Pound

"The going price these days for a male slave in his prime would run, say, between one hundred and two hundred pieces of eight. In pounds sterling, the currency the EITC uses, that would equal between sixty and one hundred and twenty pounds."

―Jack Sparrow^[src]

The pound sterling, commonly known as the pound and abbreviated through the symbol "£" as the sign, was the currency of the Kingdom of Great Britain and used to varying degrees by the colonies and territories of the British Empire. The English word "pound" derives from the Latin expression lībra pondō, in which lībra is a noun meaning "pound" and pondō is an adverb meaning "by weight". The term was adopted in England from the weight of silver used to divide twenty shillings or 240 pennies, and eventually spread to British colonies all over the world.

History

"My name is Maria, a merchant's daughter fair..."
"Louder!"
"And I have left my parents and three thousand pounds a year. My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold. There is nothing can console me but my jolly sailor bold."

―Scrum and Gunner^[src]

Pounds served as one currency used by the British Empire. When famine swept over the Isle of Man Uncle Seamus complained to his nephew Billy Turner that he didn't have even a tenth of a pound sterling to repair their old house.^[1] By the time Jack Sparrow worked as an honest merchant seaman for the East India Trading Company and captain of the merchant vessel Wicked Wench, the going price of between one hundred and two hundred pieces of eight would equal between sixty and one hundred and twenty pounds.^[2]

During the war against the undead pirate Jolly Roger, a wanted poster had a proclamation by Weatherby Swann, Governor of Port Royal and representative of the English Royal Navy, offering a bounty and reward of one thousand pounds of gold doubloons for the capture of Jolly Roger and presentation of his treacherous being to the English Navy. In addition, one hundred pounds was offered for every undead pirate or captain of a ghost ship, sloop or vessel under the command of the evil wicked undead pirate.^[3]^[4]

During the quest for the Fountain of Youth in 1750, when Captain Jack Sparrow's first mate Joshamee Gibbs found himself condemned to death by hanging while being put on trial as "Jack Sparrow" in a case of mistaken identity at the Old Bailey, a bundle of currency exchanged hands from an official to the bailiff, one pound banknotes serving as a bribe as Sparrow himself sauntered into the courtroom as the "Right Honorable Justice Smith" to rescue Gibbs from an angry mob in London, England.^[5] By the quest for the Trident of Poseidon, the British authorities had at least seven wanted posters of Jack Sparrow,^[6] one owned by Henry Turner having offered a bounty of two hundred pounds as a reward to any person who could surrender Sparrow dead or alive, while another poster that originally offered one hundred pounds at Grimes Pub slowly but steadily decreased to just one pound.^[7]

Behind the scenes

Pounds were first mentioned in a wanted poster for the undead pirate Jolly Roger featured in the video game Pirates of the Caribbean Online in 2007,^[3]^[4] as well as the 2009 book Jack Sparrow: The Tale of Billy Turner and Other Stories by Rob Kidd.^[1] In 2011, the "pound sterling" was identified through a mention in The Price of Freedom by A. C. Crispin,^[2] and though it was unidentified onscreen, pounds first appeared in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.^[5]

In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay for On Stranger Tides, an "Official" whispers into the ear of the Bailiff, who nods as a bundle of currency exchanges hands prior to announcing "Justice Smith" the trial against Joshamee Gibbs, who was mistaken as Captain Jack Sparrow.^[8] While the type of currency was never identified, one pound banknotes can be seen in the film.^[5]

In Jeff Nathanson's early 2013 screenplay draft for Dead Men Tell No Tales, young Henry Maddox joins Captain Jack Sparrow and the crew of the Black Pearl, with Gibbs telling him that every crewmember will receive two pounds of gold.^[9]

The final cut of the film had wanted posters of Jack Sparrow, one in particular at Grimes Pub offering one hundred pounds that decreased to just one pound.^[7] Although unidentified in the final version of the film, the term "pound sterling" was used for the wanted poster featured in Disney Pirates: The Definitive Collector's Anthology.^[6]