The Story Behind Famous Banknotes

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Banknotes are handled by people nearly every day. And yet, there aren’t many people who can name every famous face depicted on the notes, let alone understand the meaning behind every image and illustration.

There’s been a lot of buzz in the news recently around the newest Polymer banknotes set to be released in the UK. English novelist Jane Austen will feature on the note, the mastermind behind such popular tales as Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion.

Etched into the note as well will be the quotation, “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!” Dubbed as a “strange” choice of quotation by the general public, this decision is now facing intense backlash by Austen fans, in that this was never uttered by the novelist herself, but rather by the much-detested Pride and Prejudice character Caroline Bingley, who isn’t discreet about her disliking of books.

The new note was unveiled on July the 18th at Winchester Cathedral, marking the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death back in 1817. This “controversial” banknote will be finding its way into wallets on the 14th of September 2017. Jane Austen, to date, will be the third woman to ever feature on an English banknote after the Queen and Elizabeth Fry.

Because of all the current hubbub, ForexTime have decided to carefully scour the internet and produce a fascinating infographic which picks apart each current UK banknote – just so everyone’s a lot more clued up before the new release!

From the golden Nobel prize emblem behind ex-Prime Minister Winston Churchill, philosopher Adam Smith’s famous pin factory exemplar, the two men who kick-started the Industrial Revolution at the now-iconic Soho Manufactory, to Charles Darwin’s five-year trip to Galapagos and back on the HMS Beagle – we’ve been very thorough!

If that’s not enough, we’ve also taken the liberty of examining every one of the Euro banknotes being handled by our good friends over in the Eurozone. Those who aren’t acquainted with them might at first believe their bridges and buildings represent real-life landmarks – when in fact, they are featured to epitomise the architectural styles of the time. As a series, it could be said that they act as a real pointer to the societal progress made in Europe over the centuries.

Want to learn something new about your currency? Check out ForexTime’s great infographic below!

Banknotes

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