Bank of England Releases New 50 Pound Note

By Kerry Rodgers, Bank Note Reporter November 16, 2011

This article was originally printed in Numismatic News.
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On Nov. 2 the Bank of England released its long promised new £50 note. This is only the third colored £50 note to be issued in the United Kingdom and is the second note in the bank’s Series F. The first note of this series, a £20, appeared in March 2007.

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The back of the new note features Matthew Boulton and James Watt. Not only were they leading figures in the Industrial Revolution but also, between them, they introduced Britain and the world to high-quality, mass-produced coins. Boulton’s Soho Mint used Watt’s steam engine to strike the famous copper cartwheel pennies, halfpennies and twopences in 1797. In showing both Boulton and Watt, the new £50 becomes the first British note to feature two portraits on its back.

It is appropriate then that details of the new note were revealed in a presentation made to the British Numismatic Society by Chris Salmon. In April 2011 Salmon was appointed the bank’s executive director, banking services and chief cashier. He is the guy whose signature appears on the note.

The new £50 is redolent with security features. Salmon may have appeared to be stressing the obvious in his talk when he observed that bank notes must be, “instantly recognizable and hard to copy.” However, there was a point: “As well as a first for our bank note art and being the first to bear my signature, the new £50 will deliver a significant update in security features, carrying eight features for cash users compared to the five of its predecessor.”

The “feel of the paper” tops the bank’s list of security features that they advise their customers to familiarize themselves with. It is quite distinctive. PMG should have no hassles in awarding it an EPQ grade.

Raised intaglio printing, a metallic thread, watermark and the print quality come next. The watermark consists of a shaded image of Queen Elizabeth along with a bright “£50”. Microlettering under the Queen’s portrait repeats “FIFTY •. 50 • FIFTY •. 50 • FIFTY.”

The new security features include a motion thread woven into the paper. Five windows along its length contain images of the £ symbol and the number 50. When the note is tilted from side to side, the images move up and down. When the note is tilted up and down the number 50 and £ symbol switch.

Under UV light the windows of the motion thread appear bright green. UV shows also the number 50 in bright red and green on the face of the note plus randomly scattered bright red and green flecks on both the front and back.

A see-through register consists of colored irregular shapes printed on the note’s front and back that in transmitted light combine to form the £ symbol.

A talk on the new note by Chris Salmon and Victoria Cleland, head of Notes Division, is currently available on You Tube. Try www.youtube.com/bankofenglanduk.

For the moment, the new Boulton and Watt £50 will circulate in tandem with the existing £50 featuring Sir John Houblon, the first governor of the Bank of England. Eventually the Houblon note will be recalled while remaining legal tender.

Some 2.8 billion bank notes currently circulate in the United Kingdom of which the £50 denomination accounts for £9.9 billion

Coin collecting as a Work of Art

Posted by CoinWeek on February 5, 2011 12:17 PM

A view of what could be for British Numismatics for 2011

I consider a coin of the finest quality to be a work of art. The dies for coinage were created by the country’s finest artist to show the monarch at his best, often to mark a specific event. A coin that has survived the centuries is like an ancient artifact and is no less important, and is valued for its beauty, quality and rarity. Modern records show that great collections were already being formed in the 17th century and point to the timelessness of the beauty and appeal of the best work of the engravers.

Mary (1542-67 Mary Queen of Scots) Testoon, 6.10g, 1562,Third period 

The most select coins have always demanded a premium price. When an auctioneer tries to establish an estimate, it is just that, as an estimate is only based on historic information and the auctioneer’s own sense of the market, albeit that at present whatever is thought is clearly wrong.

Those who depend only on history for “comparables” will invariably miss out on those rare occasions when exceptional material comes up for sale.

Fine art is different from strict financial investments. We saw recently the fault that exists in “financial tools” that were purported to be worth specific amounts, but we woke up one day and found the value no longer existed.

On Dec 2nd 2010 a Testoon a portrait coin of Mary, Queen of Scotland [see on www.petitioncrown.com] caught the eye of many collectors, it’s last recoded sale was for 16 gbp in 1936, and it is a magnificent piece. It is interesting that at the end there were three people who wanted the coin for different reasons: one was a collector of ancient coins who, in fact, did not collect ladies but fell in love with the quality of this lady, another who collected because of the history of this Queen of Scotland, and a third who buys coins as “Works of Art”.

This Testoon, when you hold it in the hand, has a “presence” that ties it directly to 1562, and has a portrait that could be from the National Portrait Gallery. This was not just a coin in a recent London sale but a part of British heritage. It is also a coin that has a “wow” factor, an “eye appeal” that is immediately arresting and almost breathtaking. Such an exceptional portrait coin reflecting the influence of the high Renaissance is rare in any condition, and is exceptionally rare in such high relief and outstanding quality.

