THE LIFE OF A BANK NOTE.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XI, Issue 46, 18 November 1893, Page 412

THE LIFE OF A BANK NOTE.

The average term bank notes remain in circulation in Great Britain is about 30 days, although this varies according to the value of the note. The ten-pounders remain longest in

circulation—about 11 weeks—the fivers a week less, and others as follows :—£2o, 57'4 days ; £3O, 18 9 ; £4O 13 7 ■ £5O, 38 8; £lOO, 28 4; £2OO, 12 7; £3OO, 10 6; £soo’, 11 8 • £l,OOO, £ll 1. The circulation of the Scotch £1 note is much longer than that of any issued from the Bank of England. On an average it remains in use for about three years, which is about the term of its natural life. Of course, notes that are stolen or lost remain long absent, and are generally palmed off upon unsuspecting persons at race meetings and at the card table, to the loss of the recipient, who only gets into trouble on presenting them to the bank.’ Some notes have remained in circulation for over a century. On September 27, 1846, a £5O note was presented, bearing date January 20.1743. Invested at 5 per cent it would have earned about £259 in that time. Another for £lO, issued on November 19. 1762, was not paid till April 20, 1845. The Bank of Englanddoesnotre-issueitsnotes, which accounts for their peculiar crispness. They are immediately cancelled on being returned. The corner bearing the familiar signature ‘ F. May ’ is torn off, and the notes are put aside and kept for seven years, after which they are burned. It is estimated that between £3,000,000 and £4,000,000 worth of bank notes leave the bank daily, while between 30,000 and 40.000 notes, ranging from the lowest amount to the highest, are presented every day. The actual cost of producing a bank-note is not much over Id, while there are about 80 varieties. The careless people who light their pipes with fivers, or use them as curl papers, contribute largely to the profits of the bank. In the 40 years between 1792 and 1832 there were outstanding notes of the Bank of England, presumed to have been lost or destroyed, amounting to £1,330,000 odd, every shilling of which was clear profit to the bank.