| Image Title 1: | Gibraltar £100 banknote (obverse) |
| Image Title 2: | Gibraltar £5 banknote (reverse) |
| Iso Code: | GIP |
| Using Countries: |  Gibraltar (alongside sterling) |
| Unofficial Users: | La Línea, Spain (local businesses)[1] |
| Inflation Rate: | 2.0% (2013 est.) |
| Inflation Source Date: | https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/gibraltar/#economy |
| Pegged With: | sterling at par |
| Subunit Name 1: | Penny |
| Symbol: | £ |
| Symbol Subunit 1: | p |
| Plural: | Pounds |
| Plural Subunit 1: | Pence |
| Used Coins: | 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1, £2, £5 |
| Coin Article: | Coins of the Gibraltar pound |
| Frequently Used Banknotes: | £5, £10, £20, £50 |
| Rarely Used Banknotes: | £100 |
| Issuing Authority Title: | Government |
| Issuing Authority: | Government of Gibraltar |
The pound (sign: £; ISO code: GIP) is the currency of Gibraltar. It is pegged to – and exchangeable with – British pound sterling at par value. Coins and banknotes of the Gibraltar pound are issued by the Government of Gibraltar.[2]
See main article: Gibraltar real. Until 1872, the currency situation in Gibraltar was complicated, with a system based on the real being employed which encompassed British, Spanish and Gibraltarian coins. From 1825, the real (actually the Spanish real de plata) was tied to the pound at the rate of 1 Spanish dollar to 4 shillings 4 pence (equivalent to 21.67 pence today). In 1872, however, the Spanish currency became the sole legal tender in Gibraltar.[3] In 1898, the Spanish–American War made the Spanish peseta drop alarmingly and the pound was introduced as the sole currency of Gibraltar, initially in the form of British coins and banknotes.
In 1898, sterling coin was made sole legal tender, although the Spanish peseta continued in circulation until the Spanish Civil War. Since 1927, Gibraltar has issued its own banknotes and, since 1988, its own coins. Gibraltar decimalised in 1971 at the same time as the UK, replacing the system of 1 pound = 20 shillings = 240 pence with one of 1 pound = 100 (new) pence.
The since repealed Currency Notes Act 1934,[4] conferred on the Government of Gibraltar the right to print its own notes.
Notes issued are either backed by Bank of England notes at a rate of one to one, or can be backed by securities issued by the Government of Gibraltar.[5] Although Gibraltar notes are denominated in "pounds sterling", they are not legal tender anywhere in the United Kingdom. Gibraltar's coins are the same weight, size and metal as British coins, although the designs are different, and they are occasionally found in circulation across Britain.
Under the Currency Notes Act 2011[5] the notes and coins issued by the Government of Gibraltar are legal tender and current coin within Gibraltar. British coins and Bank of England notes also circulate in Gibraltar and are universally accepted and interchangeable with Gibraltarian issues.[6]
In 1988, coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 pence and 1 pound were introduced which bore specific designs for and the name of Gibraltar. They were the same sizes and compositions as the corresponding British coins, with 2-pound coins introduced in 1999. A new coin of 5 pounds was issued in 2010 with the inscription "Elizabeth II · Queen of Gibraltar".[7] This issue caused controversy in Spain, where the title of King of Gibraltar historically corresponds to the Crown of Castile.[8]
At the outbreak of the First World War, Gibraltar was forced to issue banknotes to prevent paying out sterling or gold. These notes were issued under emergency wartime legislation, Ordinance 10 of 1914. At first, the typeset notes were signed by hand by Treasurer Greenwood, though he later used stamps. The notes bore the embossed stamp of the Anglo-Egyptian Bank Ltd. and circulated alongside British Territory notes.[9] The 1914 notes were issued in denominations of 2/-, 10/-, £1, £5 and £50. The 2/- and £50 notes were not continued when a new series of notes was introduced in 1927. The 10/- note was replaced by the 50p coin during the process of decimalization. In 1975, £10 and £20 notes were introduced, followed by £50 in 1986. The £1 note was discontinued in 1988. In 1995, a new series of notes was introduced which, for the first time, bore the words "pounds sterling" rather than just "pounds". The government of Gibraltar introduced a new series of banknotes beginning with the £10 and £50 notes issued on July 8, 2010. On May 11, 2011, the £5, £20 and £100 notes were issued.[10] In 2021, the government of Gibraltar introduced a new series of banknotes in a reduced size, closely matching that of the banknotes of the Bank of England. The first note, the £5 was issued into circulation in 2021.
| Circulating banknotes (2010-2011 Issue) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Denomination | Dimensions | Dominant colour | Description | |||
| Obverse | Reverse | Obverse | Reverse | ||||
| £5 | 133 × 70 mm | Green | Queen Elizabeth II, Coat of Arms of Castle with Key | Upper Ward and Tower of Homage of the Moorish castle | |||
| £10 | 141 × 75 mm | Blue | Queen Elizabeth II, Coat of Arms of Castle with Key | Artist John Trumbull’s “The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar” depicting Spanish and English troops fighting and General George Eliott with officers attending to the dying Don José de Barboza during the Great Siege of Gibraltar, 1779–83; | |||
| £20 | 150 × 80 mm | Orange | Queen Elizabeth II, Coat of Arms of Castle with Key | HMS Victory returning to Gibraltar being towed by HMS Neptune after the Battle of Trafalgar | |||
| £50 | 157 × 85 mm | Red | Queen Elizabeth II, Coat of Arms of Castle with Key | Casemates Square buildings | |||
| £100 | 164 × 90 mm | Purple | Queen Elizabeth II, Coat of Arms of Castle with Key | King's Bastion | |||