Anyone still using cash? British £50 banknote honouring Alan Turing arrives
- Reference: 1624473909
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/06/23/turing_50/
- Source link:
Initially announced two years ago, and [2]unveiled back in March , the note is due to become available in bank branches and ATMs over the coming days.
Its arrival completes the Bank of England's range of polymer notes, and the clock is ticking down to 30 September 2022, at which point the previous paper versions of the £20 and £50 notes cease to be legal tender (although it is expected that deposits using the older notes will be still be accepted.)
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As for the £50 note itself, the photo of Turing was snapped in 1951 by photography studio Elliott and Fry. Also visible in the design is an image of the Automatic Computing Engine (ACE), as well as technical drawings for the Bombe, one of the tools used to break Enigma-enciphered messages in World War II.
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A working reconstruction of the Turing-Welchman Bombe is on display at [6]The National Museum of Computing , which is showing off the new note alongside, as well as a Snapcode that will allow an Augmented Reality experience with the note.
Away from AR fun and games, ticker tape showing Turing's date of birth in binary flows over the note and a mathematical table from his 1936 paper [7]"On Computable Numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem" [PDF] is visible.
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Turing's 1949 quote "This is only a foretaste of what is to come and only the shadow of what is going to be" is shown beneath his image. The signature on the note is from the visitor's book at Max Newman's house.
CEO of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Dr Peter Thompson, said: "Alan Turing's time at NPL and the development of the pilot ACE are an important part of NPL's scientific history. Turing's [9]initial design was drawn up in 1945 and approved by the NPL in 1946. The computer ran its first program in 1950, after Turing had departed NPL for Manchester University.
Thompson went on to thank the Bank of England for depicting Turing and the ACE on the note: "For any organisation, scientific or other, fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce creates an environment where innovation thrives and everybody feels safe and secure in their workplace."
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The appalling treatment of Turing himself, simply due to being gay and despite his astonishing and celebrated wartime efforts, is well-documented and he was found dead on 8 June 1954 from cyanide poisoning. Turing was persecuted by the state for his homosexuality and was convicted of gross indecency in 1952.
[11]Compsci boffin publishes proof-of-concept code for 54-year-old zero-day in Universal Turing Machine
[12]Missing Alan Turing memorabilia to be returned to Blighty from the US, 36 years after it went walkabout
[13]The Battle of Britain couldn't have been won without UK's homegrown tech innovations
[14]Programming pioneer Fran Allen dies aged 88 after a career of immense contributions to compilers
[15]University of Cambridge to decommission its homegrown email service Hermes in favour of Microsoft Exchange Online
He was eventually granted a posthumous pardon in 2013 following an apology from the UK Prime Minister in 2009.
Speaking at Bletchley Park, Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey said: "Placing him on this new banknote is a recognition of his contributions to our society, and a celebration of his remarkable life." ®
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[1] https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2021/june/the-new-50-enters-circulation-paper-20-and-50-will-be-withdrawn-in-2022
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/25/turing_50_quid/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YNOu8QlReGmst0fPbW2GiQAAAEs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YNOu8QlReGmst0fPbW2GiQAAAEs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YNOu8QlReGmst0fPbW2GiQAAAEs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/17/diy_geek_guide/
[7] https://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/Turing_Paper_1936.pdf
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YNOu8QlReGmst0fPbW2GiQAAAEs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] http://www.alanturing.net/turing_archive/archive/infopages/london1st.html
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YNOu8QlReGmst0fPbW2GiQAAAEs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/11/turing_machine_0day_no_patch_available/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/10/turing_memorabilia_recovery/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/16/battle_of_britain_80th_anniversary/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/10/programming_giant_fran_allen_dies/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/04/cambridge_uni_decommissioning_hermes_email/
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: That looks cool
"Can somebody send me one? Maybe 2 or 3? To, um, put on the wall?"
Certainly, how many would sir like? With two you can show both sides when framed. Shall we say, US$200 each*, plus secure postage?
*Terms and conditions apply: Cash in advance, product may be delayed or lost in post at buyer's risk, and may appear different than advertised, no refunds. ;o)
Nice that at last the previously 'unsung' heroes and heroines of UK history are being celebrated on the nation's banknotes.
I think he may be the first convicted criminal and suicide to appear on a UK banknote too. A tragedy he died when he had so much more to contribute and discover.
Much too little and far too late.
"note is due to become available in bank branches and ATMs over the coming days"
ATMs dispensing £50 notes? They must be in a parallel universe. Maybe in the lobby of Coutts & Co, and other wealth management instutitions.
Got me thinking, trying to recall the last time I handled any cash. I can't remember.
Trolleys and car parks
The only times I've handled cash recently are trolley release from Aldi, and car parks in the Lakes and by the sea side (and there were probably card options there)
For me, Monday. Cards machines were out of action at my local butchers, so they were cash only. One internet fault and no bacon sandwiches...
Where I live, the chippies are holding out against electronic transfers. Are they all laundering money, or is it simply tax evasion?
Here in Euro territory
EUR.50 notes, the same ballpark monetary value as UKP.50, are commonly dispensed at ATMs. Out of which I recently had reason to extract EUR.70 to pay for an used air conditioner.
But nearly all of my transactions are indeed by card or bank transfer.
Turing was snapped in 1951
And broken completely in 1954.
I can't help feeling that featuring on a little-used currency note nearly 70 years later is inadequate repayment of our debt.
I can't remember the last time I saw a £50 issued by and ATM, and I still do regularly get cash out to use as beer money going to the pub. Its all too easy to spend too much after a few beers paying on debit or credit cards so cash give me a hard limit on what I can piss up the wall.
But even if I did get £50 from an ATM in the UK your likely to be given the third degree or even refused to take it in some places. As shops and pub staff believe its fake because no one knows what a real one actually looks like. So as soon as you get one you want rid of it in the first place that will accept it.
I still have some people pay me in cash - when we're doing work for someone on their home machine instead of a company they often want to pay on the spot, and that tends to be cash.
That looks cool
Can somebody send me one? Maybe 2 or 3? To, um, put on the wall?
Seriously though, I wish the US would switch to plastic. Paper sucks for money.