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"This did not rule out the use of paper notes, as long as they could be exchanged for specie. [...] The guarantee, which still appears on banknotes to this very
by throwaway_pdp09 6y ago
"This did not rule out the use of paper notes, as long as they could be exchanged for specie. [...] The guarantee, which still appears on banknotes to this very day, of the promise to pay the bearer on demand the requisite sum in hard cash"
I certainly did notice this and in a bank, pointed out the "the promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of five pounds" and asked to be paid. The unlucky teller didn't know what to do. I didn't press her. I didn't realise until reading this what that was supposed to mean; she should have given me actual gold. TIL as they say.
- twic 6y agoIf you're talking about UK currency, I think it's the Bank of England that promises to pay you the five pounds; a high street bank isn't bound by that promise. The Bank of England will pay you the five pounds by giving you another fiver and a withering stare: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/freedom-of-information/2016/25-february-2016 https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/freedom-of-information/2016/...
- throwaway_pdp09 6y agoVery helpful reply. Turns out from your link - and I had no idea - that the promise to swap one fiver for another actually has a use: "Nowadays, the ‘promise to pay’ holds good in perpetuity for the exchange of old series Bank of England notes which have been withdrawn from circulation, as well as mutilated Bank of England notes, provided that certain criteria are met"