I promise to pay the bearer on demand ...

Robert_Sterling

... the sum of twenty pounds.

Signed by Andrew Bailey.

Has any one ever presented a twenty pound note to Andrew Bailey and if so whet did he give you for it?

Sceptic001

Twenty pounds?

brightonman123

i'll give you a tenner. cant say fairer than that, with the recession and all.

asbokid

Robert_Sterling wrote: »

... the sum of twenty pounds.

Signed by Andrew Bailey.

Has any one ever presented a twenty pound note to Andrew Bailey and if so what did he give you for it?

Bob Sterling. An appropriate name for a man asking such a question!

Once upon a time there was an explanation on the royal mint website of what the wording "I promise to pay the bearer" originally meant, and its meaning today (it has no meaning now, so far as i known).

Our banknotes are promissory notes issued either directly by the Bank of England, or by commercial banks through strict agreements with the BofE.

Before 1971, and the end of the Bretton Woods system, the major currencies of the world, including the British pound, were backed by gold. We were on a "Gold Standard".

In theory, you could march into the offices of the Bank of England on Threadneedle Street, and demand that your sterling notes be swapped for precious metal, gold and perhaps silver.

Since the currency is no longer on a Gold Standard, that quaint old practice has long since been lost.

Our currency today is a fiat currency. It has no intrinsic value, only what people attach to it. That means that the bank of england can print money at whatever rate it chooses, expanding the money supply and causing hyperinflation. As we have witnessed, that has led to soaring food prices, protest marches by starving subjects, and rioting against the supermarkets, etc..

The price for abandoning the Bretton Woods system

Reaper

asbokid wrote: »

Once upon a time there was an explanation on the royal mint website of what the wording "I promise to pay the bearer" originally meant, and its meaning today (it has no meaning now, so far as i known).

The Bank of England still has an explanation here, though it is not as comprehensive as it ought to be:
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/history.htm

The "pound" was and still is a measurement of weight. From Wikepedia:

The English penny first appeared in Anglo-Saxon times, as a silver coin. It was derived from another silver coin, the sceat, of 20 troy grains weight, which was in general circulation in Europe during the Middle Ages. The weight of the English penny was fixed at 22.5 troy grains (about 1.46 grams) by Offa of Mercia, an 8th century contemporary of Charlemagne. The coin's designated value, however, was that of 24 troy grains of silver (one pennyweight, or 1⁄240 of a troy pound, or about 1.56 grams), with the difference being a premium attached by virtue of the minting into coins. Thus 240 pennyweights made one troy pound of silver in weight, and the monetary value of 240 pennies also became known as a "pound".

The amount promised in exchange for your £1 note changed over time and eventually the link between the currency and precious metals was broken. The wording on the notes is as meaningless as it sounds. You get nothing in exchange.

ILW

Two Tenners?

TheMatrix_2

£20 even if that note becomes obsolete, you'll still get £20 He promised!

Loopgames

I'll give you half an ounce of silver today.

ooh too late it's now worth quarter of an ounce:p

sentinel7

Robert_Sterling wrote: »

... the sum of twenty pounds.

Signed by Andrew Bailey.

Has any one ever presented a twenty pound note to Andrew Bailey and if so whet did he give you for it?

Twenty £1 coins?

steady__eddie

I found a piece of paper today with the words, "I promise to pay the bearer on demand" etc. etc. but this was one was slightly different in that it was only for a [STRIKE]poond[/STRIKE] pound.
This promise is only effective, "AT THEIR HEAD OFFICE HERE IN EDINBURGH".
According to the note, the promise was made by the Chief Executive on the 24th of February 1983, which was a Thursday if my memory serves me correctly, so he obviously had a busy day.
Does anyone know if a Royal bank of Scotland note, or indeed the Royal bank of Scotland is considered to be legal tender today ?
My carer has refused to accept it, the bank will probably charge me commission to exchange it, (they're into everything nowadays) and I don't fancy a 600 mile round trip to take them up on their offer.

vax2002

Worthless paper, the only value is your labour