Did the Queen have the power to intercede on his behalf? Did she, knowing that he had been instrumental in the war effort, refuse to do so? It's hard to imagine that the trial would not have come to her attention.
Cool design + polymer, but they should probably just abolish the £50 already. Very few places accept them. Never mind the £100 notes you can get in some parts of the UK. I would say they should encourage better acceptance of these denominations, but cash seems to be dying in general.
I look to Switzerland with envy, where as far as I can tell you can stroll into the supermarket and drop a 1000-franc note without issue.
I have heard this since I was a kid, in reality, it isn't true, at least not in London. I have never been refused when presenting a £50, not that I have carried them more than a dozen times. Most places that have issues taking them are small merchants who give away too many notes breaking them, so will often ask for a smaller note. When I was in New York once, I went into a CVS and bought $60 of sweets to bring home, the cashier shouted 'bill check' when i presented a $100 bill, so I guess I look more dodgey in the US.
The problem was that £50 notes were most likely forged, I think, although I don’t know how true that was. So the solution surely isn’t to get rid of the notes as that just shifts the forgery to the next note down. Surely instead the solution would be higher valued notes being created. But:
- I don’t really think the problem is forgery. I think it’s that it is annoying for a lot of shops to make change for £50.
- I don’t think the government is particularly interested in making cash more convenient for people (card transactions are easier to track) and wealthy people mostly aren’t interested in carrying around high-value notes as credit cards exist.
Many places in London accept them (tourists often bring them, and higher prices make them more useful). With a new, secure design, I expect many more places will start.
1000 CHF bill are not really practical in Switzerland. Can’t remember seeing them as an option on many atms. And the only shops that will accept them are those where purchases are regularly in the several hundred francs range. But even in the large supermarket chains they might ask you to go change the bill at the nearest bank or postal office first if you try the buy a pack of chewing gum with it.
Sadly they will become acceptable most places soon - inflation will take care of that. I remember bars refusing to take twenty's as the night wore on. Now you can barely get a round out of a twenty.
I've lived in London for a while, and I'm still fascinated how uncommon £50 notes were. You try to pay with one and they look at you as if you were some kind of drug lord.
Hop over to Switzerland, and you can buy a coffee with a 1000 franc (GBP780) note without any issues.
If you're a local and you try to pay with a £50 note then you get the 'you must be a drug lord' look. But if you're in a touristy area then this it's fairly normal to see them since foreign exchanges stock a lot of those notes.
On a related note, 50 and 100 dollar bills in New York City are generally not accepted in most stores due to counterfeiting. Many places also refuse them due to not having enough change.
Finally, a better way to recognise him - instead of Benedict Cumberbatch's criminally inaccurate 2014 portrayal - or that renamed road on the MS campus - or the great British tradition of a park bench...
Yes that film was awful- they took an individual who was 'very warm and friendly'[1] and turned him into the prototypical savant nerd (Sheldon Cooper, Sherlock Holmes)
I very much doubt Turing would have appreciated his name and image being used for propaganda purposes by a government that is scarcely different to the one that murdered him.
Is there a service that lets me exchange USD for GBP that guarantees I'd get my GBP in cold, hard cash in these? Preferably newer, perhaps uncirculated?
I'm no collector, I just think it's cool that Turing is on a bank note, and I want one.
Until 23 June, likely no, since that would be confusing, they aren't actually money until then even though some will be working their way through supply chains as to be available promptly.
After that sure, they're just money, if you want to be certain to obtain one of these, particularly in mint condition you may end up paying a bit more than it's "worth" but you seemingly don't intend to spend it so that shouldn't matter.
I'm not sure if they're a thing in the US, but in many countries there are places which sell stamps, coins and notes to collectors, and here I'd expect to find at least one in a large town or city, people like that would understand what you want here, although their prices would likely be significantly higher than just going to an international airport and asking to buy a £50 note from them once they have the new kind.
A brief aside about why people won't have the old ones for long. Unlike the US, the UK actually replaces notes. Pre-Turing notes given to banks will gradually be destroyed and then in not so long the government will declare that they are no longer to be used. They don't become worthless, but shops won't take them, and then high street banks won't take them, until eventually the only place that will is the Bank of England in Threadneedle Street, they will always honour the old note, since it says it is worth Fifty Pounds and they issued it, but of course all you get is a newer Fifty Pound note that still works, a fun ritual to do once maybe if you don't live too far away.
This means ordinary British people needn't have the expertise to authenticate genuine 100 year old money, none of it is valid any more - while if you find some down the back of your couch, it isn't worthless, it's just maybe not very convenient to go to Threadneedle Street if you found an archaic banknote that's now worth less than it'd cost to get there.
Also of course eventually (many years from now) the old notes will be worth more than £50 to collectors because they become rare, even though at Threadneedle Street you can only ever get £50 for them.
It’s really cool that UK puts scientists to its own money.
Most countries will go with politicians, buildings and warlords.
I have to say that it saddens me to see Darwin go. Considering that the evolution theory is still considered controversial in many places(even in advanced countries like the US) I think it was a very bold move to have him on the note.
