The pound (french: Livre de Jersey,
Jèrriais: Louis de Jersey; abbreviation: JEP; sign: £) is the currency of
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...
. Jersey is in
currency union
A currency union (also known as monetary union) is an intergovernmental agreement that involves two or more states sharing the same currency. These states may not necessarily have any further integration (such as an economic and monetary 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 sterling, in a similar way to the banknotes issued in Scotland and Northern Ireland (see
Banknotes of the pound sterling
Sterling banknotes are the banknotes in circulation in the United Kingdom and its related territories, denominated in pounds sterling (symbol: £; ISO 4217 currency code: GBP; traditional abbreviation: Stg.).
Sterling banknotes are official ...
). It can be exchanged at par with other sterling coinage and notes (see also ''
sterling zone'').
ISO 4217 does not include a separate currency code for the Jersey pound, the abbreviation "JEP" may be used if distinction from sterling is desired.
Both Jersey and
Bank of England notes are
legal tender
Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in ...
in Jersey and circulate together, alongside the
Guernsey pound and Scottish banknotes. The Jersey notes are not legal tender in the United Kingdom
and unlike Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes are not authorised by the British Parliament as legal currency in the United Kingdom. That said, it will often be accepted by vendors in the UK with varying degrees of difficulty.
History
![Value of Jersey currency in English French and Livres Tournois](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Value_of_Jersey_currency_in_English_French_and_Livres_Tournois.jpg)
The
livre
LIVRE (, L), previously known as LIVRE/Tempo de Avançar (, L/TDA), is a green political party in Portugal founded in 2014.
Its founding principles are ecology, universalism, freedom, equity, solidarity, socialism and Europeanism. Its symbol i ...
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
The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...
in France in 1795, the supply of coins in Jersey dwindled leading to difficulties in trade and payment. In 1834, an
Order in Council
An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...
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 of a shilling, the equivalent of 2 sous. This system continued until 1877, when a penny of of a shilling was introduced.
Along with the rest of the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
, Jersey decimalised in 1971 and began issuing a full series of circulating coins from p 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.
Coins
History
![Jersey, 1851 - 1-13 shillings, Victoria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Jersey%2C_1851_-_1-13_shillings%2C_Victoria.jpg)
In 1834, an Order in Council adopted the pound sterling as Jersey's sole official legal tender to replace the
Jersey livre
The livre was currency of Jersey until 1834. It consisted entirely of French coins.
Until the 1720s, the currency used was the French livre, subdivided into 20 '' sous'', each of 12 '' deniers''. The commonest coin in circulation was the '' liard ...
, 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 of a shilling, the equivalent of 2 sous. In 1841, copper , and shilling coins were introduced, followed by bronze and shilling in 1866.
In 1877 a penny of of a shilling was introduced, and the system changed to 12 pence to the shilling. Bronze , and shilling were introduced. This was the only issue of the shilling denomination. Between 1949 and 1952 the end of the
German occupation of the Channel Islands was marked by one million commemorative Liberation pennies that were struck for Jersey.
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
In geometry, a dodecagon or 12-gon is any twelve-sided polygon.
Regular dodecagon
A regular dodecagon is a figure with sides of the same length and internal angles of the same size. It has twelve lines of reflective symmetry and rotational sym ...
version introduced in 1964.
In 1968, 5 and 10 pence coins were introduced, followed by 50 pence in 1969 and p, 1p and 2 pence in 1971 when
decimalisation took place. All had the same composition and size as the corresponding
British coins. The reverse of the first issue of decimal coinage bore the
coat of arms of Jersey
The coat of arms of Jersey is the heraldic device consisting of a shield charged with three gold leopards on a red field. Utilised unofficially before the 20th century, its status as the coat of arms of the Bailiwick of Jersey was formalized i ...
as had previous coins. The penny coin was last minted in 1981.
20 pence coins were introduced in 1982 and £2 coins in 1998.
£1 coin
A square £1 coin was issued in circulation in 1981 to mark the bicentenary of the
Battle of Jersey. The square pound could not be accepted by
vending machine
A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The ...
s and was not issued after 1981.
