Origins of the British Pound Sterling System

Timeline

1. c. 928–1158England · EnglandFrom Æthelstan to Henry II, England centered circulation on a unified silver penny; the accounting convention of 240 pennies to 1 pound of silver took shape, with 'sterling silver' denoting 925-standard fine silver.
2. c. 1158–1340Tower of London Mint · LondonAfter Henry II's reform the silver penny became the statutory unit for taxes and judicial compensation; the pound (£) existed mainly as an accounting and bulk-transaction unit, with pennies and shillings (12 pennies) dominant in actual circulation, forming the embryonic £/s/d tripartite structure.
3. 1341–1350England and the Gascony theater · EnglandIn 1344 Edward III successively trial-struck the gold florin and gold noble, supplementing the silver penny system at a fixed gold-silver ratio; in the 1340s tariffs, borrowing, and monetary adjustments supported the war against France, and the dual structure of the pound accounting unit alongside circulating gold coins matured.
4. c. 1489–1816Britain · British IslesFrom the 15th century the pound gradually became the name of the statutory currency; after the 1707 Acts of Union it extended to the whole of Britain, and the 1816 Gold Standard Act established the modern pound system, completing the transformation of the medieval silver penny accounting tradition into a modern central currency system.