Manx Pound
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The pound (; abbreviation: IMP; sign: £) is the currency of the
Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...
, at parity with sterling. The Manx pound is divided into 100
pence A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...
. Notes and coins, denominated in pounds and pence, are issued by the
Isle of Man Government The Isle of Man Government ( gv, Reiltys Ellan Vannin) is the government of the Isle of Man. The formal head of the Isle of Man Government is the Lieutenant Governor, the personal representative of Charles III. The executive head is the Chief M ...
.


Parity with sterling

The Isle of Man is in a one-sided ''de facto''
currency union A currency union (also known as monetary union) is an intergovernmental agreement that involves two or more State (polity), states sharing the same currency. These states may not necessarily have any Economic integration#Stages, further integratio ...
with the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
: the Manx government has decided to make sterling currency legal tender on the island, and to back its own notes and coins with Bank of England notes. Manx government notes may, on demand, be exchanged at par for Bank of England notes of equivalent value at any office of the
Isle of Man Bank The Isle of Man Bank is a bank in the British Crown dependency of the Isle of Man, providing retail, private and business banking services to the local population. Incorporated in 1865, it has operated as a trading name of RBS International ...
. All notes and coins that 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 pa ...
in any part of the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
(e.g. Bank of England notes) are legal tender within the Isle of Man. Unlike Northern Irish and Scottish notes, the UK does not require the Isle of Man government to back the Manx notes and coins with Bank of England notes or securities. There is no restriction under British law on the number of notes and coins they may issue, but equally Manx notes are not legal currency in the UK as they have not been approved by the British Parliament. The notes and coins are not underwritten by the UK government or the Bank of England, and there is no guarantee of convertibility beyond that given by the Manx authorities. However, the requirement in the island's Currency Act 1992 for the Isle of Man Treasury to exchange Manx Pound banknotes on demand for Bank of England notes in practice restricts the issue of unbacked currency, and the aggregate total of notes issued must be pre-approved by
Tynwald Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House of ...
.
ISO 4217 ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines alpha codes and numeric codes for the representation of currencies and provides information about the relationships between individual cu ...
does not include a currency code for the Manx pound, but the abbreviation ''IMP'' may be seen. ("IM" is the
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are two-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to represent countries, dependent territories, and special areas of ...
code allocated to the Isle of Man.)


History

The first Manx coinage was issued privately in 1668 by John Murrey, a
Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...
merchant, consisting of pennies equal in value to their English counterparts. These "Murrey Pennies" were made
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 pa ...
in 1679, when
Tynwald Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House of ...
outlawed the unofficial private coinage that had been circulating prior to and alongside John Murrey's pennies (English coinage was also allowed by this Act). Due to the difficulty of maintaining the supply of coins on the island, in 1692, the Manx coinage was debased, with sterling
crowns A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
circulating at 5
shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...
s 4
pence A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...
, half-crowns at 2 shillings 8 pence and
guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...
at 22 shillings. At that time,
Tynwald Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House of ...
also forbade the removal of money from the island, in an attempt to maintain supply. In 1696, a further devaluation occurred, with all English
silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
and
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
coins valued at 14 Manx pence for every shilling. Between 1696 and 1840, Manx
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
coins circulated alongside first English, and later British silver and gold coins at the rate of 14 pence to 1 shilling. As in England, there were 20 shillings to the pound. Thus, after 1696, £100 sterling was worth £116 13s 4d Manx. In 1708, the Isle of Man Government approached the
Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...
and requested that coinage be issued for the island. The then
Master of the Mint Master of the Mint is a title within the Royal Mint given to the most senior person responsible for its operation. It was an important office in the governments of Scotland and England, and later Great Britain and then the United Kingdom, between ...
,
Sir Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the great ...
, refused. As a result, the first government issue of coins on the island was in 1709. This coinage was made legal tender on 24 June 1710. In 1733 Tynwald prohibited the circulation of any "base" (not silver or gold) coinage other than that issued by the Government. Because of the similarity between Manx and British coins, it was profitable to change shillings to Manx coinage and pass it off as British currency in Great Britain, making a profit of £2 for every £12 in Manx coinage so transferred. This happened on such a scale that by 1830 the island was almost totally deprived of copper coinage. In an attempt to resolve this problem, a proposal was introduced to abandon the separate Manx coinage in favour of British coins. This was rejected by the
House of Keys The House of Keys () is the directly elected lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council. History The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written in L ...
in 1834, but they were overruled by the British government in 1839. An Act was passed declaring that "… the currency of Great Britain shall be and become, and is hereby declared to be, the currency of the Isle of Man", and this remains Manx law to this day. This change was resented: some islanders felt defrauded, and there was serious rioting in
Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...
and Peel. These were known as the "Copper Row" riots, and were put down by the Manx militia. The
Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...
issued a total of £1,000 in copper coins. Following Tynwald's passing of the Copper Currency Act 1840, these were valued at 12 pence to the shilling. All coins issued before 1839 were declared by this law to be no longer current, and were recalled by the
Board of Customs HM Customs (His or Her Majesty's Customs) was the national Customs service of England (and then of Great Britain from 1707, the United Kingdom from 1801) until a merger with the Department of Excise in 1909. The phrase 'HM Customs', in use si ...
and exchanged by the Royal Mint at their original nominal value for the new coinage. After 1839, no further Manx coins were issued, and they gradually became scarce and were replaced in general circulation on the island by the coinage of the United Kingdom. They did not cease to be legal coinage on Mann until
decimalisation Decimalisation or decimalization (see spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by powers of 10. Most countries have decimalised their currencies, converting them from non-decimal ...
in 1971. Banknotes had been privately issued for the island since 1865. In 1971 the United Kingdom moved to a
decimal currency Decimalisation or decimalization (see spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by powers of 10. Most countries have decimalised their currencies, converting them from non-decimal ...
, with the pound subdivided into 100 pence. The Isle of Man Government, having issued its own banknotes for ten years, took the opportunity to approach the
Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...
and request its own versions of the decimal coins, which were introduced in 1971.


