Have You Found a Rare Darwin £2 Coin in Your Change?

[tiny-tim]

i found this in my change, apparently they've been in circulation since 2009 …

any chance the usa would issue a coin like this?

(btw, for pictures of all the uk £2 coins see http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk/pics/dec2p.html)

 

[Ryan_m_b]

I remember this coin, it was for the bicentenary I think. I do prefer having him on the back of things, would be odd if it was on a dollar right beneath "in god we trust"

 

[zoobyshoe]

I don't think Darwin will be appearing on any US money in the foreseeable future.

 

[I like Serena]

I don't think Darwin will be appearing on any US money in the foreseeable future.

Not as long as US money is tied to religion I guess.
Interesting contrast with the UK.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Not as long as US money is tied to religion I guess.
Interesting contrast with the UK.

A lot of other countries put scientists on money:
http://www2.physics.umd.edu/~redish/Money/


Newton was master of the mint for a while and actually executed a counterfeiter. Therefore, it would be humorously ironic to counterfeit some of these:

 

[TheWire247]

I think i might keep my eye out for one of these

 

[Danger]

I would love to have one of those coins, but I can't afford it.

 

[jtbell]

I don't think Darwin will be appearing on any US money in the foreseeable future.

Not as long as US money is tied to religion I guess.

Also we prefer to put US citizens on our money.

 

[Chi Meson]

Not as long as US money is tied to religion I guess.
Interesting contrast with the UK.

A plethora of whackos flipped out when "In God We Trust" was printed on the outer edge of the recent dollar coins. By gum, Francis Scott Key said "let this be our motto..." Who are we to argue with a second-rate poet?

Well he was.

 

[Danger]

Francis Scott Key said "let this be our motto..." Who are we to argue with a second-rate poet?

Well he was.

And let's not forget that "the rockets' red glare" referred to those incoming from the Brits 2 miles down the river; you guys didn't have them.

 

[TheMadMonk]

I must say there are some excellent designs on both notes and coins here in the UK. They are so much more interesting than the rather bland and generic designs used on Euros.

 

[I like Serena]

I must say there are some excellent designs on both notes and coins here in the UK. They are so much more interesting than the rather bland and generic designs used on Euros.

I guess the designs on the Euro have been hampered a bit by the various national prides, making them a bit bland.

But you made me want to compare the different bills, so I looked up a few pictures.

To be honest, seeing them like this, I like the euro best.
The euro bills look the most clean and with subtle colorings.
And here are the old bills that I was used to, but that are no more.

They are a bit more colorful with some original designs in them.
The bills 50, 100, and the ones after had been redesigned leaving the concept of putting people on the money.

 

[zoobyshoe]

To be honest, seeing them like this, I like the euro best.
The euro bills look the most clean and with subtle colorings.

They don't look like money to me. They look like tickets for public transportation.

 

[I like Serena]

They don't look like money to me. They look like tickets for public transportation.

Hmm, I do not associate them with tickets for public transportation...

So which money do you like best and why?

 

[zoobyshoe]

Hmm, I do not associate them with tickets for public transportation...

So which money do you like best and why?

I have to say, completely chauvinistically, that I like the U.S. money best because it's the only money that looks like actual money to me. The other stuff doesn't look spendable.

You don't have to get upset by that, it's the natural result of never having to handle any of the other money, never even seeing it, except on the internet.

 

[ThomasT]

I love the UK, and am not at all happy about the revolution. Lovely coin, imo.

 

[leroyjenkens]

I have to say, completely chauvinistically, that I like the U.S. money best because it's the only money that looks like actual money to me. The other stuff doesn't look spendable.

You don't have to get upset by that, it's the natural result of never having to handle any of the other money, never even seeing it, except on the internet.

I kind of agree. American currency looks more official. It has a bunch of text and numbers on it that, I guess, gives me that impression.
Some foreign money is too colorful and looks counterfeit.

Speaking of foreign money, I'm hoping the Zimbabwe economy does a 180 and these bills come back to full value. I have two of them.

 

[brewnog]

I guess the designs on the Euro have been hampered a bit by the various national prides, making them a bit bland.

But you made me want to compare the different bills, so I looked up a few pictures.

The British ten and twenty don't look like those any more, and you forgot the legendary fifty.

The thing I couldn't get used to in the US is that all the notes look and feel the same. British bank notes have a different size and colour for each denomination which are a good aid for the partially sighted.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I kind of agree. American currency looks more official. It has a bunch of text and numbers on it that, I guess, gives me that impression.
Some foreign money is too colorful and looks counterfeit.

It seems that way to me, too. I did visit London for a week once (1973) and had a sort of surreal reaction to the money, that England was a weird place where you could spend fake monopoly money as if it were real.

 

[Danger]

Wait'll you get a load of the new Canuck $100 bill. It's made of an almost indestructible polymer. Parts of it are completely transparent, and it's loaded with holograms. No more tragic crying over having left your money in your pocket when the pants went through the washing machine.
Brewski, I don't know about English money. Here, all of our bills, including the plastic ones, have Braille printing for the visually impaired.

