This was the path taken by the Irish Free State (later the Republic of Ireland), which used the sterling-pegged “Irish pound” (the punt) for several decades. Even if the UK disapproved of the arrangement, it could not stop Scotland from adopting it – much as the European Union deplores but cannot stop Montenegro’s unilateral use of the euro.
对于实现充分主权的苏格兰来说，另一种方法是继续使用英镑而放弃对利率或汇率的影响力。这是爱尔兰自由国（Irish Free State，后来成为爱尔兰共和国）曾经用过的办法，爱尔兰自由国使用盯住英镑的“爱尔兰镑”长达数十年之久。即使英国拒绝这一安排，也不能阻止苏格兰这样做——正如欧盟只能谴责但无法阻止黑山单方面使用欧元。