England paid tribute to the early-19th century novelist, Jane Austen by printing her image on the new 10-pound note, which replaced the image of naturalist Charles Darwin. It was issued on September 14, 2017.
The £10 note will be made of the same material as the £5 note, which means it also contains some traces of animal fat – an issue which caused concern for vegans and some religious groups when it was launched last September.
A petition to ban the note attracted more than 100,000 signatures but the new £10 will again contain some tallow, which is derived from meat products.
The Jane Austen quote on the note from Pride and Prejudice has also attracted some unfavourable comment.
The quotation: “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!” is uttered by a character called Caroline Bingley who in fact has no interest in books and is merely trying to impress Mr Darcy, a potential suitor.
But Mr Carney defended the choice.
“It captures much of her [Jane Austen’s] spirit, at least in my mind,” he said. “It draws out some of the essence of some of her social satire and her insight into people’s character. So it works on multiple levels.”
A new polymer £20 featuring artist JMW Turner is due to be issued by 2020, but there are no plans to replace the current £50 note, which was released in 2011.
The Bank of England says the new £10 notes contain sophisticated security features and are expected to last five years, which is two-and-a-half times longer than the current note.
Picture Credit : Google