I think the situation is different in the UK. I've never come across a person who disbelieves evolution. It would be equivalent to a flat-earther or person who genuinely thinks political figures are lizard folk.
> I think it was a very bold move to have him on the note
There's a lot of wacky people with wacky ideas in the UK... but I think almost literally nobody disbelieves evolution here. It's just not a thing on anyone's radar and the small component we have of evangelical christianity is strangely quite an urban middle-class thing. I don't think it was bold at all.
I personally believe we should be doing more to promote and empower our scientists instead of shunning them for political or financial reasons. We certainly can't write a wrong long past, but we can make sure to not repeat it again.
I feel like that's like choosing your favourite child though. Both were extremely influential in their field; both have a deeply moving human story as well.
> Old paper £50 notes will still be accepted in shops for some time.
I find that amusing because I suspect that in practice not many shops accept them. It's hard for me to know because despite having lived in the UK for about half a century I've never had a £50 note.
Perhaps they have a plan to bring the new £50 notes into use. If today's cash machines only have the hardware to dispense two kinds of note they could replace the 20s with 50s. But inflation is low and cash is generally on the way out, so probably not, I would guess.
I have carried £50 notes (and accepted £50 notes when I had jobs while studying) and the only occasions I've seen them refused is when there wasn't enough change in the cash register.
Scottish and other non-English sterling is another matter. Despite being legal tender in England, smaller shops don't see it frequently enough to want to take the risk handling them.
A man worthy of the gesture, though I can't remember the last time I even touched money. Most bills are paid online/direct debit and I tend to use self-service at supermarkets.
I remember seeing George Galloway on a morning TV show passionately saying why Margaret Thatcher shouldn't be on any notes. At the end of the interview he was asked who was on the £5, £10, £20 notes. He had no clue. I'm sure most of us in the UK don't either.
I'm not in the UK, but surely you guys have some sort of equivalent to Gumtree/Facebook Marketplace, as well as semi-legitimate cash-only businesses and tradies that are trying to avoid tax?
Nothing to do with cashless, most places don't accept £50 notes and cash machines often only dispense £20 (apart from airports). Using less cash will probably decrease the use further but so far the lack of £50 note usage had little to do with card payments.
> The banknote was described by Peter Sands, former chief executive of Standard Chartered bank, as the "currency of corrupt elites, of crime of all sorts and of tax evasion".
Rich coming from someone under whose leadership, money laundering was going on:
> Also during his time at the bank, Sands was harshly criticized after Standard Chartered paid New York State $340 million in 2012 to settle claims it laundered money for Iran[0]
Polymer bank notes are considered better for the environment because of durability and under the guise of recycling, but now that we know about the catastrophe of microplastics, are they really?
The volume is massive: with the most used notes lasting 3-5 years it won't be long until you have a billion plastic notes in circulation.
I wouldn't have thought that bank notes would typically turn into microplastics? They don't tend to fall apart and would be returned for incineration or recycling when they need to be replaced - you can't continue to have the money/value if it gets thrown away
beforeolives|5 years ago
gherkinnn|5 years ago
The first list I found of her meeting US presidents: https://time.com/5333083/queen-elizabeth-trump-visit-preside...
StavrosK|5 years ago
jamesgreenleaf|5 years ago
strong_opinions|5 years ago
[deleted]
carmen_sandiego|5 years ago
I look to Switzerland with envy, where as far as I can tell you can stroll into the supermarket and drop a 1000-franc note without issue.
dblooman|5 years ago
I have heard this since I was a kid, in reality, it isn't true, at least not in London. I have never been refused when presenting a £50, not that I have carried them more than a dozen times. Most places that have issues taking them are small merchants who give away too many notes breaking them, so will often ask for a smaller note. When I was in New York once, I went into a CVS and bought $60 of sweets to bring home, the cashier shouted 'bill check' when i presented a $100 bill, so I guess I look more dodgey in the US.
neilwilson|5 years ago
Very difficult to get contactless working in the midst of the Cheviots.
dan-robertson|5 years ago
- I don’t really think the problem is forgery. I think it’s that it is annoying for a lot of shops to make change for £50.
- I don’t think the government is particularly interested in making cash more convenient for people (card transactions are easier to track) and wealthy people mostly aren’t interested in carrying around high-value notes as credit cards exist.
Symbiote|5 years ago
smoe|5 years ago
nickik|5 years ago
lifeisstillgood|5 years ago
raverbashing|5 years ago
holistio|5 years ago
Hop over to Switzerland, and you can buy a coffee with a 1000 franc (GBP780) note without any issues.
nly|5 years ago
als0|5 years ago
ksec|5 years ago
I guess everyone is so used to Digital Payment and do not want to deal with the hassle of cash.
Personally I love cash.