Coins


Murrey pennies

The "Murrey Pennies" of 1668 were the first to depict the '
triskeles A triskelion or triskeles is an ancient Motif (visual arts), motif consisting of a triple spiral exhibiting rotational symmetry. The spiral design can be based on interlocking Archimedean spirals, or represent three bent human legs. It is fo ...
' symbol and the Island motto "''Quocunque Gesseris Stabit''" (sic), both of which have continued to feature on Manx coinage until the present day (the motto was corrected to "''Quocunque Jeceris Stabit''" in the early 18th century).


Government coins

In 1709, pennies (£300 in total) and halfpennies (£200 in total) were introduced. More of these coins were issued in 1733 (£250 in pennies, £150 in halfpennies). These issues of coins have the crest of the Stanley family, Lords of Mann, on the
obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...
(an eagle and child on a cap), together with the Stanley family motto, "''Sans Changer''". The 1709 issue was a poor quality casting produced in England; the 1733 issue was a higher-quality struck coin produced at Castletown. An updated issue of Manx coinage was produced in 1758, totalling £400. It replaced the crest of the Stanley family with a depiction of the ducal coronet of the
Duke of Atholl Duke of Atholl, named for Atholl in Scotland, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland held by the head of Clan Murray. It was created by Queen Anne in 1703 for John Murray, 2nd Marquess of Atholl, with a special remainder to the heir male of h ...
above the monogram letters A.D. (for the Latin, ''Atholl Dux''). In 1786, a new design of coinage was issued, with the head of
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
(now the
Lord of Mann The lord of Mann ( gv, Çhiarn Vannin) is the lord proprietor and head of state of the Isle of Man. The current lord proprietor and head of state is Charles III. Before 1504 the head of state was known as King of Mann. Relationship with t ...
) and the English state motto on the obverse and the triskeles and Manx motto on the reverse. The standard Lewis Pingo portrait of the king was used, the same as on the British coinage, which showed the king with a
laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a sy ...
instead of a
crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
. There were further issues in 1798 and 1813. Like the previous coins, they were the same size and material (copper) as the English coins and would easily pass for them; however as Manx pennies were 14 to the shilling they were worth less than their English counterparts. In 1839, following the revaluation to 12 pence per shilling, the
Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...
issued copper farthings, halfpennies and pennies which were similar to the previous designs but updated with the head of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
. These were the last coins issued for the Isle of Man until 1971. Isle of Man Duke of Athol coin 1758 b.jpg Isle of Man Duke of Athol coin 1758 a.jpg Isle of Man bank half penny 1811 b.jpg Isle of Man bank half penny 1811 a.jpg Isle of Man 1d 1839 a.jpg Isle of Man 1d 1839 b.jpg


