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ENDANGERED SPECIES BANKNOTE DESIGN CONCEPTSAs discussed recently, the Bank of England is deciding on a famous scientist to depict on its new £50 note. This article, originally published November 12, 2018, proposes banknote concept designs highlighting endangered species. There are nine nicely done renditions - see the complete article online for more (I didn't care for the Irish Hare). Here are some that caught my eye. Thanks to the December 4, 2018 issue of the Society of Paper Money Collectors' News & Notes for leading us to this one. -Editor Banknotes are fascinating things – little works of art that pass through our hands each day almost unnoticed. Every so often, there is a news story about a new design, and perhaps some controversy over which historical figure will feature on the front of the note. But what if the Bank of England is getting it all backwards? It’s fine to celebrate the achievements of the past, but we decided to put a new spin on things by thinking about the future that humankind needs to protect. Our new series of speculative banknote concept designs celebrates not great humans that we’ve lost, but endangered species that we might lose if we don’t put more work, and money, into saving Welsh coast: Loggerhead Turtle  Turtles once shared the planet with dinosaurs, and each individual might live as long as a human being. But human interference has caused a drastic diminishing of the species over the past six decades. Loggerhead turtles divide their time between far-flung locations from the coast of Wales to Florida and New Carolina, following the currents and the warm water. Industrial fishing, the development of coastal areas, and climate change all play a part in the reptile’s precarious situation. Scottish Highlands: Scottish Wildcat  Wildcats are so rare that they have begun interbreeding with domestic or feral cats, which is compromising the genetic lineage of the species. It can also result in the spreading of feline diseases. They can grow to nearly a metre long and stalk the woods of the Scottish Highlands, where they are sometimes mistaken for ordinary cats by gun-wielding farmers keen to protect their game birds from predators. It’s reckoned there may only be a 100-300 wildcats left. Moray Firth: Bottlenose Dolphin  Just a few hundred of these playful, sociable, highly intelligent creatures remain in the Moray Firth and Cardigan Bay. If their international number is currently stable, there are fears that overfishing in the next couple of decades will leave bottlenose dolphins short of food. What’s more, conservationists fear that toxic chemicals introduced to the sea by human culture may harm the general health of dolphins and their ability to reproduce. To read the complete article, see: News & Notes also led us to a withering critique from The Irish Times of the inclusion of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on the list of scientist nominees. -Editor Thatcher graduated in chemistry from Oxford and spent some time working in food research, but her greatest contribution to science – and even this is disputed – looks to have been some minor tweaks to the recipe for Lyon’s soft-serve ice cream. You may as well nominate Adolf Hitler for an honour recognising “contribution to watercolour painting”.
To read the original article, see:
To read the complete article, see: To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:  Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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