"Bob Flaminio" wrote in message
...
stonej wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4486173.stm

snip.


The one thing I don't understand -- and maybe our UK brethren can clue
me in -- is why the old money needs to be demonetized. Stop making them,
sure -- but let attrition and the banks take them out of circulation.
There doesn't seem to be any pressing need to make them worthless. They
only last nine months in circulation, so in a year's time they'll be all
gone anyway.


Why demonetise old notes, generally speaking?

The Bank of England notes are £5, £10, £20, and £50 (and nothing higher).
They are periodically redesigned every few years, usually with added
security features to prevent counterfeiting.

The main reason for demonetising old notes on a regular basis is that the
real ones must be presented at banks for exchange, where they will pass
inspection, but any fakes in circulation or being hoarded by, say, organised
crime or terrorists, will become useless because they can't be spent and
would not pass in a bank inspection. Also, of course, the monarch's
portrait has to change every so often as she ages.

Also, there are always new security features that can be introduced that
make it harder to fake them. The Bank of England notes have several
different features, such as durable rag paper, multi-coloured printing,
graded shades on serial numbers, a security strip woven into the paper,
intaglio printing of some parts of the note (slightly raised printing
created under high pressure), moire pattern foilers to prevent simple colour
photocopying, a watermark, highly detailed engraving, and a white-light
hologram of Britannia alternating with the denomination.

By the way, there are a lot of fake £1 coins in circulation; every so often
I get one in change (and refuse it when I notice). They are getting quite
sophisticated, and harder to spot. (The edge inscription is the hardest
part to fake.) The counterfeiters rely on the fact that the average person
does not inspect their change in order to admire the quality of the Royal
Mint's work, especially in a dimly lit pub after a few beers. You don't see
the old fakes (such as lead coins painted brass colour) any more.

My estimate is that about 1 in 100 or 200 is a fake.

--
Mike Dworetsky

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