My column for the November 2019 issue of Hawkesbury Parish News was sparked by reading an article in the paper about the new design for the British sterling £20 note, which will be launched into circulation on the pleasingly appropriate date of 20/2/2020.
I bet I’m not the only one in the parish stealthily collecting commemorative British coins.
Every time I pay by cash, I check my change for these tiny works of art in which I take a childlike pleasure. My latest acquisition is a Sherlock Holmes 50p, an odd bedfellow for Paddington Bear, Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny in my collection, but a very welcome one.
If you’re looking for something to collect, these special coins are a good choice:
- They’re affordable
- They retain their face value
- You might even profit from selling rarer ones on eBay
If you hit hard times, simply return them to circulation (ie spend them!) and put a smile on the face of another enthusiast.
Not that I plan to do that with mine. I’ve always regretted as a child spending my collection of old pennies, after acquiring one for nearly every year that they’d been minted.
Good on Paper
Paper money, with its larger canvas, attracts public debate with every new design. The latest note to get a new look is the £20, with a portrait of Turner and his most famous painting, The Fighting Temeraire.
Although celebrating a ship that played a significant role in the Battle of Trafalgar, the picture is tinged with sadness, as it shows the ship being towed away for scrap by newfangled steam tugs. The golden age of sail is over, and the nation is entering a period of radical change. As I write, we’re poised on the brink of Brexit: the end of another era. I wonder whether that’s the real reason the Bank of England’s chose this design?
Like to know more about the new £20 note?
Click here for an interesting article on the Bank of England‘s website.
Like to read more of my columns from the Hawkesbury Parish News?
Click here to find out about All Part of the Charm, my published collection of these columns.
