It's been happening here for about 1,250 years. The name Pound comes from it's origin of a pound of silver.
"The origins of sterling lie in the reign of King Offa of Mercia (757–796), who introduced a "sterling" coin made by physically dividing a Tower pound (5,400 grains, 349.9 grams) of silver into 240 parts"
From

Pound sterling - Wikipedia
