In message , at 06:13:27 on 
Sun, 22 Jun 2008, Charles Ellson  remarked:
>Aren't US banknotes also all the same size

Yes, they are.
-- 
Roland Perry

On Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:08:55 +0100,  wrote:

>"Phil Wieland"  wrote in message 
>news:lb99j5-d83.ln1@friedbread.liverpub.com...
>
>>>  So the only countries that currently have plastic notes all get the 
>>> Australian mint to print them for them, so take up of these types of 
>>> notes has been limited to smaller Pacific rim counties that don't have 
>>> their own currency printing facilities or don't mind 'out sourcing' it to 
>>> Australia.
>>
>> Doesn't the Isle of Man have plastic notes?  Are theirs Australian as 
>> well?
>>
>Not to my knowledge and not in my experience as I was there not too long 
>ago. 
>
They had them in the 1980s, their main fault was that the ink came
off. One party trick was IIRC to put a 50p note in the oven and shrink
it.

They were made from Tyvek which was phonetically close to the Manx
Gaelic (thie-veg) for toilet/lavatory, thus "Tyvek paper" equated
closely enough for critics to "toilet paper". Unfortunately, the
aforementioned fault made them unsuitable for emergency use as such.

See also:-
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Polymer-banknotes

"Charles Ellson"  wrote in message 
news:q34564pasteu00suvnvoitemr72g6v8t96@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:08:55 +0100,  wrote:
>
>>"Phil Wieland"  wrote in message
>>news:lb99j5-d83.ln1@friedbread.liverpub.com...
>>
>>>>  So the only countries that currently have plastic notes all get the
>>>> Australian mint to print them for them, so take up of these types of
>>>> notes has been limited to smaller Pacific rim counties that don't have
>>>> their own currency printing facilities or don't mind 'out sourcing' it 
>>>> to
>>>> Australia.
>>>
>>> Doesn't the Isle of Man have plastic notes?  Are theirs Australian as
>>> well?
>>>
>>Not to my knowledge and not in my experience as I was there not too long
>>ago.
>>
> They had them in the 1980s, their main fault was that the ink came
> off. One party trick was IIRC to put a 50p note in the oven and shrink
> it.
>
> They were made from Tyvek which was phonetically close to the Manx
> Gaelic (thie-veg) for toilet/lavatory, thus "Tyvek paper" equated
> closely enough for critics to "toilet paper". Unfortunately, the
> aforementioned fault made them unsuitable for emergency use as such.
>
> See also:-
> http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Polymer-banknotes

A Manx 50p note, you said? They had subunit banknotes? Interesting, indeed. 
The only other nation that I know of with subunits in bankotes was the 
50-cent note in the Bahamas. I don't doubt, however, that there are other 
places in the world with similar notes.

I gave that information a glance and saw what was written about the Tyvek 
notes. I also saw on Wikipedia that Plymer notes are currently in 
circulation in areas close to Australia, such as Brunei, New Zealand, 
Vietnam and Romania. But there is also something called Guardian polymer 
notes, which are found in countries much further afield.

Apparently, Northern Ireland is one of the states that issue polymer 
banknotes, though only for commemoratives.

hounslow3@yahoo.co.uk wrote:

> A Manx 50p note, you said? They had subunit banknotes? Interesting,
> indeed. The only other nation that I know of with subunits in
> bankotes was the 50-cent note in the Bahamas.

I guess you must be too young to remember the 10 shilling (= 50p) note in 
Britain.

This was the 10s. note of 1955:
http://www.thebanknotestore.com/british/bankofengland/p368cf.jpg

and this the rather beautiful design of 1966-70 before decimalisation 
replaced it with the 50p coin:
http://www.collector-tower.com/banknote_710/europe/great_britain/gbp_10s_66f.jpg
-- 
Richard J.
(to email me, swap 'uk' and 'yon' in address)

wrote
>
> A Manx 50p note, you said? They had subunit banknotes? Interesting,
indeed.
> The only other nation that I know of with subunits in bankotes was the
> 50-cent note in the Bahamas. I don't doubt, however, that there are other
> places in the world with similar notes.
>
Bank of England 10 shilling notes were in regular use until 1970, when they
were superseded by the 50 pence coin. Smaller denomination Treasury notes
were printed during WW1, though not issued.

Peter

hounslow3@yahoo.co.uk wrote:
> 
> A Manx 50p note, you said? They had subunit banknotes? Interesting, indeed. 
> The only other nation that I know of with subunits in bankotes was the 
> 50-cent note in the Bahamas. I don't doubt, however, that there are other 
> places in the world with similar notes.
> 
We had a ten-shilling note (half of one pound sterling) almost up to 
decimalization in 1971 - I think it was withdrawn in favour of the 50p 
coin in 1970.

