The Pound Sterling is the official currency of the UK and is commonly abbreviated to the Pound and uses the symbol '£'.

£1 is made up of 100 subunits (pennies) with a decimal point being used to show how many pennies make up the overall price of goods. However, if the purchase price of an item is less than £1 you may find only the price in pennies (p) will be shown. Pennies are most commonly refered to as 'Pence' or just simply 'p'.

For example;

• £0.56 = 56p = 'fifty-six pence'
• £12 = 'twelve pounds'
• £12.56 = 'twelve pounds and fifty-six pence'

Further abbreviation may be found with values of less than £100 by quoting the the amount in pounds followed by the amount in pence.

£12.56 = 'twelve fifty-six'

You will find that the term 'quid' is also commonly used in the English language if only pounds and no pennies make up the price.

For example;

£5 = 'five pounds' or 'five quid'

The coins used in the UK are:

• 1p
• 2p
• 5p
• 10p
• 20p
• 50p
• £1
• £2
• £5 (Issued by the royal mint, they are used to commemorate special occasions such as the queen's birthday, rarely seen and in limited supply.)

The notes used are:

• £1 (Scotland only)
• £5
• £10
• £20
• £50

As a member of the European Union the UK has the option of making the Euro the official currency, although this is a move that would prove extremely unpopular with the British public who are keen to keep the identity of the Pound.