The Pound Sterling Encyclopedia- The Pound Sterling and Australian Dollar in Ref

Posted by albertareid on August 19th, 2012

Reserve currencies are those currencies that are held in large amounts in foreign banks as part of the international trade that occurs on a global level in the current level.  As reported by Pound Sterling Encyclopedia and Australian Dollar Encyclopedia, the Pound Sterling and Australian Dollar are important currencies on a global level, yet the dollar is not a reserve currency.

The number one reserve currency is currently the American Dollar. This is the money format that all other currencies in the world are valued against. Typically, the top reserve currency is chosen based on the strength and stability of the economy it is associated with. Prior to 1944, the reserve currency of choice was the Pound Sterling, official tender of the United Kingdom and issued by the Bank of England. It is abbreviated as GBP for Great Britain Pound, as UKP for United Kingdom Pound would technically be incorrect as Ireland and Scotland, both members of the UK, have their own pound currencies that they use. Pounds can be broken down into smaller units called pence, of which there are one hundred per Pound. The Pound Sterling is one of the most traded currencies in the world and is currently ranked the third reserve currency of the global economy, outranked only by the US dollar and the Euro. As reported by Pound Sterling Encyclopedia, the pound sterling also holds the record as being the oldest currency still in use throughout the world. The pound sterling lost its rank as the top reserve currency in 1944 as the United States rose to a superpower status and the economy exploded onto the world market.

The Australian dollar, on the other hand, is not considered to be a reserve currency for the global economy even though it is the third most traded currency in the world. Australian adopted the dollar as the national currency in 1966, departing from the Australian pound.  The Australian dollar is abbreviated as AUD and is issued by the Reserve Bank of Australia. According to Australian Dollar Encyclopedia, the Royal Australian Mint made headlines in 2011 crafting the largest and most valuable gold coin ever minted, beating out the Canadian million dollar coin by a long shot at weighing almost ten times as much. The amount of gold to make the coin has been estimated at being worth over 50 million dollars. Another feature of the Australian money that outranks Canada is that Australia started making polymer bills rather than paper back in 1988. Polymer bills can stand more wear and tear than paper bills and are also more difficult to counterfeit. This process has become so popular that the Australian printers have gone so far as producing polymer bills for other countries. Although it is not a reserve currency, the Australian dollar has become more and more popular, enough so that the Central Bank of Russia announced it would be keeping reserves of it in 2011.

As stated by Pound Sterling Encyclopedia and Australian Dollar Encyclopedia, both the Pound Sterling and Australian Dollar are important currencies from various features, and it could only be a matter of time before the US dollar is replaced.

View to learn more about the Pound Sterling  at Pound Sterling Encyclopedia and Australian Dollar Encyclopedia about the Australian Dollar.