Peter Beale

"MIG"  wrote
>
>That's three people mentioning 1970, but surely the 50p came in in
>1969?  That's certainly when the bulk of the original ones were dated.

The 10 shilling notes were last issued, and the 50 p coin first issued in
1969. For a year or so they both circulated alongside each other, until,
towards the end of 1970 the 10 shilling note ceased to be legal tender.

Peter

"MIG"  wrote
>
>Ah right.  Thinking about it, there was a similar transition for £1
>notes in 1983, but I don't remember if it spanned different years.

GBP1 notes were issued until the end of 1984, and remained legal tender
until 1988.
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/denom_guide/index.htm
IIRC, however, pound coins quickly gained popularity, andyou soon saw the
notes only occasionally.

Peter

MIG wrote:
> On Jun 25, 10:54 pm, Peter Beale  wrote:
>> hounsl...@yahoo.co.uk wrote:
>>
>>> A Manx 50p note, you said? They had subunit banknotes? Interesting, indeed.
>>> The only other nation that I know of with subunits in bankotes was the
>>> 50-cent note in the Bahamas. I don't doubt, however, that there are other
>>> places in the world with similar notes.
>> We had a ten-shilling note (half of one pound sterling) almost up to
>> decimalization in 1971 - I think it was withdrawn in favour of the 50p
>> coin in 1970.
> 
> That's three people mentioning 1970, but surely the 50p came in in
> 1969?  That's certainly when the bulk of the original ones were dated.

It was The Currency Act of 1967 which paved the way for decimalisation 
in 1971, and there was a transition period allowing dual use of silver 
coins, e.g. 1/- = 5p; 2/- = 10p, with the loss of 2/6 (half-crown) and 
the 6d (tanner). It was in 1970 that the 10/- note was withdrawn from 
circulation.

More here:

http://www.tclayton.demon.co.uk/dec.html

-- 
Moving things in still pictures!

®i©ardo wrote:

> It was The Currency Act of 1967 which paved the way for decimalisation 
> in 1971, and there was a transition period allowing dual use of silver 
> coins, e.g. 1/- = 5p; 2/- = 10p, with the loss of 2/6 (half-crown) and 
> the 6d (tanner). It was in 1970 that the 10/- note was withdrawn from 
> circulation.
> 
> More here:
> 
> http://www.tclayton.demon.co.uk/dec.html

As stated there, the 6d remained in use (as 2½p) until 1980, partly at 
the behest of London Transport. IMO to have vulgar fractions as an 
integral part of a decimal system was always silly - to have had a 10/- 
dollar would have been more sensible. But then I was happy with £sd!

Peter Beale

Peter Beale wrote:
> ®i©ardo wrote:
> 
>> It was The Currency Act of 1967 which paved the way for decimalisation 
>> in 1971, and there was a transition period allowing dual use of silver 
>> coins, e.g. 1/- = 5p; 2/- = 10p, with the loss of 2/6 (half-crown) and 
>> the 6d (tanner). It was in 1970 that the 10/- note was withdrawn from 
>> circulation.
>>
>> More here:
>>
>> http://www.tclayton.demon.co.uk/dec.html
> 
> As stated there, the 6d remained in use (as 2½p) until 1980, partly at 
> the behest of London Transport. IMO to have vulgar fractions as an 
> integral part of a decimal system was always silly - to have had a 10/- 
> dollar would have been more sensible. But then I was happy with £sd!
> 
> Peter Beale
> 
> 

And they also had the ½p, of course!

-- 
Moving things in still pictures!

Graeme Wall wrote:
> In message 
>           Peter Beale  wrote:
> 
>> ®i©ardo wrote:
>>
>>> It was The Currency Act of 1967 which paved the way for decimalisation 
>>> in 1971, and there was a transition period allowing dual use of silver 
>>> coins, e.g. 1/- = 5p; 2/- = 10p, with the loss of 2/6 (half-crown) and 
>>> the 6d (tanner). It was in 1970 that the 10/- note was withdrawn from 
>>> circulation.
>>>
>>> More here:
>>>
>>> http://www.tclayton.demon.co.uk/dec.html
>> As stated there, the 6d remained in use (as 2½p) until 1980, partly at 
>> the behest of London Transport. IMO to have vulgar fractions as an 
>> integral part of a decimal system was always silly - to have had a 10/- 
>> dollar would have been more sensible. 
> 
> But would have had all the Little Englanders up in arms at the loss of the
> Thousand Year Reich^^^^ Thousand Years of History
> 
At least they have a history - and why just select the "Little 
Englanders"? There's quite a few militants about nothing in the other 
constituent parts of the UK!

-- 
Moving things in still pictures!