Currency history of Saint Helena (St. Helena)

Saint Helena was discovered on May 21, 1502, the feast day of Saint Helena, by the Spanish navigator Jo?o de Novo. In 1659 the British East India Company took possession of St. Helena since it was a stop en route between Europe and the East Indices. St. Helena was under British control between October 1815 and June 1821 when Napoleon was exiled there, reverted to the British East India Company in 1821, and became a British Crown Colony in 1834. It lost its importance when the Suez Canal was opened in 1869.
 
Ascension became a British possession on October 15, 1822, was made a dependency of Saint Helena in 1922, and was administered by the Eastern Telegraph Company (now Cable and Wireless) until 1964. Tristan da Cunha was settled by Americans in 1810, but became a British possession on August 14, 1816. The island was made a dependency of Saint Helena on January 12, 1938.
 
In the 1600s, the official coinage for Saint Helena was sterling, but Spanish dollars were the primary coins that circulated. Coin shortages led to the production of coins for St. Helena by the East India Company in 1714, though imported coins continued to circulate. Although gold and silver coins were abundant, copper coins were often in short supply.
 
Saint Helena uses the British Pound Sterling (GBP). An array of foreign coins, including Indian Gold Rupees and Spanish Dollars, circulated in Saint Helena until July 15, 1843 when most foreign coins were turned in and Sterling, Doubloons and Dollars became the only coins in use. The British Pound Sterling became legal tender in 1843, and South African Pounds were legal tender from 1925 (under the St. Helena Coinage Order of 1925) to 1949. Saint Helena used the Pound, divisible into 20 Shillings or 240 Pence until February 15, 1971 when the Pound was made divisible into 100 Pence. The Currency Fund Ordinance was passed in 1975, and the Currency Regulations of 1976 established a currency board for Saint Helena. The Government of Saint Helena issues Saint Helena Pound (SHP) banknotes and coins.
 
The Saint Helena Pound is also used in Ascension and in Tristan da Cunha. Ascension and Tristan da Cunha have issued coins, mainly for numismatic purposes, but not banknotes.

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