Thirty years ago today...

[ex-khobar Andy]

AFAIK the Royal Bank of Scotland still issues a £1 note, but the other two Scottish banks have withdrawn them, and the Bank of England stopped issuing £1 notes 30 years ago. It's a while since I have been in Scotland although I was born in Paisley which is part of Greater Glasgow.

[Bicycle Bill]

What amuses me about these stories is that there isn't another country in the world whose residents would presume to be allowed to use their own currency in a foreign country at all, let alone receive a decent exchange rate.

Maybe you should use some other name for your monetary unit other than 'dollar' — something like 'peso', 'pound', 'franc', 'drachma', or even 'Euro' — so we stupid Americans would ken to the fact that there is a difference?  And of course, Canada, Mexico, most of the Caribbean nations, and to a lesser degree Latin American countries like Costa Rica or Brazil need to cater to the US tourist dollar because who else fills most of those resort hotels, tours, and cruise ships that stop through all the time?


Seriously, though, it's just another example of the over-privileged 'Ugly American' mindset at work.  As you may or may not know, I work as a customer service rep for a major US cellular telephone company.  Have I ever told you about the time I fielded a call from a customer who was disputing international roaming charges while traveling in Canada and felt that she shouldn't be charged?  Her line of logic was that Canada uses the same 10-digit number system as the USA, and "after all, they speak English there!"

Just more of the same.

-"BB"-

[Gob]

Scottish banks print their own versions. These "Scottish notes" are widely accepted throughout the United Kingdom, although cases have been reported of a few shops outside Scotland refusing them.

[Lord Jim]

I didn't know anything about this, so I did a bit of research...

Apparently there are seven banks, (3 in Scotland and 4 in Northern Ireland) that are authorized to issue their own notes.

However, they can't just print up these vanity notes willy-nilly; they are strictly regulated by the Bank Of England:

Seven banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland are authorised to issue banknotes. Legislation is in place to ensure that holders of banknotes issued by the authorised banks receive a level of protection similar to that provided to holders of Bank of England notes. In particular, the banks must hold backing assets equivalent to all of their banknotes in circulation, to ensure that if one of the authorised banks were to fail there would be sufficient funds to pay out all noteholders. The Bank of England monitors the seven banks’ compliance with this legislative regime.

The seven authorised banks (or their predecessors) have been regulated with regard to the backing of their banknotes since 1845. Part 6 of the Banking Act 2009 (the Act), which came into effect on 23 November 2009, updated and modernised the framework for commercial note issuance to provide enhanced noteholder protection.

Three banks are authorised to issue banknotes in Scotland:

Bank of Scotland plc;
Clydesdale Bank plc; and
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc.


Four banks are authorised to issue banknotes in Northern Ireland:

Bank of Ireland (UK) plc [1];
AIB Group (UK) plc (trades as First Trust Bank in Northern Ireland);
Northern Bank Limited (trades as Danske Bank); and
Ulster Bank Limited.

The provisions in the legislation are designed to ensure that holders of banknotes issued by the authorised banks receive a level of protection similar to that provided to holders of Bank of England notes. The Act passed the responsibility for regulating commercial banknote issuance on to the Bank of England. The Bank’s role is limited to matters relating to ensuring that the banks hold sufficient backing assets: it is not responsible for the design of the authorised banks’ banknotes or their robustness against counterfeiting.

The authorised banks’ note issuance is governed by Part 6 of the Banking Act 2009, the Scottish and Northern Ireland Banknote Regulations 2009 and the related Rules, together with a Statement of Penalty Policy. The Rules and Statement of Penalty Policy are revised periodically - links to the latest versions are provided below. The Bank can impose financial penalties on the authorised banks for non-compliance with the Regulations and the Rules. Information on the Bank’s use of this power is provided in the annual reports.

The authorised banks must also comply with General and Specific Conditions which set out the standards required for holding backing assets and unissued ‘Excluded’ banknotes. As the Conditions include sensitive material such as the security standards that sites holding backing assets must meet, they are not published.

The Bank has a small team of staff within its Notes Directorate to monitor compliance with the regime. In addition to on-going data monitoring and analysis, the Bank undertakes compliance visits to the locations used by each of the authorised banks for the storage of their notes and backing assets. The compliance visits enable the Bank to verify the value of backing assets and Excluded Notes held, and confirm that the necessary conditions (e.g. security standards of sites storing backing assets) are met.

