Talk:Gibraltar pound

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[edit] Conversion to GBP

I have removed the following text because I not only cant find anything to back it up, but also because I am aware of specific instructions to the contrary:

Gibraltar issued notes are actually denominated as Pound Sterling as are all bank accounts. High Street Banks in the UK are instructed to exchange them 1:1 for UK notes. Some branches may not be aware of the procedure and may attempt to charge a commission.

Reasoning:

1. OANDA specifically quote a GIP/GBP rate which differs over time
2. I work for a UK clearing bank, and we are certainly aware of the procedure - daily exchange rates for GIP are sent to us
3. Point 2 backed up by Thomas Cook Bureau de Change staff

If the instruction supposedly given to UK High Street Banks is available I would be most interested to read it. Ian3055 17:51, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

The GBP/GIP conversion rate never changes. It is always parity, i.e. 1.0000. What you see on OANDA is the effect of GBP/USD and GIP/USD updating out of sync internally within OANDA. The effect is an apparent GBP/GIP rate <> 1.0000. In my experience, GIP is not a currency in its own right, except in the world of wholesale banknote trading. In wholesale banknote trading, GIP notes have a lower price than BoE GBP notes, as do Scottish and Northern Irish notes. NFH 19:44, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

Talking of out-of-sync, on the GIP page it says "The Gibraltar pound, the currency of Gibraltar, is another name for the Pound Sterling", on the Gibraltar it says "The unit of currency in use is the Pound Sterling with notes issued by the Government of Gibraltar although there is an ISO code of GIP for the Gibraltar Pound", and Template:Gibraltar topics links to Gibraltar pound, not GPB... Would anyone like to update these pages to some internally consistent versions? TYIA. -- Jokes Free4Me 17:10, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

On a related point, the intro to this page suffered from the same problem as Manx pound in that no definition of what the Gibraltar pound actually is was provided. One was left either confused, or with the impression that "Gibraltar pound" is somehow an exact synonym for "pound" (i.e. pound sterling), which is clearly not the case. I have tried to rewrite it to give such a definition. If anyone can think of a better way then please feel free! Matt 11:50, 1 September 2006 (UTC).

Everything I've read suggests that they're two separate currencies pegged to each other at par, not the same currency. The government describes the situation as: "The currency is Gibraltar pounds, at par with sterling". The fact that they've been pegged at par and have similar coinage means that in practice they're sometimes treated interchangeably, but this doesn't mean they are actually the same currency, or legally interchangeable. A similar situation exists in the Bahamas between the United States dollar and the Bahamian dollar (although the same situation does not exist in the U.S., due to its much larger size and general ignorance that Bahamian dollars exist). --Delirium 01:13, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

The matter is indeed confused. However, as far as I can see its impossible to buy a GIP, the notes are sterling (read them) and no bank in Gibraltar, or anywhere else, offers an account denominated in GIP.

Its academic that someone quotes an exchange rate when there is no such currency. At one time Barclays bank charged .25% to convert between local accounts and sterling. Someone took them to court and they had to abandon the practice.

In any event the article should be renamed 'Gibraltar Pound' not Gibraltarian which had a defined legal meaning. --Gibnews 00:17, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 0.92:1 ??

Whichever of the above views are correct, the following sentence surely cannot be universally correct:

Gibraltar notes are not legal tender in the UK, but are exchangable at a rate of 0.92:1 for UK notes at banks.

If this exchange rate were applicable both ways in the UK, but the rate remained at 1:1 in Gibraltar itself, a lot of profit could be made by transporting money back and forth! However, oanda.com does indeed claim that 1 GIP = 0.92798 GBP, and has varied between 0.91400 and 1.04180 GBP in the past 12 months. This is not just a small numerical error caused by unsynchronised updating of other exchange rates, as suggested above by NFH. The deviations from 1.0000 are too big for that. Surely Oanda must be wrong. If you look at xe.com, their rate is precisely 1.0000.

I've emailed oanda.com, and they are looking into it.

Another point: it doesn't make sense to say the Gibraltar pound is a different currency from Sterling, because the Gibraltar banknotes use the words "Pounds Sterling"! If it's a different currency from the UK pound, then there must be more than one Pound Sterling. Mtford 00:12, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Origin of Queen's portrait?

The portrait of Elizabeth II on the Gibraltar banknotes is clearly not a recent one! Can anybody find a reference for the date and artist, and perhaps an explanation for the Gibraltar government's decision to keep such an old image? Mtford 00:47, 19 September 2006 (UTC)