 

[leroyjenkens]

That's weird, I posted a picture of the 100,000,000,000,000 dollar Zimbabwe dollar bill, but now it's gone.

 

[Danger]

That's weird, I posted a picture of the 100,000,000,000,000 dollar Zimbabwe dollar bill, but now it's gone.

It probably wouldn't fit on the screen.

 

[leroyjenkens]

It probably wouldn't fit on the screen.

I saw it right after I posted it and it looked fine. But today it's gone. My post was also on the first page yesterday, so maybe something weird happened after it was put on the second page for whatever reason. Oh well.

 

[Dale]

They don't look like money to me. They look like tickets for public transportation.

I agree. Whenever I travel to Europe I always have a feeling like I am ripping off the store keepers by exchanging Monopoly money for real items. It is a visceral feeling that I know in my head is incorrect, but I can't help feeling it.

Of course, for the past several years I just use credit cards for everything, which for some reason never feels like play money to me.

 

[Danger]

I saw it right after I posted it and it looked fine.

Oops. I thought that you were just making a joke, because the existence of such a thing seems so ludicrous. My response was based upon thinking that the thing would have to be a couple of feet wide to accommodate all of the zeros.

I found another picture for you, though:

[URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/708/zimbabwe100trillion2009.jpg/][PLAIN]http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/2721/zimbabwe100trillion2009.jpg[/URL]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/PLAIN]

 

[wukunlin]

on the topic of scientists on money:

 

[Ryan_m_b]

I love the UK, and am not at all happy about the revolution. Lovely coin, imo.

Revolution?

 

[AlephZero]

Revolution?

1688 and all that, when England was ruled by an orange. (Other citrus fruits are available).

Or maybe he thinks Oliver Cromwell should still be president?

 

[nitsuj]

Wait'll you get a load of the new Canuck $100 bill. It's made of an almost indestructible polymer. Parts of it are completely transparent, and it's loaded with holograms. No more tragic crying over having left your money in your pocket when the pants went through the washing machine.
Brewski, I don't know about English money. Here, all of our bills, including the plastic ones, have Braille printing for the visually impaired.

yea their pretty cool, I agree about the washing machine. But what about the dryer?
Don't leave your wallet on the dash in the summer time! Time to google the melting point of these new bills...(-60 to 100 in celsius as per BoC)

Some say the new polymer $100's smell like maple.

I can't see these ever being counterfeited.

 

[jtbell]

Some say the new polymer $100's smell like maple.

I can't see these ever being counterfeited.

Simply soak your fakes in maple syrup for a while.

Another scientist on money:

I have one of these somewhere at home, from my first visit to Germany in the 1970s.

 

[Danger]

Some say the new polymer $100's smell like maple.

It wasn't in my possession long enough for me to check. Maybe the liquor store still has it.

 

[edward]

The Zimbabwe one hundred trillion dollar bill is worth $5 as a collectble.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703730804576314953091790360.html

 

[TheMadMonk]

But you made me want to compare the different bills, so I looked up a few pictures.

To be honest, seeing them like this, I like the euro best.
The euro bills look the most clean and with subtle colorings.

I've not seen them in circulation too often, as somebody else mentioned I think they are older ones.

Getting hold of Bank of England notes like those in the picture can be quite difficult in Scotland. Three banks issue their own notes and they seem to make up the bulk of the notes in circulation. An interesting little quirk that seems to surprise a lot of people.

 

[Chi Meson]

I've not seen them in circulation too often, as somebody else mentioned I think they are older ones.

Getting hold of Bank of England notes like those in the picture can be quite difficult in Scotland. Three banks issue their own notes and they seem to make up the bulk of the notes in circulation. An interesting little quirk that seems to surprise a lot of people.

Clydesdale bank are my favorites. Outside of Scotland, nobody will believe that they are real money! I like how the larger notes are actually larger.

edit: dang that was a large image

just click the link:
http://thesprinklesfiles.pbworks.com/f/clydesdale.jpg

Most of England won't take them, even though Bank of England notes are regularly accepted all over Scotland.

 

[mege]

any chance the usa would issue a coin like this?

If Darwin was an American, he might have made it onto a Postage Stamp (like he has several times in the UK)... the US tries to keep general circulation coins and paper simple (and even the Commemorative coins are generally some national-specific significance: President, battles, national event, etc).

 

[zoobyshoe]

If Darwin was an American, he might have made it onto a Postage Stamp (like he has several times in the UK)... the US tries to keep general circulation coins and paper simple (and even the Commemorative coins are generally some national-specific significance: President, battles, national event, etc).

Also every face on American money is of some politically important figure. Benjamin Franklin is not on the $100 in his capacity as a scientist. That's incidental. He's there as one of the "Founding Fathers".