All about money
You are going to read a text about the British currency.
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All about money The sign for the pound is £ (or rarely just "L"). Both symbols derive from libra, the Latin word for "pound". In the UK, in order to distinguish the unit of currency from the unit of mass, and from other units of currency that have the same name, a pound is often referred to as a pound sterling or sometimes simply sterling. The slang term quid is also substituted in informal conversation for "pound(s) sterling". The sterling was originally a name for a silver penny of 1/240 pound. In modern times the pound has replaced the penny as the basic unit of currency as inflation has steadily eroded the value of the currency. Originally a silver penny had the purchasing power of slightly less than a modern pound. In the UK the Euro is not used. Although a few of the big shops will accept Euro, it is rarely used across Britain. Since decimalisation in 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 pence.
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