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknote ... eland.aspx

While businesses and individuals outside of the regions (ie Scotland or Ireland) where these notes are issued are not legally required to accept them for payment, (technically, they are not really "legal tender" under British law) the converse is not true. UK banknotes are issued by the UK’s Royal Mint. They are legal tender & can’t be refused for payment, either in Scotland or anywhere else in the UK.

[BoSoxGal]

This brings up a question from a Brit TV series I watched the other night called Capital - based on a book I haven't read.

There's a storyline where a builder finds an old suitcase full of money in a wall - with the Queen's face on it so I assumed legit banknotes - and he struggles with whether to give them to the house owner but eventually does. Then the house owner tells her son they're not legal tender anymore. The money would have been saved up during WWII and years beyond - I couldn't understand why they'd have become worthless.

Any help?

[Gob]

Fiction

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknote ... anges.aspx

[dales]

This Isn't



True story of how Germany planned to ruin the British economy by printing millions of 5 pound notes.

[rubato]

Maybe we should form an economic union with our mukluk-wearing frigid friends to the north and combine currencies?


yrs,
rubato

[dales]

BTDT

[Long Run]

Loonie, not looney.

Which one is correct when you realize that the U.S. had already shown how (un)popular a big coin could be with the Susan B. Anthony dollar (she deserved better!).

[BoSoxGal]

I loved the Anthony dollar - I think I still have one stashed away somewhere.

[Bicycle Bill]

Loonie, not looney.

Which one is correct when you realize that the U.S. had already shown how (un)popular a big coin could be with the Susan B. Anthony dollar (she deserved better!).

The biggest problem with the 'Susie' is that it wasn't immediately and obviously different from a 25-cent coin.  They were both silver and were almost the same size.

What the Department of the Treasury, the Mint, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing should do is get their shit together and come to an agreement.  Set a date at which point the government will stop printing paper dollars — and then do it.  At the same time start minting dollar coins and putting them into circulation; they could begin by pulling all the Sacagawea gold-tone dollar coins out of whatever vaults they are being held in and putting them into the hands of the public.

Since the average life expectancy of a paper dollar is around 70 months (and of course a lot of people will take them out of circulation as potential collectibles), within five years a paper dollar will become as rare as an Indian-head penny or a buffalo nickel.  Then there's always the possibility that the demise of the paper dollar might spur an increased demand for the 1976 Bicentennial-issue $2.00 bills.

And don't tell me that they can't do it; in my own lifetime they have pulled all the silver certificate bills (the ones with the blue seals) out of circulation, and they have also pulled $500 and $1000 bills out of general circulation as well.  It's just a case of someone having the guts to make the decision and the will to stand behind it.

-"BB"-

[dales]

They used to be called "The Carter Quarter"

[BoSoxGal]

It's possible that before the US Treasury attempts dollar coins again, they'll get on board with adopting recyclable polymer banknotes as they are doing in many other countries worldwide - including Canada.

[Crackpot]

The us govt doesn't hold the patent so they can't.

[Lord Jim]

I loved the Anthony dollar - I think I still have one stashed away somewhere.

I've got one too...

I keep it in a box along with a can of New Coke...

[rubato]

Paper money is already recyclable and made of a polymer, cellulose.


yrs,
rubato

[datsunaholic]

$2 bills have been printed consistently. There are 1995, 2003, 2003A, 2009, and 2013 series $2 bills out there.

I'll occasionally spend golden dollars (Sacajawea or Presidential) but its been a while since I got a roll from the credit union. Back when Post Offices had stamp vending machines I'd buy stamps with a $20 just to get change back in dollar coins.

The coins I never see anymore are half dollars.

[rubato]

The reason given at the time for the failure of the SBA dollar was the lack of a space in the cash drawer. The real reason is that they needed to get rid of the paper dollar. The attempt was too tentative and in the end, pointless.

I used to get half-dollars in change in the 60s and 70a but not since.


yrs,
rubato

[BoSoxGal]

The us govt doesn't hold the patent so they can't.

Not sure what this means?