Decimal coinage

In 1971, , 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50 new pence coins were introduced. All had the same composition and size as the corresponding British coins. From 1972 onwards, the production of the coinage and commemorative crowns was transferred from the Royal Mint to
Pobjoy Mint British Pobjoy Mint is a privately held company-sector mint located in Surrey, England, which produces commemorative coins, medal, tokens and bullion. The mint also manufacturers circulating currency for some British Overseas Territories and sove ...
. The word "new" was removed from the coins in 1976. In 1978 a 1 pound coin 22mm in diameter, 1.45mm thick and weighing 4g was introduced, but was not popular compared to the existing £1 note which remained in use. A 20 pence coin was introduced alongside its UK counterpart in 1982. In 1983, when the UK replaced £1 notes with pound coins, the Isle withdrew the pound coins issued since 1978 and began to issue ones to the UK coin's specification (22.5mm and 9.5g). Similarly, a
bimetal Bimetal refers to an object that is composed of two separate metals joined together. Instead of being a mixture of two or more metals, like alloys, bimetallic objects consist of layers of different metals. Trimetal and tetrametal refer to objects co ...
lic £2 coin was introduced alongside the British version in 1998. The
obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...
of Manx coins bears the same portrait of
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
as British coins, with the words ISLE OF MAN to the left. Unlike the former British equivalent, the Manx one pound coin does not bear an edge inscription; instead, the edges are partly milled and partly plain in alternating bands. Since 2017 a new series of £1 coins produced by Tower Mint were introduced with a continuous finely-milled edge. Legal tender status of the round £1 coin weighing 9.5g was withdrawn in the UK on 15 October 2017, but unlike the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, the Isle of Man did not withdraw legal tender status from its own £1 coins of the same specification. the Isle of Man Treasury had no plans to introduce a 12-sided pound coin. Furthermore, despite no longer being legal tender, old £1 stg coins remained in use in the Isle of Man until 28 February 2018, after which date only Manx £1 notes and coins, and 12-sided £1 stg coins will be accepted.


Banknotes

In 1865, the Isle of Man Banking Company was founded and began issuing £1 notes, with £5 notes introduced in 1894. The bank changed its name to the
Isle of Man Bank The Isle of Man Bank is a bank in the British Crown dependency of the Isle of Man, providing retail, private and business banking services to the local population. Incorporated in 1865, it has operated as a trading name of RBS International ...
in 1926. Other banks that issued notes (£1 only) on the Isle of Man were: The Isle of Man Government Notes Act revoked the banks' licences to issue banknotes as of 31 July 1961. The Isle of Man Government started to issue its own notes, in denominations of 10/-, £1 and £5, on 3 July 1961. In 1969, the 10/- note was replaced by a 50 new pence note in the build-up to decimalisation. £20 notes were introduced in 1979. A
polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...
£1 note was introduced in 1983 but discontinued in 1988. A £50 note was also introduced in 1983. The 50p banknote was withdrawn in 1989.
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 pa ...
status (the IOM's definition of which is akin to the UK) of the 10/-, 50p and £1 polymer notes continued until 31 October 2013, and these notes remained in circulation (albeit rarely seen) until this date, after which they remain exchangeable at branches of the Isle of Man Bank. The Isle of Man continues to issue a £1 note in addition to the £1 coin (in the UK, the £1 note has now been discontinued, save in Scotland). The front of all Manx banknotes has a pledge to honour the banknotes (the "promise to pay the bearer on demand") in the name of the
Isle of Man Government The Isle of Man Government ( gv, Reiltys Ellan Vannin) is the government of the Isle of Man. The formal head of the Isle of Man Government is the Lieutenant Governor, the personal representative of Charles III. The executive head is the Chief M ...
, and features images of the previous
Lord of Mann The lord of Mann ( gv, Çhiarn Vannin) is the lord proprietor and head of state of the Isle of Man. The current lord proprietor and head of state is Charles III. Before 1504 the head of state was known as King of Mann. Relationship with t ...
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
(not wearing a crown) and the
triskelion A triskelion or triskeles is an ancient motif consisting of a triple spiral exhibiting rotational symmetry. The spiral design can be based on interlocking Archimedean spirals, or represent three bent human legs. It is found in artefacts o ...
(three legs emblem) and motto. The triskelion symbol is also used as a watermark. Each denomination features a different scene of the Island on its reverse side: * £1 –
Tynwald Hill Tynwald Day ( gv, Laa Tinvaal) is the National Day of the Isle of Man, usually observed on 5 July (if this is a Saturday or Sunday, then on the following Monday). On this day, the Island's legislature, Tynwald, meets at St John's, Isle of Man, ...
* £5 –
Castle Rushen Castle Rushen ( gv, Cashtal Rosien) is a medieval castle located in the Isle of Man's historic capital, Castletown, in the south of the island. It towers over the Market Square to the south-east and the harbour to the north-east. The castle i ...
* £10 –
Peel Castle Peel Castle (''Cashtal Phurt ny h-Inshey'' in Manx Gaelic) is a castle in Peel, Isle of Man, Peel on the Isle of Man, originally constructed by Vikings. The castle stands on St Patrick's Isle which is connected to the town by a causeway. It is ...
* £20 – the
Laxey Wheel The Laxey Wheel (also known as Lady Isabella) is built into the hillside above the village of Laxey in the Isle of Man. It is the largest surviving original working waterwheel in the world. Designed by Robert Casement, the wheel has a diamete ...
* £50 – Douglas Bay


