In 10th century England the Angles, Saxons and Jutes needed to buy peace with the Viking invaders using something more impressive than sword blades. The solution, the famous Danegeld, meant reviving the old Roman practice of minting silver coins valued according to the weight of the precious metal they contained. Another wave of invaders, the Normans in 1066, brought with them the custom of imprinting their silver coinage with a star - the coins thus became known as little stars, starlings, or sterlings. The various weights used included the mark, the shilling, and the pound of sterlings.
From these origins in the Dark Ages, the story of the pound has not only been central to British life but has played a central role in the world's history. The pound was the first great international exchange currency, shaping events not only in Europe but in the Americas, India, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Middle East. It financed the voyages of Sir Francis Drake, opened up unexplored continents, sent great armies across the globe and laid the foundations of the financial system that now drives world trade.
The Pound: A Biography tells the story of the pound from the Vikings to cyberspace, when - single European currency or not - it may have come to the end of its life. Along the way we encounter the kings and queens, the merchants and adventurers, the bankers, politicians and assorted fraudsters who have played the supporting roles. The story is revelatory, fascinating and always entertaining - a permanent record of and possible epitaph to the rise and decline of the world's most enduring currency.