When the rest of the British Isles started to introduce a standardised pound coin in 1983, Jersey changed to a round coin to match. £1 coins were issued with a different design each year. Initially, each new coin featured one of the coats of arms of the 12
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...
es of Jersey. These were followed by a series of coins featuring sailing ships built in the island.
The
motto
A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...
round the milled edge of Jersey pound coins was: ''Caesarea Insula'' ("island of Jersey" in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
).
Jersey £1 coins ceased to be legal tender in Jersey on 15 October 2017 to coincide with the withdrawal of the circular £1 coin in the UK. The UK's new
12-sided £1 coin is the only £1 coin that is legal tender in the Island.
Coinage
Designs on the reverse of
Jersey coins
The pound (french: Livre de Jersey, Jèrriais: Louis de Jersey; abbreviation: JEP; sign: £) 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 ban ...
:
* 1p
Le Hocq
Le Hocq is an area in the parish of St. Clement, in the south-east of Jersey, Channel Islands. Le Hocq is a Jèrriais name, and means 'the headland' or 'the cape' in English.
The fortified Jersey Round Tower at Le Hocq, was built in the 1780s.
...
Tower (coastal defence)
* 2p L'Hermitage, site where
St. Helier lived
* 5p Seymour Tower (offshore defence)
* 10p La Pouquelaye de Faldouet (
dolmen)
* 20p
La Corbière
La Corbière ( Jèrriais: ''La Corbiéthe'') is the extreme south-western point of Jersey in St. Brélade. The name means "a place where crows gather", deriving from the word ''corbîn'' meaning ''crow''. However, seagulls have long since dis ...
Lighthouse
* 50p
Grosnez Castle
Grosnez Castle is a ruined 14th-century castle in Saint Ouen, situated in Grosnez in the north-west corner of the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands. Philippe de Carteret held it against the French when they held half of Jersey between 1461 ...
(ruins)
Banknotes
In 1797 Hugh Godfray and Company, a wine merchant, opened Jersey's first bank (later called the ''Jersey Old Bank'') and issued £1 notes. Due to the shortage of livre tournois coinage, individuals and companies issued a large number of low value notes until in 1813 the States laid down that notes had to have a minimum value of £1. 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
A vingtaine (literally "group of twenty" in French language, French) is a political subdivision of Jersey. They are subdivisions of the various parishes of Jersey, and one, La Vingtaine de la Ville (The Vingtaine of the town), in Saint Helier is ...
. Legislation in 1831 attempted to regulate such issues by requiring note issuers to be backed by two guarantors, 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
German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, a shortage of coinage (partly caused by occupying troops taking away coins as souvenirs) led to the passing of the Currency Notes (Jersey) Law on 29 April 1941. A series of 2 shilling notes (blue lettering on orange paper) were issued. The law was amended on 29 November 1941 to provide for further issues of notes of various denominations, and a series of banknotes designed by
Edmund Blampied
Edmund Blampied (30 March 1886 – 26 August 1966) was one of the most eminent artists to come from the Channel Islands, yet he received no formal training in art until he was 15 years old. He was noted mostly for his etchings and drypo ...
was issued by the States of Jersey in denominations of 6 pence, 1, 2 and 10 shillings, and 1 pound. The six pence note was designed by Blampied in such a way that the wording of the word ''six'' on the reverse incorporated an outsized "X" so that when the note was folded, the result was the
resistance symbol
"V" for victory.
At Liberation in May 1945, the States stopped issuing notes.
1963 issue
These notes were issued under the Currency Notes (Jersey) Law 1959. Designed by TDLR's John White, they feature Pietro Annigoni's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. When the 10-pound note was issued in 1971, it featured the same image originally used on the back of the 10-shilling note of 1963, because the low-value note had been replaced by a coin.
1976 issue
A new series of notes came into circulation on 5 August 1976. The new portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was based on a photograph by Anthony Buckley. The reverse featured historic images of Jersey, with Jersey flora forming part of the design of the obverse. The size of the notes was reduced in line with international trends. 20 pound notes were introduced in 1976.
1989 issue
50 pound notes were introduced in 1989. 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
The Jersey is a British breed of small dairy cattle from Jersey, in the British Channel Islands. It is one of three Channel Island cattle breeds, the others being the Alderney – now extinct – and the Guernsey. It is highly productive – co ...
