Will next year’s new £10 note be vegan?
It came to light earlier this week that the new plastic fivers that entered circulation to much fanfare in September, are actually made using tallow, a substance produced from animal fat.
The news sparked an online petition calling for the production process behind the notes to be changed and so far it has attracted more than 116,000 signatures.
The Bank of England has also received angry calls from vegans and vegetarians to cease the use of these banknotes immediately and change the substance used in the production of currency that they have to use in everyday life.
The petition was started by Doug Maw who states that the animal fat contained in the £5 notes is unacceptable to millions of vegans, vegetarians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and many others in the UK.
This news has also been taken extremely seriously by a Hindu temple in Leicester who have urged worshippers not to give new five pound notes in donations.
So how many cows will actually need to be sacrificed to make all these new fivers?
VICE have put together a ‘very precise calculation’ of how many animals will be slaughtered in order to make the 329 million banknotes likely to be in circulation by the time the paper banknotes have been phased out!
Any guesses?
The answer: Just over half of one cow.
So will next year’s new £10 note be vegan?
Most likely.
Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England has stated that they are treating concerns about traces of tallow in the new polymer banknote with the utmost seriousness but also that the bank did not know about the issue when the it signed the contract for the notes.
Innovia, the company who make the polymer are already working towards potential solutions for the tallow substance which is also used in household items such as candles and soap.
What’s your coin of the year?
I’m sure you’ll agree that 2016 has been a great year for coin collectors with so many significant anniversaries being commemorated and some fantastic designs.
So which coin do you think deserves to be the ‘2016 Coin of the Year’ winner?
Cast your vote now using the poll at the bottom of the page.
A) The Queen’s 90th Birthday £5
B) The Great Fire of London £2
C) The WW1 Army £2
D) The Shakespeare Tragedies £2
E) The Shakespeare Comedies £2
F) The Shakespeare Histories £2
G) The Last ‘Round’ £1
H) The Beatrix Potter 50p
I) The Peter Rabbit 50p
J) The Jemima Puddle-Duck 50p
K) The Mrs Tiggy-Winkle 50p
L) The Squirrel Nutkin 50p
M) The Battle of Hastings 50p
N) The Team GB 50p
Cast your vote now!
[polldaddy poll=9592118]
Will the Battle of Hastings 50p be the rarest coin of 2016?
It has been revealed that five million 50p coins that commemorate the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings in 1066 have been struck for circulation.
The coin features the image of King Harold with an arrow through his eye, taken from the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the Norman Invasion of Britain where he was defeated by William the Conqueror.
At just 5 million, this would make the Battle of Hastings 50p the fifth rarest 50p coin currently in circulation. Considering that the mintages of 50p’s usually overly exceed 7 million, it’s possible that the Battle of Hastings fifty pence will be the rarest coin of 2016.
Confirmation of the 2016 mintage figures wont be released by The Royal Mint until next year but as you can see from the graph above the Battle of Hastings 50p will take fifth place – in between the 2008 Britannia 50p and the 1998 NHS 50p. As long as no more coins are struck for circulation.
But as there have been seven different 50p designs in 2016 I think it is safe to assume that no more of these will be struck.
Remember, when it comes to collecting, there is one fact which is always inevitable – the rarest coins are always in highest demand.
So keep your eyes peeled, these coins will be released into circulation very soon!