
| Subunit | 0.01 |
| Unit | |
| Plural | Pounds |
| Symbol | £ |
| Denominations | |
| Subunit | |
| 1/100 | Penny |
| Plural | |
| Penny | Pence |
| Symbol | |
| Penny | p |
| Banknotes | £5, £10, £20, £50, £100 |
| Coins | 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1, £2, £5 |
| Demographics | |
| User(s) |  Gibraltar (alongside pound sterling) |
| Issuance | |
| Government | Government of Gibraltar |
| Website | www |
| Valuation | |
| Inflation | 0.0%, February 2015. |
| Source | The World Factbook, 2005 |
| Pegged with | pound sterling at par |
The Gibraltar pound (currency sign: £; banking code: GIP) is the currency of Gibraltar. It is pegged to – and exchangeable with – the British pound sterling at par value. The central bank controlling the GIP, with responsibility of minting coins and printing notes, is the Government of Gibraltar.[1]
History
Until 1872, the currency situation in Gibraltar was complicated, with a system based on the real being employed which encompassed British, Spanish and Gibraltarian coins. From 1825, the real (actually the Spanish real de plata) was tied to the pound at the rate of 1 Spanish dollar to 4 shillings 4 pence (equivalent to 21.67 pence today). In 1872, however, the Spanish currency became the sole legal tender in Gibraltar.[2] In 1898, the Spanish–American War made the Spanish peseta drop alarmingly and the pound was introduced as the sole currency of the colony, initially in the form of British coins and banknotes.
In 1898, the British pound was made sole legal tender, although the Spanish peseta continued in circulation until the Spanish Civil War.[2] Since 1927, Gibraltar has issued its own banknotes and, since 1988, its own coins. Gibraltar decimalised in 1971 at the same time as the UK, replacing the system of 1 pound = 20 shillings = 240 pence with one of 1 pound = 100 (new) pence.
Relationship with the British pound
The Currency Notes Act of 1934[3] confers on the Government of Gibraltar the right to print its own notes, and the obligation to back and exchange each printed note with sterling reserves at a rate of one pound to one pound sterling. Although Gibraltar notes are denominated in "pounds sterling", they are not legal tender in the United Kingdom, but they are in theory exchangeable at par for British notes at banks;[citation needed] in practice, UK high street banks differ in their approach to exchanging Gibraltar banknotes for UK notes. Barclays and HSBC are more likely to accept these notes for account holders; Santander does not. Gibraltar's coins are the same weight, size and metal as UK coins, although the designs are different, and they are occasionally found in circulation across Britain.
British coins and Bank of England notes circulate in Gibraltar and are universally accepted and interchangeable with Gibraltar issues.
Coins
| 1 pound | |
|---|---|
_obverse.png) _reverse.png)
| |
| Obverse | Reverse |
In 1988, coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 pence and 1 pound were introduced which bore specific designs for and the name of Gibraltar. They were the same sizes and compositions as the corresponding British coins, with 2 pound coins introduced in 1999. A new coin of 5 pounds was issued in 2010 with the inscription "Elizabeth II · Queen of Gibraltar".[4] This issue caused controversy in Spain, where the title of King of Gibraltar historically corresponds to the crown of Castile.[5]
| £ 0.01 | £ 0.02 | £ 0.05 |
|---|---|---|
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
Gibraltar candytuft | ||
| £ 0.10 | £ 0.20 | £ 0.50 |
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
| £ 1.00 | £ 2.00 | |
|
.jpg) |
|
The £2 coin has featured a new design every year since its introduction, as it depicts each of the 12 Labours of Hercules.
Tercentenary edition
In 2004 the Government of Gibraltar minted a new edition of its coins to commemorate the tercentenary of British Gibraltar (1704-2004).
| £ 0.01 | £ 0.02 | £ 0.05 |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| £ 0.10 | £ 0.20 | £ 0.50 |
 |
 |
 |
skull in Gibraltar (1848) |
||
| £ 1.00 | £ 2.00 | |
 |
 |
|
(1779-1783) |
(1704) |
| £ 0.01 | £ 0.02 | £ 0.05 |
|---|---|---|
 |
|
|
| £ 0.10 | £ 0.20 | £ 0.50 |
| |
|
|
| £ 1.00 | £ 2.00 | £ 5.00 |
| |
|
|
Banknotes
At the outbreak of World War I, Gibraltar was forced to issue banknotes to prevent paying out sterling or gold. These notes were issued under emergency wartime legislation, Ordinance 10 of 1914. At first the typeset notes were signed by hand by Treasurer Greenwood, though he later used stamps. The notes bore the embossed stamp of the Anglo-Egyptian Bank Ltd. and circulated alongside British Territory notes.[6] The 1914 notes were issued in denominations of 2 and 10 shillings, 1, 5 and 50 pounds. The 2 shilling and 50 pound notes were not continued when a new series of notes was introduced in 1927. The 10 shilling note was replaced by the 50 pence coin during the process of decimalization. In 1975, 10 and 20 pound notes were introduced, followed by 50 pounds in 1986. The 1 pound note was discontinued in 1988. In 1995, a new series of notes was introduced which, for the first time, bore the words "pounds sterling" rather than just "pounds". The government of Gibraltar introduced a new series of banknotes beginning with the 10 and 50 pound sterling notes issued on July 8, 2010. On May 11, 2011, the 5, 20 and 100 pound sterling notes were issued.[7]
| Current GIP exchange rates | |
|---|---|
| From Google Finance: | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
| From Yahoo! Finance: | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
| From XE.com: | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
| From OANDA: | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
See also
- Economy of Gibraltar
- Currency board
- Christopher Ironside, OBE, coin designer: reverse design of the 25 New Pence coin, Barbary ape (issued 1971).
References
- ^ "GIP". Investopedia. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ^ a b Bond, Peter (2003). 300 Years of British Gibraltar 1704-2004. Peter-Tan Publishing Co. p. 89.
- ^ Government of Gibraltar (June 1934). "Currency Notes Act" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ 'Queen of Gibraltar' in new coin, Panorama, 7 May, 2010
- ^ Polémica en ámbitos diplomáticos por la asistencia de la reina doña Sofía a los actos de homenaje a Isabel II: consideran que puede perjudicar los intereses soberanos españoles, El Confidencial Digital, 6 May 2012
- ^ Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "Gibraltar". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com.
- ^ Gibraltar new note family now complete
- Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
- Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9.
External links
- Banknotes of Gibraltar: Catalog of Gibraltar Shillings and Pounds
- The current banknotes of Gibraltar Template:En icon Template:De icon
Euro topics | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | |||||||||
| Administration | |||||||||
| Fiscal provisions | |||||||||
| Economy | |||||||||
| International status | |||||||||
| Denominations |
| ||||||||
| Coins by country with minting rights |
| ||||||||
Potential adoption by other countries | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| History |
| ||||||||