. Despite the introduction of a £1 coin, the £1 note continues to circulate.
Commemorative issues
Jersey has issued two commemorative £1 banknotes. In 1995 a special issue commemorating the 50th anniversary of Liberation of Jersey was issued. The front side is slightly different from the standard design with the serial number starting "LJ" standing for "Liberation of Jersey" and a map of Jersey printed in optically variable ink. On the reverse is an entirely different design from the standard one pound note, featuring the one pound note issued during the
Occupation of Jersey.
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
The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans.
From 1066 until 1204, as a result of the Norman c ...
in 1204 and the design consequently includes
Mont Orgueil
Mont Orgueil (French for 'Mount Pride') is a castle in Jersey that overlooks the harbour of Gorey. It is also called Gorey Castle by English-speakers, and ''lé Vièr Châté'' (the Old Castle) by Jèrriais-speakers.The castle is first called 'M ...
castle and other historic
symbols. It has serial number with prefix "J8C" which stands for "Jersey 800".
On 1 June 2012 a £100 note was issued to commemorate the
Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II
The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th an ...
. The front of the commemorative note features a portrait of The Queen based on
Chris Levine
Chris Levine (born 1960) is a UK-based artist, working in the field of light art.
Chris Levine is a light artist with a multi-disciplinary approach that harnesses a diverse array of technology with the intention of revealing the ways in which l ...
's and Rob Munday's portrait of Her Majesty called "Equanimity", the engraving was created by Stephen Matthews of De La Rue. On the back of the note is the Royal Mace of Jersey and the
Flag of Jersey
The flag of Jersey is composed of a red saltire on a white field. In the upper quadrant the badge of Jersey surmounted by a yellow "Plantagenet crown". The flag was adopted by the States of Jersey on 12 June 1979, proclaimed by Queen Elizab ...
in a vertical view.
2010 issue
On 29 April 2010 a new set of Jersey banknotes was issued.
The notes are trilingual, containing text in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
French and
Jèrriais. On 1 June 2012 a £100 note was issued to commemorate the
Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II
The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th an ...
.
The obverse of the notes (£1-£50) includes a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II based on a photograph by Mark Lawrence, alongside a view of an important Jersey landmark, with text in English. On these notes the Queen is wearing the
Vladimir Tiara as opposed to a crown in recognition of her title in Jersey;
Duke of Normandy. The reverse of each note includes an image of one of Jersey's numerous historic coastal defence towers, built in the late 18th century, as well as a further image of cultural or landscape importance, images of the twelve parish crests, and with denomination worded in French and Jèrriais
The Jersey cow watermark is retained and further security features include a see-through map of Jersey. On the £10, £20 and £50 a patc
hologramshowing a varying image of the
coat of arms of Jersey
The coat of arms of Jersey is the heraldic device consisting of a shield charged with three gold leopards on a red field. Utilised unofficially before the 20th century, its status as the coat of arms of the Bailiwick of Jersey was formalized i ...
and the Island of Jersey on a background pattern of La Corbière lighthouse.
The new designs were publicly shown for the first time on 22 February 2010.
See also
*
Economy of Jersey
The economy of Jersey is a highly developed social market economy. It is largely driven by international financial services and legal services, which accounted for 39.5% of total GVA in 2019, a 4% increase on 2018. Jersey is considered to be an ...
*
Sterling banknotes
Sterling banknotes are the banknotes in circulation in the United Kingdom and its related territories, denominated in pounds sterling (symbol: £; ISO 4217 currency code: GBP; traditional abbreviation: Stg.).
Sterling banknotes are official ...
*
French livre
The livre (abbreviation: £ or ₶., French for (pound)) was the currency of Kingdom of France and its predecessor state of West Francia from 781 to 1794. Several different livres existed, some concurrently. The livre was the name of coins a ...
*
Alderney pound
The island of Alderney has its own currency, which by law must be pegged to that of the United Kingdom (see pound sterling).
Schedule 2 of the Government of Alderney Law provides that the States of Alderney may, by Ordinance, prescribe "the leg ...
*
Guernsey pound
*
Manx pound
References
*
*
*
On Demand: New Jersey Currency
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jersey Pound
Pound
Currencies of the Crown Dependencies
Fixed exchange rate
Currencies introduced in 1834