Culture corner 3 exercise 2b, page 53 British banknotes 1.0:01
British money is called the pound or sometimes pounds sterling.0:24
The word sterling probably originated with a little silver coin.0:29
One thousand years ago, a pound referred to how many coins you needed to make a pound in weight.0:34
Back then as now, this was worth a lot.0:41
Check the price of 400 grams of silver today.0:45
It was a nuisance to carry round so many coins, so so people put them in a bank.0:51
The bank gave notes to their customers representing a number of pounds.0:56
Customers used these notes to buy things from a merchant.1:02
The merchant could take the note to the bank and exchange it for silver coins.1:06
In fact, British banknotes still say I promise to pay on them and then their value, followed by the signature of the chief cashier of the bank of England.1:11
Of course, the notes don't get you pounds of silver anymore.1:24
For many years they have been symbolic.1:28
In the 1960s, British banknotes began to carry pictures of famous British people on them.1:30
These included Elizabeth Fry, a prison reformer, Sir Edward Elgar, a composer and Adam Smith, an economist.1:39
These pictures change from time to time, but there is one person who is always on a British banknote.1:49
These pictures make the notes attractive, but they have another purpose.1:59
They are full of hidden details that make them difficult to copy or counterfeit.2:06
There are four British banknotes.2:11
5 pounds or the fiver, 10 pounds or the tenner, 20 pounds and 50 pounds.2:14
If you are wondering why there is no 100 pound note or even higher, well, most banks do not like to create high value notes.2:24
It is because it makes it easier for criminals to steal large amounts.2:33
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