Manx pound and the euro

It was the Manx Government's position that, if the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
had decided to participate in the
euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
, then it would be likely that the Island would also choose to participate. Primarily this was because most of the Island's trade is with the United Kingdom and other countries of
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, and the break-up of the existing currency union with the UK would cause economic harm to the Island. There was also concern that the island's economy is not large enough to withstand attack by currency speculators if the Manx pound became a stand-alone free-floating currency.
Tynwald Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House of ...
passed the Currency Act 1992 as part of preparations for the event that the UK decided to adopt the euro. In such a scenario, the
Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...
wished to retain the right to issue its own currency, believing it to be an important public statement of independence. Retaining the island's own coinage also enables the Isle of Man Treasury to continue to benefit from the accrual of interest on the issued money (
seigniorage Seigniorage , also spelled seignorage or seigneurage (from the Old French ''seigneuriage'', "right of the lord (''seigneur'') to mint money"), is the difference between the value of money and the cost to produce and distribute it. The term can be ...
). The Currency Act allows for the issue of a Manx euro currency at parity with the euro, referred to as a "substitute euro", which has an Isle of Man inscription on the obverse side of the coins. This proposal would essentially have replaced the "substitute sterling" with a "substitute euro", as they would have functioned in the same way. Manx versions of the
euro coins There are eight euro coin denominations, ranging from one cent to two euros (the euro is divided into a hundred cents). The coins first came into use in 2002. They have a common reverse, portraying a map of Europe, but each country in the eurozone ...
and
euro banknotes Banknotes of the euro, the common currency of the Eurozone (euro area members), have been in circulation since the first series (also called ''ES1'') was issued in 2002. They are issued by the national central banks of the Eurosystem or the Eur ...
were designed. While the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
is not obliged to accept the Manx desire to introduce a special Manx version of the euro, the Isle of Man could arguably introduce a currency pegged to the euro (akin to its situation now vis-à-vis sterling, or the relationship between the euro and the
Bulgarian lev The lev ( bg, лев, plural: / , ; ISO 4217 code: BGN; numeric code: 975) is the currency of Bulgaria. In old Bulgarian the word "lev" meant "lion", the word 'lion' in the modern language is ''lаv'' (; in Bulgarian: ). The lev is divided in 10 ...
). There is no precedent for divergent national versions, beyond customising the national side of euro coins in the same way as other eurozone members. If, after converting to the euro, the exchange rates set by the
European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the prime component of the monetary Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#Intern ...
were to cause economic harm to the Isle of Man, then there would be no eligibility for compulsory funding under Protocol 3 of the
Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the ...
, as there would have been for the UK. In March 1998, the
Isle of Man Treasury An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * I ...
expressed some concern that if the island adopted the euro along with UK, then the elimination of the risks of currency exchange for the European mainland would increase the attractiveness of the island as a
tax haven A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
. This could potentially lead to political pressure from European politicians for the island to legislate against this. On the positive side, the introduction of a Manx euro was expected to benefit Isle of Man manufacturers and tourism by the removal of currency exchange costs for customers and tourists from the eurozone. The latter was also believed to increase the level of competitiveness on the Isle of Man, due to an increase in European businesses, which would benefit the Isle of Man economy.


See also

*
Economy of the Isle of Man The economy of the Isle of Man is a low-tax economy with insurance, online gambling operators and developers, information and communications technology (ICT), and offshore banking forming key sectors of the island's economy. As an offshore financ ...
* Commemorative coins of the Isle of Man *
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 The pound is the currency of Guernsey. Since 1921, Guernsey has been in currency union with the United Kingdom and the Guernsey pound is not a separate currency but is a local issue of sterling banknotes and coins, in a similar way to the bankno ...
*
Jersey pound 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 bank ...


Notes


References

* * * The Copper Row. J. B. Laughton, The
Manx Society The Manx Society for the Publication of National Documents, or simply the Manx Society, was a text publication society founded in February 1858 with the objective of publishing reprints of historical documents relating to the Isle of Man, its peopl ...
* A History of the Isle of Man. A. W. Moore,
Speaker of the House of Keys The Speaker of the House of Keys () is the principal officer of the House of Keys, the lower house of the Isle of Man legislature. The Speaker is elected from the membership of the House at its first sitting after an election. He is responsibl ...
* Letter X, John Feltham's ''A Tour Through the Island of Mann'', 1798 * A review of European Economic and Monetary Union, and its Implications. Isle of Man Treasury, March 1998. * Council of the EU Decision 2004/548/EC


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manx Pound Pound Fixed exchange rate Circulating currencies Currencies of the British Empire Currencies of the Commonwealth of Nations Currencies of Europe Currencies of the Isle of Man