JohnTHaller|5 years ago
bananapear|5 years ago
DaiPlusPlus|5 years ago
stuartbman|5 years ago
1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27701207
ragnese|5 years ago
Nope. He didn't. Just the way pop culture likes their nerds to act.
hntrader|5 years ago
madaxe_again|5 years ago
mauvehaus|5 years ago
I'm no collector, I just think it's cool that Turing is on a bank note, and I want one.
tialaramex|5 years ago
After that sure, they're just money, if you want to be certain to obtain one of these, particularly in mint condition you may end up paying a bit more than it's "worth" but you seemingly don't intend to spend it so that shouldn't matter.
I'm not sure if they're a thing in the US, but in many countries there are places which sell stamps, coins and notes to collectors, and here I'd expect to find at least one in a large town or city, people like that would understand what you want here, although their prices would likely be significantly higher than just going to an international airport and asking to buy a £50 note from them once they have the new kind.
A brief aside about why people won't have the old ones for long. Unlike the US, the UK actually replaces notes. Pre-Turing notes given to banks will gradually be destroyed and then in not so long the government will declare that they are no longer to be used. They don't become worthless, but shops won't take them, and then high street banks won't take them, until eventually the only place that will is the Bank of England in Threadneedle Street, they will always honour the old note, since it says it is worth Fifty Pounds and they issued it, but of course all you get is a newer Fifty Pound note that still works, a fun ritual to do once maybe if you don't live too far away.
This means ordinary British people needn't have the expertise to authenticate genuine 100 year old money, none of it is valid any more - while if you find some down the back of your couch, it isn't worthless, it's just maybe not very convenient to go to Threadneedle Street if you found an archaic banknote that's now worth less than it'd cost to get there.
Also of course eventually (many years from now) the old notes will be worth more than £50 to collectors because they become rare, even though at Threadneedle Street you can only ever get £50 for them.
gadders|5 years ago
wrboyce|5 years ago
raverbashing|5 years ago
The caveat is because places with lots of tourists will have their "pocket change" (old notes)
alberth|5 years ago
As for a (web) service, I'm not aware of any.
International airports and many major banks have currency exchanges. The exchanges take a healthy cut, where your personal bank most likely will not.
teekert|5 years ago
Laakeri|5 years ago
mrtksn|5 years ago
Most countries will go with politicians, buildings and warlords.
I have to say that it saddens me to see Darwin go. Considering that the evolution theory is still considered controversial in many places(even in advanced countries like the US) I think it was a very bold move to have him on the note.
dkdbejwi383|5 years ago
chrisseaton|5 years ago
There's a lot of wacky people with wacky ideas in the UK... but I think almost literally nobody disbelieves evolution here. It's just not a thing on anyone's radar and the small component we have of evangelical christianity is strangely quite an urban middle-class thing. I don't think it was bold at all.
jacobolus|5 years ago
If you want an engraved portrait of Gauss, Cliff Stoll will sell you a nice one: https://www.kleinbottle.com/gauss.htm
glandium|5 years ago
curiousgal|5 years ago
malux85|5 years ago
PartiallyTyped|5 years ago
The £50 note feels like lipservice if anything.
mhh__|5 years ago
bloak|5 years ago
I find that amusing because I suspect that in practice not many shops accept them. It's hard for me to know because despite having lived in the UK for about half a century I've never had a £50 note.
Perhaps they have a plan to bring the new £50 notes into use. If today's cash machines only have the hardware to dispense two kinds of note they could replace the 20s with 50s. But inflation is low and cash is generally on the way out, so probably not, I would guess.
hnlmorg|5 years ago
Scottish and other non-English sterling is another matter. Despite being legal tender in England, smaller shops don't see it frequently enough to want to take the risk handling them.
ricardo81|5 years ago
I remember seeing George Galloway on a morning TV show passionately saying why Margaret Thatcher shouldn't be on any notes. At the end of the interview he was asked who was on the £5, £10, £20 notes. He had no clue. I'm sure most of us in the UK don't either.
ninjamayo|5 years ago
AussieWog93|5 years ago
unknown|5 years ago
[deleted]
dx034|5 years ago
unknown|5 years ago
[deleted]
dbbk|5 years ago
noisy_boy|5 years ago
Rich coming from someone under whose leadership, money laundering was going on:
> Also during his time at the bank, Sands was harshly criticized after Standard Chartered paid New York State $340 million in 2012 to settle claims it laundered money for Iran[0]
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sands_(banker)
dan1234|5 years ago
https://i.imgur.com/qmTZc9C.jpg
londons_explore|5 years ago
_hl_|5 years ago
ricardobeat|5 years ago
The volume is massive: with the most used notes lasting 3-5 years it won't be long until you have a billion plastic notes in circulation.
madeofpalk|5 years ago
bildung|5 years ago
Introduction of these notes will probably not even be visible in microplastics assays.
BillinghamJ|5 years ago
londons_explore|5 years ago
yumraj|5 years ago
Not sure if that breaks at laws, IMNAL..
Not sure of the TAM/ SAM/ SOM
mk3|5 years ago
mhh__|5 years ago
billpg|5 years ago
nvoid|5 years ago
lifeisstillgood|5 years ago