Falkland Islands pound

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Falkland Islands pound
FK£1
ISO 4217 Code	FKP
User(s)	Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Inflation	3.6%
Source	The World Factbook, 1998
Pegged with	pound sterling at par
Subunit
1/100	penny
Symbol	£
penny	p
Plural
penny	pence
Coins	1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1, £2
Banknotes	£5, £10, £20, £50
Government	Government of the Falkland Islands
Website	www.falklands.gov.fk

The pound is the currency of the Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. The symbol is the pound sign, £, or alternatively FK£, to distinguish it from other pound-denominated currencies. The ISO 4217 currency code is FKP.

The Falklands pound is (and always has been) pegged to the pound sterling at par and banknotes of both currencies are used interchangeably on the islands (although only notes issued by banks in the United Kingdom are generally accepted in Britain itself). The Falklands pound is also commonly used in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, a separate British overseas territory some 1332 kilometres (827 mi) to the east (though the official currency of that territory is the pound sterling^[1]).

Contents 1 History 2 Coins 3 Banknotes 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

The pound was introduced following the occupation of the Falklands Islands by the British in 1833. During the earlier Argentinian occupation, the peso had circulated. Initially, British currency circulated, with the pound subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.

Specific issues of banknotes have been made for the Falkland Islands since 1899. In 1971, the pound was decimalised and subdivided into 100 pence. Coins have been minted specifically for the Falklands since 1974.

[edit] Coins

Main article: Coins of the Falkland Islands pound

In 1974, ½, 1, 2, 5 and 10 pence coins were introduced. 50 pence coins were introduced in 1980, followed by 20 pence in 1982, 1 pound in 1987 and a circulating 2 pounds in 2004. The ½ penny coin was last issued in 1983 and was demonetised shortly after. Smaller versions of the 5p, 10p and 50p, corresponding to the current UK issues, were issued in 1998, replacing the larger versions (which for the 5p was eight years after its introduction in the UK). The introduction of the circulation £2 coin in 2004 was six years after the same coin was issued in the UK. All the coins have the same composition and size as the corresponding British coins.

[edit] Banknotes

Between 1899 and 1901, the government introduced notes for 5 and 10 shillings, 1 and 5 pounds. The 5 shilling notes were issued until 1916. In 1969, in preparation for decimalisation, the 10 shilling note was replaced by a 50 pence note. 10 pound notes were introduced in 1975, followed by 20 pounds in 1984 and 50 pounds in 1990. Banknotes in circulation are:

• 5 pounds (red)
• 10 pounds (green)
• 20 pounds (grey)
• 50 pounds (blue, green and red combination)

Falklands' banknotes feature the same images, differing only in their respective denominations and corresponding colours. On the front side, all notes contain a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the Falklands' coat of arms, a small map of the islands, and images of two of the islands' main animals, penguins and sea lions. On the back, notes feature pictures of Christ Church Cathedral in Stanley and Government House, the official residence of the Governor of the Falkland Islands.

Use Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
Use XE.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
Use OANDA.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD

[edit] See also

• Economy of the Falkland Islands

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Don's World Coin Gallery - Falkland Islands
• Ron Wise's World Paper Money - Falkland Islands ^{Mirror site}
• The Global History of Currencies - Falkland Islands
• Global Financial Data currency histories table ( Microsoft Excel format)

v • d • e Banknotes of the pound sterling    England and Wales Bank of England Scotland Bank of Scotland · The Royal Bank of Scotland · Clydesdale Bank Northern Ireland Bank of Ireland · First Trust Bank · Northern Bank  · Ulster Bank British Crown Dependencies Guernsey pound · Jersey pound · Manx pound British overseas territories (at parity with Sterling) Gibraltar pound · Falkland Islands pound · Saint Helena pound See also Pound sterling · Coins of the pound sterling · Economy of the United Kingdom  · Sterling Area

v • d • e Currencies of the Americas North America Canadian dollar · Danish krone (Greenland) · Euro (Saint Pierre and Miquelon) · U.S. dollar · Mexican peso Central America Belize dollar · Costa Rican colón · Guatemalan quetzal · Honduran lempira · Nicaraguan córdoba · Panamanian balboa · U.S. dollar (El Salvador) Caribbean Aruban florin · Bahamian dollar · Barbadian dollar · Bermudian dollar · Cayman Islands dollar · Cuban peso · Cuban convertible peso · Dominican peso · East Caribbean dollar (Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) · Euro (Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy, Guadeloupe, Martinique) · Haitian gourde · Jamaican dollar · Netherlands Antillean gulden · Trinidad and Tobago dollar · U.S. dollar (British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands) South America Argentine peso · Bolivian boliviano · Brazilian real · Chilean peso · Colombian peso · Euro (French Guiana) · Falkland Islands pound · Guyanese dollar · Paraguayan guaraní · Peruvian nuevo sol · Surinamese dollar · U.S. dollar (Ecuador) · Uruguayan peso · Venezuelan bolívar