By popular demand and anticipation, we bring you a compilation of our top ten interesting, intriguing and mind blowing facts about the British Pound Sterling. We trust that at the end of this whole ride, you’d have been enlightened and increased in knowledge.

The Pounds Sterling

The Pound Sterling is the official currency of the United Kingdom and some other British nations. Its symbol is £. The Pound Sterling is available both in banknotes and coins. The currency is issued by the Bank of England. Pounds Sterling is the third most traded currency in the Foreign Exchange markets with the US Dollars coming first. As of the time of writing this post, One Pound equals to 1.28 United States Dollars.

History of The Exchange Rate of Naira to Pounds.

Here is how 1 GPB has been exchange to the NGN in the past.

April 2016: 284 Naira – 290 Naira.

May 2016: 290 Naira – 288 Naira.

June 2016: 286 Naira – 375 Naira.

July 2016: 314 Naira – 420 Naira.

August 2016: 420 Naira – N409.

September 2016: 413 Naira – 405 Naira.

October 2016: 406 Naira – 383 Naira.

November 2018: 466 Naira – 470 Naira.

December 2018: 450 Naira – 455 Naira.

November 2018 – ₦466 – ₦470

December 2018 – ₦450 – ₦455

According to cbn.gov.ng, as at February 1, 2020, the Pound Sterling is buying at ₦491.696, at a central price of ₦492.337 and selling at ₦392.977.

Major facts about the British Pounds Sterling-The following is for your reading delight:

1. The currency gets its name from the Latin word “libra”, which makes reference to weight and balance.
2. The British pound sterling is the oldest existing currency in the world, it origins that can be traced back to old continental Europe.
3. Unknown to many persons who are either living outside the UK or have never been to the UK at any one time in their lives, the pound sterling being in use in the UK are existing in  1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 and £2 coins and £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes. £1 notes are also issued and not just being used in Britain, they are also in use in Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man, and in Scotland by the Royal Bank of Scotland. These areas are also privy to using the £100, in addition to this country is Northern Ireland.
4. In 1988, the £1 notes were taken out of circulation by the Bank of England which serves as its central bank. Some of the currency are produced as commemorative currencies. These currencies have been tagged commemorative because they were brought into circulation to celebrate occasions in thehistory of the country and activities that surround the royal house. They include the 25p and £5 coins.These have been produced, and can be accepted as payment in the country for goods and services. It is note worthy that no 25p coin has been produced again since 1981, when it was produced to commemorate the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana.
5. This will really interest you, As a strategy of war during the second World,the Nazi forces of Germany cunningly produced in large quantities counterfeit British Pounds, the idea was for it to devalue and weaken the British economy. After the war had taken its toll and ended in 1945 approximately 13% of the value of the notes in existence were fake. In response to this upon discovery, Britain responded by making extinct notes of higher denominations and as security measure putting metal strips through the notes that were subsequently produced. These metal strips can still be found in the pound sterling today.
6. On the other side of notes are images of some famous British men and women. Images like that of Elizabeth Fry which is behind £5 notes, Charles Darwin which is behind the £10 notes, Adam Smith on the £20 notes and lastly James Watt and his business partner cum friend Matthew Boltonappears on £50 notes. Persons who are considered to have been great achievers and world conquerors of Britain descents have also been on the notes.
7. The English saying ‘Spend a penny’ means going to the bathroom, and it originated from the need to pay one penny for the use of a public WC. This practice started during The Great Exhibition in 1851.
8. As of today, the most expensive UK coin ever was an Edward III Florin, it was sold for £460,000 at an auction. It is said that only three of these coins are known to exist or have ever existed.
9. Currently in international markets, the Great Britain Pound is the fourth most-traded currency in the world, preceded by the United States Dollar, the Euro, and the Japanese Yen. To close up this list of top ten facts about the British Pounds Sterling, we share with you the number ten on our list;
10. Two 1p coins when weighed on a scale weighs the same as one 2p coin, and two 5p coins weigh the same as one 10p coin.

Conclusion

By extension,Nigerians are currently everywhere in the world and UK most especially. However,their percentage in the UK, US and Canada are much more than the rest of the world  when compared critically and this situation isn’t favoring our economy at all and most especially our currency. From the above, you can now Convert pound to naira using the exchange rates above without hassle.