Jersey pound | |||||
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ISO 4217 | |||||
Code | JEP | ||||
Denominations | |||||
Subunit | |||||
1/100 | penny | ||||
Plural | |||||
penny | pence | ||||
Symbol | £ | ||||
penny | p | ||||
Banknotes | |||||
Freq. used | £1, £5, £10, £20, £50 | ||||
Rarely used | £100 | ||||
Coins | |||||
Freq. used | 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 | ||||
Rarely used | £2 | ||||
Demographics | |||||
User(s) | Jersey (alongside pound sterling) | ||||
Issuance | |||||
Treasury | Treasury and Resources Department, States of Jersey (website) |
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Valuation | |||||
Inflation | 5.3% | ||||
Source | The World Factbook, 2004 | ||||
Pegged with | pound sterling at par | ||||
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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 Banknotes of the pound sterling). 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.
Both Jersey and Bank of England notes are legal tender in Jersey and circulate together, alongside the Guernsey pound and Scottish banknotes. The Jersey notes are not legal tender in the United Kingdom but are legal currency, so creditors and traders may accept them if they so choose.
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.