The shortcut was already in the stamp cupboard.
The Currency and Bank Notes Act let the Treasury issue £1 and 10 shilling notes. The first £1 appeared on 7 August, black on white and printed on one side of paper normally used for postage stamps. Royal Mint designer Frederick Atterbury supplied the sketches, commercial printers made the notes, and Sir John Bradbury’s signature gave them their nickname.
The emergency had another paper answer. The same Act made postal orders temporary legal tender for any amount. If proper notes ran short, a familiar Post Office slip could serve as money.
A stopgap became a £300 million currency.
A small parcel can restore a little dignity.
Smalls for All collects new pants and new or gently worn bras for people in Africa and the UK who cannot afford or access them. Its Wonderful Org profile listed four current fundraising pages and £4,792.45 raised plus £1,035.28 Gift Aid when checked on 3 August.
The banknote that promised to hang you.
Wednesday: how an 1819 parody replaced the promise to pay with a gallows, signed itself with the hangman’s name, and attacked £1 notes that were easy to copy but deadly to pass.