The Saint Helena pound is the currency of the Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 islands of Saint Helena

Saint Helena

Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...

 and Ascension

Ascension Island

Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa...

, which are constituents of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of the islands of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the Tristan da Cunha group...

. It is fixed at parity with the pound sterling

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

 and is subdivided into 100 pence

Penny

A penny is a coin or a type of currency used in several English-speaking countries. It is often the smallest denomination within a currency system.-Etymology:...

.

Tristan da Cunha

Tristan da Cunha

Tristan da Cunha is a remote volcanic group of islands in the south Atlantic Ocean and the main island of that group. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying from the nearest land, South Africa, and from South America...

, the third part of the territory, uses Pound sterling

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

 rather than the St Helena pound. However there are occasionally commemorative coins minted for the island.

History

Initially, British currency circulated on St Helena, with the pound subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. This was supplemented by occasional local issues of paper money. One coin, a copper halfpenny, was also struck specially for use in the islands in 1821. Prior to February 1961, the South African pound

South African pound

In 1825, an imperial order-in-council made sterling coinage legal tender in all the British colonies. At that time, the only British colony in Southern Africa was the Cape of Good Hope Colony. As time went on, the British pound sterling and its associated subsidiary coinage became the currency of...

, which was then equal in value to sterling, was also accepted on the island, but this stopped with the introduction of the new decimal South African Rand

South African rand

The rand is the currency of South Africa. It takes its name from the Witwatersrand , the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa's gold deposits were found. The rand has the symbol "R" and is subdivided into 100 cents, symbol "c"...

, such that one rand was worth only ten shillings sterling

Sterling

Sterling may refer to:* Sterling silver, a grade of silver* Pound sterling, the currency of the United Kingdom- Businesses :* Hotel Sterling, a former hotel in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States* Sterling Airlines...

. In 1976, the government began issuing notes, with circulation coins following in 1984.

For a more general history of currency in the South Atlantic region, see The Sterling Currency in the South Atlantic and the Antarctic.

Coins

Prior to 1984, both St Helena and Ascension Island had issued commemorative coins but used British circulation coins. In 1984, coins were introduced in the names of St Helena and Ascension in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50 pence and 1 pound. All the coins were the same size and composition as the corresponding British coins. 20 pence coins were introduced in 1998, followed by 2 pounds in 2002, although the first bi-metal £2 coins were issued in and dated 2003.

Banknotes

From 1716, the Governor and Council of the Island of St Helena issued notes for 2½ and 5 shillings, 1 and 2 pounds. These were issued until the late 18th century. The next issue of notes occurred sometime after 1917. It was produced by the St Helena Currency Board in denominations of 5, 20 and 40 shillings.

In 1976, 1 and 5 pound notes were introduced by the government, followed in 1979 by 50 pence and 10 pound notes. The 1 pound note was replaced by a coin in 1984, with 20 pound notes introduced in 1986.

Exchange rates

The latest exchange rates are published by the Bank of St Helena.
Indicative rates for other currencies can be obtained as follows:

See also

• Bank of St Helena
  Bank of St. Helena
  The Bank of St Helena is a government-owned bank based on the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, also operating in the dependent territory of Ascension Island. The Government of St. Helena owns 100% of the bank and operates it as a parastatal. The Governor appoints the board of Directors....
  
  
• Coins of the Saint Helena pound
• Economy of Saint Helena
  Economy of Saint Helena
  The economy of Saint Helena depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1998. Saint Helena's local population earns income from fishing, the raising of livestock, and sales of handicrafts...
  
  

External links

• Numismondo St Helena banknotes (historic and current)