I’m sure you know the dollar, pound, and euro. These currencies are considered the backbone of a country’s economy. While many countries have gone paperless, a few still prefer using paper currencies globally.
Pound and quid are actually the same. However, it depends on how you’ll use it. A “Pound” is used to describe the British currency unit, while a “Quid” is considered a slang term for the same currency unit.
These are just their most obvious differences. But have you ever wondered if there’s more? Let’s dive right in!
What is the Pound?
The “Pound” is the official name for the currency used in the United Kingdom, England, Egypt, and other countries. In fact, the pound is actually considered the world’s oldest currency that is still being used.
Although the word itself is concise, it still has various nicknames. These include smacker, sterling, smackeroo, sovereign, and nicker.
Additionally, you can trace the history of the pound back to the reign of King Offa of Mercia, as he was the one who introduced coins called the “sterling” in the Saxon kingdom.
Gradually, the sterling changed in value and, over time, in its appearance. Then, the United Kingdom went through an era of decimalization and adopted the decimal system in 1971. This was when the “pound” was officially adopted as the currency of Britain.
This explains why this currency has always been the common one in Europe. Research shows that sterling is regarded as the 4th most reserved currency globally. In addition, the word “Pound” emerged in the 8th century, and its root is the Latin word “pounds”- meaning weight.
What is the Symbol for Pound?
In the United Kingdom, it is known as “pound sterling,” the symbol is £. It was established under the metric system and is supported and distributed by the Bank of England.
However, some countries that use the pound only used it as their initial currency and later switched to other formats. For instance, Australia switched from the pound and later adopted the dollar.
What is Quid?
Quid is thought to have come from the Latin word “quid pro quo,” which means a favor or advantage granted in return for something.
As mentioned, quid is a slang term used to describe the pound and doesn’t have any official approval. But it doesn’t need the support of anyone because you can consider it a nickname for the pound.
According to history, quid emerged mysteriously in the 17th century. A few claim that the word has been derived from “Scudo” used by Italian immigrants. If you don’t know, Scudo was a gold or silver coin formerly used in Italy in the 19th century.
While others consider it as originating from the Latin word quid itself, it meant the exchange of items in simple words.
Another theory is that the word quid originated from QuidHampton, a village in England. This town had a Royal Mint Paper Mill where they printed money. And because of this, people made the fund famous by the name “Quid.”
While its origins are still debatable, it isn’t enough reason to stop people from using it! In fact, the word has been used so much that some of the newer currency bills used today in England still refer to “quids” in their titles. These notes include the five and ten-pound notes.
You could say that it’s a word people prefer to use instead of the pound, just like how people often refer to “dollar” as “bucks in America.”
If you’re not sure how currency works, you can learn it by watching this video:
Why is a Pound Called a Quid?
Because Quid is Pound’s slang term, it’s not surprising that it’s most commonly used.
The origins of the word “quid” are pretty obscure. There are multiple different stories about how quid as a word was established.
Another possible explanation is that the word originated in Britain’s North American colonies in the early or mid-17th century. This is how the British pound came to be colloquially known as quid.
It was common in all far-flung British colonies to have a shortage of official gold or silver coins, but there was an overriding need for commerce and trade in those colonies. Therefore, they often used other sorts of “money” for trading.
For something to be qualified as “money,” it has to be acceptable, recognizable, portable, and hold immense value amongst people. This is also relatable to how prisons use tobacco or cigarettes as money for trading by inmates.
If you think about it, in the 17th century, gold or silver coins and raw materials were in short supply. That’s why people thought of exchanging other things that hold value.
So, at that time, a new valuable asset, tobacco, was being used as a currency for trading. Tobacco was bundled into packages that weighed one pound and were known as “quids.”
Therefore, the word started being used commonly and is still used to describe money or pound.
How Many Pounds Are in a Quid?
A quid is equal to one pound. However, there isn’t any plural form of the word quid.
In short, you can have one quid, five quid, or a million quid, but you won’t ever have any quid.
A pound or a smacker is equal to one pound. For example, the sentence, “He wanted 500 smackers for a new computer,” would simply mean that he wanted 500 pounds for this new computer.
Is 1 Quid and 1 Pound The Same?
As explained earlier, the statistics for a quid are the same as for a pound. They both are equal to 100 pence.
However, the word quid has been in use for a very long time, even before decimalization came around. The guess is that quid is derived from the word “quintal,” which stands for 100 base units rather than 100 pennies.
Are you confused? Well, let me explain!
In older days, one pound was equal to 20 shillings, and one shilling was equivalent to 12 pennies. So, if we do the math this way, that would mean that one quid was 240 pennies instead of 100.
However, regardless of this theory, it is still believed that one quid is equal to 100 pence now.
Another term commonly used before was “Bob.” Here’s the difference between what a quid and a bob are.
Quid vs. Bob
To help you understand better, let’s look at what the term “Bob” means.
A quid is and was always a pound. Whereas a “bob” was a shilling, and as we know, one pound equaled 20 shillings. In today’s money, a shilling is equivalent to five pence. However, in older days, there were 12 pence to a shilling.
The idea is that instead of the terms pound and shillings, they respectively used their nicknames, quid and bob, in older times.
Difference Between a Pound and a Quid
So far, we know that the “pound” is Britain’s currency and other European countries. “Quid” is just a slang term for the word pound.
Before I forget, it is also believed that the pound comes from the Latin word “Libra,” which was the currency of ancient Rome.
Remember that the pound is the official currency and is quite popular amongst different countries, while the quid is used by the locals and merely used internationally.
There seem to be many different theories about how the term quid emerged. Which one is the most relevant is hard to tell.
Moreover, the pound is used in various countries, namely the United Kingdom, Saint Helena, Egypt, and Lebanon. Whereas, the quid is used way more widely because not only is it slang for the term pound, but it is also used as an alternative for the term “money.”
In this case, people who use “quid” as “money” in different countries, even without having the pound as their official currency, might use the word quid instead of money.
Another difference is that the pound has many nicknames, such as Smackeroo or Nicker, but a quid is only a nickname for the pound.
Here’s a table summarizing the difference between pound vs. quid:
| Pound | Quid |
| The official currency in an official context | Slang term – used in a casual context |
| Emerged in the 8th century | It appeared in the 17th century |
| Originated from the Latin word Poundus | Too many origins but no exact one |
| A pound is the weight value of a silver | A term used to replace the pound |
| Can be used as a plural term – 5 pounds | Has no plural form- 5 quid |
Final Thoughts
- “Pound” and “quid” refer to the same currency, but “pound” is the official term, while “quid” is a slang term.
- The pound is the official currency of the United Kingdom. It has a rich history dating back to the reign of King Offa of Mercia.
- The symbol for the pound is £, and it is supported and distributed by the Bank of England.
- “Quid” likely originated in the 17th century and is used as a nickname for the pound.
- The word “quid” has various debated origins. It includes links to Italian currency and Latin terms.
- Both “pound” and “quid” are used to describe the same currency, and one quid is equal to one pound.
- In the past, a pound was not decimalized, leading to different calculations, but today, one quid is equivalent to 100 pence.
- While “pound” is the official term, “quid” is a casual slang word used in everyday language. Both refer to the currency used in various countries, including the United Kingdom.
The pound has a rich history, and “quid” is its slang counterpart used in informal settings. Both terms are recognized forms of the same currency. These are widely known and used in the United Kingdom and other countries.