Jersey pound

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jersey pound
Obverse of a £20 banknote Reverse of a £20 banknote
ISO 4217 Code	none
User(s)	Jersey
Inflation	5.3%
Source	The World Factbook, 2004
Pegged with	pound sterling at par
Subunit
1/100	penny
Symbol	£
penny	p
Plural
penny	pence
Coins
Freq. used	1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 50p
Rarely used	£1, £2
Banknotes	£1, £5, £10, £20, £50
Treasury	Treasury and Resources Department, States of Jersey
Website	www.gov.je/TreasuryResources

The pound is the currency of Jersey. Jersey is in currency union with the United Kingdom, and the Jersey pound is not a separate currency but is an issue of banknotes and coins by the States of Jersey denominated in pound sterling, in a similar way to the banknotes issued in Scotland and Northern Ireland (see sterling banknotes). It can be exchanged at par with other sterling coinage and notes (see also sterling zone).

For this reason, ISO 4217 does not include a separate currency code for the Jersey pound, but where a distinct code is desired JEP is generally used ^[1].

Both Jersey and Bank of England notes are legal tender in Jersey and circulate together, alongside the Guernsey pound and Scottish banknotes. Although the Jersey notes are not legal tender in the United Kingdom, creditors and traders may accept them if they so choose.^[2]

[edit] History

A page from a ready reckoner published in 1854 allowing at-a-glance conversion between Jersey currency and three other currencies in use at the time

The livre was the currency of Jersey until 1834. It consisted of French coins which, in the early 19th century, were exchangeable for sterling at a rate of 26 livres = 1 pound. After the livre was replaced by the franc in France in 1795, the supply of coins in Jersey dwindled leading to difficulties in trade and payment. In 1834, an Order in Council adopted the pound sterling as Jersey's sole official legal tender, although French copper coins continued to circulate alongside British silver coins, with 26 sous equal to the shilling. Because the sous remained the chief small-change coins, when a new copper coinage was issued for Jersey in 1841, it was based on a penny worth ¹⁄₁₃ of a shilling, the equivalent of 2 sous. This system continued until 1877, when a penny of ¹⁄₁₂ of a shilling was introduced.

Along with the rest of the British Isles, Jersey decimalized in 1971 and began issuing a full series of circulating coins from ½p to 50p. £1 and £2 denominations followed later.

As of December 2005, there was £64.7m of Jersey currency in circulation. A profit of £2.8m earned on the issue of Jersey currency was received by the Treasurer of the States in 2005. ^[3]

[edit] Coins

Main article: Coins of the Jersey pound

Jersey 1 pound coin

In 1841, copper ¹⁄₅₂, ¹⁄₂₆ and ¹⁄₁₃ shilling coins were introduced, followed by bronze ¹⁄₂₆ and ¹⁄₁₃ shilling in 1866. In 1877, with the switch to 12 pence to the shilling, bronze ¹⁄₄₈, ¹⁄₂₄ and ¹⁄₁₂ shilling were introduced. This was the only issue of the ¹⁄₄₈ shilling denomination. In 1957, a nickel-brass 3 pence coin was introduced carrying the denomination "one fourth of a shilling". The 1957 and 1960 issues were round, with a dodecagonal version introduced in 1964.

In 1968, 5 and 10 pence coins were introduced, followed by 50 pence in 1969 and ½, 1 and 2 pence in 1971 when decimalization took place. All had the same composition and size as the corresponding British coins. A 20 pence coin was introduced in 1982, followed by a 1 pound coin in 1983 and 2 pounds in 1998. The ½ penny coin was last minted in 1981. The 1 and 2 pounds coins are not commonly encountered.

[edit] Banknotes

Until 1831, a large number of bodies and individuals in Jersey issued their own banknotes. The parishes of Jersey issued notes, as did the Vingtaine de la Ville. Legislation in 1831 attempted to regulate such issues, but the parishes and the Vingtaine de la Ville were exempted from the regulatory provisions. Most of the notes were 1 pound denominations, although at least one 5 pound issue was made. These locally produced notes, which were often issued to fund public works, ceased to be issued after the 1890s.

During the German occupation in the Second World War, a series of banknotes designed by Edmund Blampied was issued by the States of Jersey in denominations of 6 pence, 1, 2 and 10 shillings, and 1 pound.

The States have issued a regular series of banknotes since 1963. The first issue consisted on denominations of 10 shillings, 1 and 5 pounds, with 10 pound notes introduced in 1972. 20 pound notes followed in 1976 and 50 pounds in 1989. Despite the introduction of a 1 pound coin, the 1 pound note continues to circulate.

The current notes depict Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and various landmarks of Jersey or incidents in Jersey history on the reverse. The watermark is a Jersey cow.

Jersey has issued two commemorative £1 banknotes. In 1995 as special issue commemorating 50th anniversary of Liberation of Jersey was issued. Front side is slighly different from standard design with serial number starting "LJ" standing for "Liberation of Jersey", inscription and map of Jersey printed in optically variable ink and the reverse in entirely different from standar one pound note. In 2004, a special edition £1 note was introduced in general circulation alongside the St. Helier Parish Church note; this commemorative note marks the 800th anniversary of the division of the Duchy of Normandy in 1204 and the design consequently includes Mont Orgueil castle and other historic symbols. It has serial number with prefix "J8C" which stands for "Jersey 800".

[edit] See also

• Economy of Jersey
• British banknotes
• French livre

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Don's World Coin Gallery - Jersey
• Ron Wise's World Paper Money - Jersey ^{Mirror site}
• The Global History of Currencies - Jersey
• Global Financial Data currency histories table ( Microsoft Excel format)
• Decimal Currency (Jersey) Law, 1971