On the back of every English bank notes, at the top is the statement "The bank england promises to pay the bearer, on demand the sum of " - then the amount (five, ten, twenty etc) and of course, the signiture that changes. Does anybody know what they would pay with?
"The Bank of England promises to pay"....
Aug 19, 2005
11 Replies
Bitstring , from the wonderful person JaffaB said
What would you like - ten penny pieces, fivers, Harold Wilsons (two faced and seven sided, iirc)? In the old days it used to refer to gold but them days is long gone.
They'd give you another note probably, or coins, presumably, because they are real money.
Putrid poetry, dismal doggerel, extrava-stanzas...
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The standard answer used to be gold, since at one time the valuation of notes in circulation was backed by gold to the same value. That was of course when there was a gold standard, and of course many years before Gordon Brown decided to sell of most of our gold reserves.
It's now academic since the currency supply is no longer backed in its entirety by gold, and it's just a throwback to a long gone era. Good trivia question though.
Rgds
__ Richard Buttrey Grappenhall, Cheshire, UK __________________________
Silver surely? Why else call it "Pounds Sterling"?
FoFP
I believe the BoE have (or at least, used to have) a special section for dealing with people who asked for their £1 (or £5 or whatever).
They would be paid with another £1 (£5, whatever) note.
And then use that note to pay of the next customer....
Perhaps its time they were honest and removed the wording since they're no longer willing to do what they were originally promising to do when it was written.
Chris
"Mike Scott" wrote
How do they "deal" with the person who stands there, reads the second note saying "...promises to pay the bearer..." and hands it back again ... and again ... and again ... and again ...... !!
They tell him they're out of stock and give him the equivalent value in coins, which bear no such wording.
Chris
Either they throw him out or find some pound coins!
Nothing, our currency is created out of thin air and backed by blind faith and hopeless optimism.
As for years ago, it was convertible into gold (see, fiat money, FRB, gold standard)
The pound moved from being backed by silver, to being backed by gold bullion in 1717. After 1931 the currency cease to be backed by gold (or any other precious metal), and the bit about 'paying the bearer on demand' became somewhat academic - although I happen to think it's still rather a nice link to the past.
Rgds
__ Richard Buttrey Grappenhall, Cheshire, UK __________________________
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