by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
On March 28, 2017 a new 12-sided £1 coin came out replacing the existing £1 coin, of which about one in 40 are thought to be fake. The old coin will remain legal tender until 15th October 2017, after which shops are under no obligation to accept it.
Soon after each and every introduction the old notes and coins stop being legal tender, as you can see above. Ever considered why that is and why we have having more and more changes over the last couple of years?
No, it has virtually nothing to do with making notes (and coins) less prone to counterfeiting but everything to do with the fact that the powers-that-be (but really should not be) intend to stop us hoarding cash. Cash in our possession at home, whether under the mattress or in the cookie jar, or in a safe, is something that they cannot control and that is something that is an anathema to them. Cash (at home) equals freedom. Do I have to say more?
In years gone by, in the UK at least, the only changes that were ever made to coins and notes was the head of the sovereign and, maybe, the pictures, if there were any, on the back. The white £5 note existed for decades and decades in the same shape and form and the same went for the coins and they remained legal tender even into the time of decimalization; at least a number of them, without changes initially. The Florin became the 10p coin, for instance, and was legal tender for many years after decimalization.
In the last couple of decades, however, the powers-that-be have changed the design of the cash currency more often than they have changed anything else and always, within a very short space of time, the old notes and coins stopped being legal tender. This prevents people keeping their savings – or cash income – at home rather than on a bank account where it can become subject to seizure. People have already experienced how quickly their accounts can be frozen by the authorities for often obscure reasons, and often in error.
In the event of a (banking) crash having one's financial assets in bank accounts – as we are all basically forced to do nowadays – can mean that they are inaccessible for a time, that they are used to bail out the banks (without compensation to the account holders), etc.
We can also see this as a reason for the ongoing push towards a totally cashless society. It has nothing to do with security, with prevention of money laundering and other criminal activities, but everything with total control over the lives of the people.
© 2017
