Friday 4 November 2011

THE NEW £50 NOTE

His is a name few will recognise – but that is about to change. Chris Salmon, the chief cashier of the Bank of England, launches the new £50 note today – the first featuring his signature.

The importance of the moment is not lost on the 43-year-old, who succeeded Andrew Bailey in April.
‘People remember the chief cashier from when they were a child,’ he says. ‘For me, I can remember Page [John Page, chief cashier from  1970 to 1980].’




Although the £50 note is the least common in Britain – with 200m in circulation compared with 1.6bn £20s – it is instantly recognisable.
‘The existing £50 was launched in 1994 and is by some way the oldest of the current notes in circulation so it is time for it to be updated,’ says Salmon.
‘We have a rolling programme for updating the banknotes to make sure they stay up to date and remain secure. The new £50 is still very identifiable.
It is the same size and predominant colour, so you should be able to tell straight away that this is the son of the old £50.’
 


    The current note features the portrait of Sir John Houblon, the first Governor of the Bank of England.
    It replaced the Wren note, which was introduced in 1981. Prior to this, there was a white £50 note in issue between 1725 and 1943.
    The new £50 note is the first to carry two portraits on the reverse – entrepreneur Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) and engineer James Watt (1736-1819), who developed and marketed steam engines in Britain and abroad. 
    ‘Together for over 25 years they were incredibly successful, helping to power the industrial revolution,’ explains Salmon.
    Naming ceremony: Bank of England chief cashier Chris Salmon signed the note




    For Bank Governor Sir Mervyn King, they are perfect role models. ‘The partnership of an innovator and an entrepreneur created exactly the kind of commercial success that we will need in this country as we rebalance our economy over the years ahead,’ he says.
    Salmon, who is responsible for everything to do with banknotes, from production and design to distribution and circulation, says the new £50 also represents a big step forward in security.
    It includes a so-called ‘motion thread’ woven into the paper rather than printed on it. 
    The green thread has five windows, running from top to bottom, each containing images of the £ symbol and the number 50.
    When the note is tilted from side to side, the images move up and down; when it is tilted up and down, the images move from side to side.
    ‘We want people to be aware there is a new £50 note, to be aware of the new security feature,’ says Salmon. 
    ‘People must have confidence in the authenticity of notes they receive.’ Not that this is a major problem at the moment. Last year, the Bank withdrew 300,000 counterfeit notes out of a stock of more than 2bn. Just 3,000 £50 notes were withdrawn.
    ‘We are very efficient at detecting counterfeits as well so our sense is that once they enter circulation they are removed very quickly,’ the chief cashier claims.
    He adds that ‘one of my jobs next year will be to decide which is the next note to be replaced, what security features to put on it, and what characters to put on it’.
    But he dismisses the idea of another denomination, such as a £100 note, on top of the fivers, tenners, 20s and 50s in circulation.

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    ‘There isn’t any work going on at the moment,’ he says. 
    ‘Our view is the current four denominations are fit for purpose.  I don’t think there will be any change there. 
    ‘But it’s something you would never say never to. It’s one of our jobs to keep an eye on it.’
    The Bank has issued banknotes since it was founded in 1694, but it has not printed money on Threadneedle Street since 1920. Printing has taken place at the Bank’s site in Essex since 1956. It is currently done by British firm De La Rue.
    The Bank has always signed its notes, first as a ‘promise to pay’ to someone depositing gold and now as a mark of trust.
    Many famous figures have held the job of chief cashier – Leslie O’Brien became Governor – and the signature is seen by millions. So, did Salmon practice?
    ‘Absolutely,’ he says. ‘Some signatures you take care over, and I definitely took care over this. I think that is appropriate.’






    From The site: This is Money 

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