Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mark Friedman on April 28, 2011 at 8:26pm

Enlightened and Beautiful!

This is as close as the US will ever come. Notice the likeness to GW Bush in the 6th image.

http://stampcenter.com/blog/2009/07/17/charles-darwin-postage-stamp...

Permalink Reply by Dr. Terence Meaden on April 29, 2011 at 3:30am

Well spotted, Mark. That's a good likeness.

 

Permalink Reply by paul babcock on May 6, 2011 at 4:02pm

He is not in the same leave but we do have Ben Franklin on some of our money here in Merca.

Permalink Reply by Kris King on May 11, 2011 at 6:47pm

I've never been a flag waver (patriotism bugs the crap out of me), but I really love that we've got someone like Darwin on our money ... it just seems right.  I could understand national pride if it was done like like this because it celebrates people, not country (or ruler).

I'd love to see other figures, maybe Isaac Newton or Thomas Paine ... we've got some cool people in our history who were big on reason (well, except Newton a bit - being slightly, erm, an alchemist :))

Permalink Reply by Dr. Terence Meaden on May 12, 2011 at 3:50am

Ah but Isaac Newton can be forgiven for experimenting with alchemy.

On the basis of science as then known, he didn't realise (when he began) that he might be following a dead end.

 

 

Permalink Reply by Dr. Terence Meaden on May 12, 2011 at 3:53am

Wikipedia is very good on recounting the history of British banknotes.

 

Here's a clipping about the banknote issues of the last 40 years:

 

Series D
Value	Reverse portrait	Issued	Withdrawn
£1	Isaac Newton	9 February 1978	11 March 1988
£5	Duke of Wellington	11 November 1971	29 November 1991
£10	Florence Nightingale	20 February 1975	20 May 1994
£20	William Shakespeare	9 July 1970	19 March 1993
£50	Christopher Wren	20 March 1981	20 September 1996
Series E
£5	George Stephenson	7 June 1990	21 November 2003
£10	Charles Dickens	29 April 1992	31 July 2003
£20	Michael Faraday	5 June 1991	28 February 2001
£50	John Houblon	20 April 1994	in use
Series E (Revision)
£5	Elizabeth Fry	21 May 2002	in use
£10	Charles Darwin	7 November 2000	in use
£20	Edward Elgar	22 June 1999	30 June 2010
Series F
£20	Adam Smith	13 March 2007	in use
£50	Matthew Boulton and James Watt	2011	n/a

 

Permalink Reply by Kris King on May 15, 2011 at 4:41am

Crikey, yeah, I'd forgotten most of those (I suppose it's what comes of not ever having bank notes in one's possession for very long :))