What is IMP currency？
The pound (Manx: Punt Manninagh; abbreviation: IMP; sign: £) is the currency of the Isle of Man, at parity with sterling. The Manx pound is divided into 100 pence. Notes and coins, denominated in pounds and pence, are issued by the Isle of Man Government.
IMP Coins
The “Murrey Pennies” of 1668 were the first to depict the ‘triskeles’ symbol and the Island motto “Quocunque Gesseris Stabit” (sic), both of which have continued to feature on Manx coinage until the present day (the motto was corrected to “Quocunque Jeceris Stabit” in the early 18th century).
In 1709, pennies (£300 in total) and halfpennies (£200 in total) were introduced. More of these coins were issued in 1733 (£250 in pennies, £150 in halfpennies). These issues of coins have the crest of the Stanley family, Lords of Mann, on the obverse (an eagle and child on a cap), together with the Stanley family motto, “Sans Changer”. The 1709 issue was a poor quality casting produced in England; the 1733 issue was a higher-quality struck coin produced at Castletown.
An updated issue of Manx coinage was produced in 1758, totalling £400. It replaced the crest of the Stanley family with a depiction of the ducal coronet of the Duke of Atholl above the monogram letters A.D. (for the Latin, Atholl Dux).
In 1786, a new design of coinage was issued, with the head of King George III (now the Lord of Mann) and the English state motto on the obverse and the triskeles and Manx motto on the reverse. The standard Lewis Pingo portrait of the king was used, the same as on the British coinage, which showed the king with a laurel wreath instead of a crown.
There were further issues in 1798 and 1813. Like the previous coins, they were the same size and material (copper) as the English coins and would easily pass for them; however as Manx pennies were 14 to the shilling they were worth less than their English counterparts.
In 1839, following the revaluation to 12 pence per shilling, the Royal Mint issued copper farthings, halfpennies and pennies which were similar to the previous designs but updated with the head of Queen Victoria. These were the last coins issued for the Isle of Man until 1971.
In 1971, 1⁄2, 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50 new pence coins were introduced. All had the same composition and size as the corresponding British coins. From 1972 onwards, the production of the coinage and commemorative crowns was transferred from the Royal Mint to Pobjoy Mint. The word “new” was removed from the coins in 1976.
In 1978 a 1 pound coin 22mm in diameter, 1.45mm thick and weighing 4g was introduced, but was not popular compared to the existing £1 note which remained in use. A 20 pence coin was introduced alongside its UK counterpart in 1982. In 1983, when the UK replaced £1 notes with pound coins, the Isle withdrew the pound coins issued since 1978 and began to issue ones to the UK coin’s specification (22.5mm and 9.5g). Similarly, a bimetallic £2 coin was introduced alongside the British version in 1998.
The obverse of Manx coins bears the same portrait of Elizabeth II as British coins, with the words ISLE OF MAN to the left. Unlike the former British equivalent, the Manx one pound coin does not bear an edge inscription; instead, the edges are partly milled and partly plain in alternating bands.
Since 2017 a new series of £1 coins produced by Tower Mint were introduced with a continuous finely-milled edge.
Legal tender status of the round £1 coin weighing 9.5g was withdrawn in the UK on 15 October 2017, but unlike the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, the Isle of Man did not withdraw legal tender status from its own £1 coins of the same specification. As of 2017 the Isle of Man Treasury had no plans to introduce a 12-sided pound coin. Furthermore, despite no longer being legal tender, old £1 stg coins remained in use in the Isle of Man until 28 February 2018, after which date only Manx £1 notes and coins, and 12-sided £1 stg coins will be accepted.
IMP Banknotes
In 1865, the Isle of Man Banking Company was founded and began issuing £1 notes, with £5 notes introduced in 1894. The bank changed its name to the Isle of Man Bank in 1926. Other banks that issued notes (£1 only) on the Isle of Man were:
The Isle of Man Government Notes Act revoked the banks’ licences to issue banknotes as of 31 July 1961. The Isle of Man Government started to issue its own notes, in denominations of 10/-, £1 and £5, on 3 July 1961. In 1969, the 10/- note was replaced by a 50 new pence note in the build-up to decimalisation. £20 notes were introduced in 1979. A polymer £1 note was introduced in 1983 but discontinued in 1988. A £50 note was also introduced in 1983. The 50p banknote was withdrawn in 1989. Legal tender status (the IOM’s definition of which is akin to the UK) of the 10/-, 50p and £1 polymer notes continued until 31 October 2013, and these notes remained in circulation (albeit rarely seen) until this date, after which they remain exchangeable at branches of the Isle of Man Bank.[11]
The Isle of Man continues to issue a £1 note in addition to the £1 coin (in the UK, the £1 note has now been discontinued, save in Scotland).
The front of all Manx banknotes has a pledge to honour the banknotes (the “promise to pay the bearer on demand”) in the name of the Isle of Man Government, and features images of the Lord of Mann Queen Elizabeth II (not wearing a crown) and the triskelion (three legs emblem) and motto. The triskelion symbol is also used as a watermark. Each denomination features a different scene of the Island on its reverse side:
£1 – Tynwald Hill
£5 – Castle Rushen
£10 – Peel Castle
£20 – the Laxey Wheel
£50 – Douglas Bay