Sterile Sterling
Aug. 4th, 2008 09:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
georginasand"Author's, like coins, grow dear as they grow old. It is the rust we value, not the gold " ~ Alexander Pope
I am going to London in four days, and I had a panicky moment this even in which I thought I had four days to learn what has always appeared to be the vastly complicated British coin system. It's amazing how appearances can be deceiving. Apparently in 1971, the British coin system was decimalized (real word, not kidding). Well, I never would have know because Jane Austen still uses shillings and guineas and farthings and whatever else. And while I am vastly relieved that I don't need to be able to tell the difference between a guinea and a farthing (because I really didn't want to be that American), it strikes me as a little sad that what used to be a complicated but historically-rich currency system has been reduced to 1 pence =1/100 pounds sterling, and issued in 1,2,5,20 pence and 1,2 pound coins, for ease of tourism and goodness knows what else (I am probably vastly simplifying the decision here) Similarly the coin of the Eu: instead of uses any of the marvelous examples of architecture that Europe is know for, a generic bridge or cathedral is printed on their bills so as not to hurt anyone's nationalistic pride. Some how I feel like that is counter-productive, to use sterile icons to protect nationalism.
Then again, it is also probably a little sad that this happened before I was born and still hadn't noticed.
I remain perpetually behind the times,
Georgie
I am going to London in four days, and I had a panicky moment this even in which I thought I had four days to learn what has always appeared to be the vastly complicated British coin system. It's amazing how appearances can be deceiving. Apparently in 1971, the British coin system was decimalized (real word, not kidding). Well, I never would have know because Jane Austen still uses shillings and guineas and farthings and whatever else. And while I am vastly relieved that I don't need to be able to tell the difference between a guinea and a farthing (because I really didn't want to be that American), it strikes me as a little sad that what used to be a complicated but historically-rich currency system has been reduced to 1 pence =1/100 pounds sterling, and issued in 1,2,5,20 pence and 1,2 pound coins, for ease of tourism and goodness knows what else (I am probably vastly simplifying the decision here) Similarly the coin of the Eu: instead of uses any of the marvelous examples of architecture that Europe is know for, a generic bridge or cathedral is printed on their bills so as not to hurt anyone's nationalistic pride. Some how I feel like that is counter-productive, to use sterile icons to protect nationalism.
Then again, it is also probably a little sad that this happened before I was born and still hadn't noticed.
I remain perpetually behind the times,
Georgie