When you hold the piece, minted in 1562, and dream about to whom such a piece of Mary, the Catholic Queen of Scots could have belonged, or of the pouch it would have travelled in, or in whose hands it would have been 449 years ago, of of those last days in Fotheringhay Castle where the scene was set for Queen Mary to be executed. The morning of Mary’s execution was a dismal one and as you dream you can see the people tether their horses to witness a grotesque killing on the scaffold where it took three attempts by the executioner to sever the head. (IT TOOK EIGHT CHOPS TO DO MONMOUTH)

What will all this mean in the future? To the hobby of Numismatics – the market will change. Enter a new breed of collector and dealer who have a background in art, and who consider coins as part of the fine art market, the ART OF COINS as part of art appreciation – dealers that before would minimize their need to invest in their stock will start investing so they can make a credible offering to the collector as the general art world does.

The recent auctions show new collectors have started entering the market worldwide; this new generation of collectors does not have the “hang-ups” of the old time collector. Price is not measured by yearly increases or decreases; it reverts back 100+ years were individual pieces of quality fetched amazing premiums. Others call him an investor, an opportunist. Call him what you will, he is the next generation of collector. He (or, increasingly, she) sees a coin, falls in love with it and wishes to own it. The artistic quality is the driving factor for the coin as a “work of art”. Those with the perception to recognize that “price” does not guarantee “quality” will also understand that “quality” establishes its own price. All that I write should not disturb the existing market but bring another layer of collectors to our hobby.

A few weeks ago one ancient coin of beauty was expected to bring 3’000 euro, or maybe even 6’000 in an extreme case. Well, it was an extreme case and it sold with commission for 32’000 euro, but it was truly a work of art and in superb condition. Quite simply, will the market develop at such a speed that it will encourage those who do not like the new dynamics to sell at prices they did not dream of getting?

It makes little difference if parts of the market dip, as the renaissance type coins find new levels, what is important is the change that has started and it is attracting a new younger breed of collectors who will continue our ancient hobby into the future. I feel lucky that I have two boys who enjoy the hobby, and both have different areas that interest them.

The auction rooms will, for a little more time, host a lot of bemused and confused faces, of dealers and collectors alike who watch as the new generation begin to feel their feet. Time to start now

Britain’s bullion dealers are struggling to source enough gold sovereign and Britannia coins to keep up with surging demand ahead of an expected rise in capital gains tax (CGT) in the emergency budget.

Published: 11:47AM BST 10 Jun 2010

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Sovereigns are exempt from CGT

Dealers are reporting a backlog of orders for bullion coins recognised as UK legal tender, which are exempt from CGT.

Anthony Baird, managing director of gold dealer Baird & Co, said the company could not deliver any Britannia coins until August because of lack of supply.

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“We buy directly from the public,” said Linda Warner of bullion merchant ATS Bullion. “In the last couple of weeks, supply has been drying up because people hold on to what they’ve got in a situation like this.”

The supply situation is worse from overseas sources, with European sales onto the market of coins and other forms of investment bullion particularly slack.

Gold is in high demand in Europe as investors there seek out the metal as a safe store of value amid fears over sovereign debt problems in the eurozone, meaning fewer coins are coming back to market.

“We have a backlog of orders at the moment for sovereigns and Krugerrands,” said Caroline Jewell of Chard, a Blackpool-based coin and bullion dealer.

“We buy quite a lot of our gold from Europe, and [among] the Europeans at the moment demand is much higher than it is in the UK. European dealers don’t have anything to sell to us at all.”

In Britain, dealers believe that tax issues are of higher priority to investors than haven demand.

The Government is expected to raise CGT, levied on items such as the sale of shares, from its current flat rate of 18pc to a level closer to the 40pc higher rate of income tax as part of a plan to tackle Britain’s hefty deficit.

Dealers say the plans have prompted a significant number of British investors to buy the coins as a store of wealth.

“We have a lot of people materialising capital gains on existing bullion and moving into gold coins that wouldn’t be subject to capital gains, such as sovereigns and Britannias,” said Mr Baird.

Gold sovereigns, which have been in production since the 15th century, historically had a nominal value of one pound. Their current price fluctuates along with the spot gold price and availability.

The Royal Mint lists its 22-carat 2010 gold bullion sovereign, which weighs 7.99 grams, for sale at £230 pounds, and its limited edition 2010 sovereign proof coin at £340.

Gold prices hit record highs on Tuesday in dollar terms above $1,250 an ounce, and have also reached new peaks in euros, sterling and Swiss francs as turmoil on the financial markets prompted buying of bullion as a haven from risk.

Demand for gold coins has been strong internationally, with rising sales reported in the United States, Russia and Austria

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