Which medieval English accounting unit was equal to 20 shillings or 240 pence?

The pound sterling was the medieval English accounting unit equal to 20 shillings or 240 pence.

This system grew from the Carolingian monetary tradition, in which a pound was divided into 20 shillings and each shilling into 12 pence. For centuries, the pound was primarily a unit of account rather than a single coin worth one pound.

English monarchs issued many denominations, including pennies, groats, crowns and sovereigns. Their metal content and purchasing power changed over time, but the traditional relationship of 240 pence to one pound remained a central accounting convention.

The system ended in everyday British currency when the United Kingdom decimalized on 15 February 1971. Modern pounds are divided into 100 pence, not 240.