It’s all about the, um, Janes
Alert Janeite Laurel Ann sent us a link to an eBay auction for a banknote bearing Jane Austen’s image. Click on the thumbnail at left to see it in full size. Check out the watermark on the back, and the image of Winchester Cathedral!
Laurel Ann tells us the banknote is from Greece and was issued in 2004.
Does anyone else find it comically ironic to have an image of Jane Austen on currency?
October 22nd, 2007 at 1:33 am
I think it’s more astonishing that Jane Austen is on Greek currency and not English currency.
October 22nd, 2007 at 1:43 am
I think Her Majesty might object.
October 22nd, 2007 at 2:05 am
You have to wonder, also, what kind of currency, exactly, it is. Greece went on the Euro in 2002 with the rest of the 1st wave of EU countries. And that bank note is definitely NOT a Euro!
October 22nd, 2007 at 4:13 am
Looks like a fake to me - the serial number is JA123456.
But it begs the question why haven’t we got or had JA on our UK currency yet?
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:48 am
JA was on the English five pound note for years. It caused a little constenation when they re-designed it without her. Not enough to reverse the process, though, unfortunately.
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:49 am
And, yes, I can spell “consternation” on most days, just not this morning. Sorry!
October 23rd, 2007 at 2:27 am
De La Rue is an international company that makes banknotes.
http://www.delarue.com/
I think this is a promotion (as labelled) to show people their artwork and security systems on banknotes and not real currency. If you notice, apart from the serial number that Kirsty pointed out, the company name is printed on the note in the form “De La Rue Currency”, and there is no actual currency listed, just the number 100 and One Hundred Thousand.
It’s a very interesting find though, I want one.
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:05 am
Hi guys,
I don’t know whether a comment is the most appropriate place for this — maybe it’d be better if you deleted this and just posted a little blog entry?
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I’m offering all readers of my Editor’s Corner blog and all Book Depository customers a free and unabridged downloadable audiobook of Jane Austen’s Persuasion read by Greta Scacchi.
See here for details: http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/WEBSITE/WWW/WEBPAGES/viewblogarticle.php?id=430
Thanks!
Mark