Oceania Pound
 One-Pound coin with the obverse then reverse | |
| Issuer |
Commonwealth Bank Royal Mint of the Commonwealth Bank |
| Issued | 2006-Present |
| User | United Kingdom of Oceania |
| Inflation | 2.08% |
| Pegged by | None |
| Subunit 1/20 1/100 |
schilling penny |
| Symbol schilling penny |
£ s p |
| Nickname | credit |
| Plural schilling penny |
pounds schillings pence |
| Coins Freq. use Rare use |
1p, 1s, 5s, 10s, £1, £2 £5 |
| Banknotes Freq. use Rare use |
£5, £10, £20 £50 |
The Oceania pound (£) is the currency used within the United Kingdom. Within the UK is commonly referred to as simply the pound. A derivative of the British pound sterling but lineal descendant of the Commonwealth Credit and Azazia pound, the Oceania pound originally followed the duodecimal system before converting to a decimal system in the mid-twentieth century.
Contents
Subdivision
The Oceania pound derives itself from the Azazia pound and prior to that the Commonwealth Credit. As the Commonwealth Credit was decimalised in 1971 in parallel to the Pound sterling of Britain the Credit’s successors, including the Oceania pound, have been divided so as that with the pound 100 pence comprise one pound.
While the Commonwealth Credit removed units such as the schilling, deemed unnecessary given the decimal system utilised after 1971, the Oceania pound reinstituted the schilling (s) as 1/20 the value of the pound so that five pence comprise one schilling and twenty schilling comprise one pound.
Denotations
One may denote the value in a variety of fashions. For example, to denote 249 pence one could write “£2 9s 4p” or “£2 9/4” or “£2 49p”. In speech one would say “Two pounds, nine and four” or “Two pounds, forty-nine pence” or more rarely “Two pounds, nine schillings, four pence”. Throughout the United Kingdom and the Oceanic Empire all are likely to be understood, though many shops catering to foreign tourists and international travelers will convert the schillings into pence for a simpler “£2 49p” or “Two pounds, forty-nine pence”.
Denominations
| Unit (OCP) | Obverse | Reverse |
|---|---|---|
| Coinage | ||
| 1p | Monarch | Oceanian Fire Lizard |
| 1s | Monarch | Scallop |
| 5s | Monarch | Terla Flower |
| 10s | Monarch | Kila Tree |
| £1 | Monarch | Tallship |
| £2 | Monarch | Tan-skin Dolphin |
| £5 | Monarch | Royal Coat of Arms |
| Banknotes | ||
| £5 | Monarch | Neville Alexander |
| £10 | Monarch | Miguel Azaz |
| £20 | Monarch | Matthew Avin |
| £50 | Monarch | Thomas Adar |
Since the inception of the Oceania pound in 2006, the Commonwealth Bank has issued the pound as polymer banknotes with improved anti-counterfeiting devices and printing techniques as well as proprietary inks resulting in a currency difficult to counterfeit.
While banknotes higher than a £50 denomination exist, they are strictly used within the Commonwealth Bank and lack aesthetic value.
Value and Trade
By international standards, the Oceania pound is considered a hard currency issued by fiat from the Commonwealth Bank at the behest of the Sovereign. The pound floats on currency exchanges and as of November 2006 is valued at 1£ : $USD2.07
Legal Tender and Monetary Issues
As part of the Union Act of 2006, the Oceania pound has become the single new legal tender throughout the United Kingdom. While the regionally issued currencies of Juristan, Kingsland, and Novikov may continue to be circulated they are no longer minted – the intention being they shall eventually be phased out of circulation and replaced entirely by the Oceania pound. Such a move, it should be noted, originated more with a political intention: specifically the further unification of the UK through a common monetary policy.
For some the quick succession of the Commonwealth Credit to the Azazia pound to the Oceania pound can be unsettling, however the continued strength and resilience of the Commonwealth and now UK economy have padded investor unease. Of particular note to financial experts are the relatively few banknotes and minted coins for the Azazia pound in comparison to the still prevalent Commonwealth Credit and the expected minting and printing for the Oceania pound.
