50 Pound UK Note (2011)

I enjoy collecting paper bills from around the world. The historical references I find interesting as countries use their money to display the important people, events, and things that they hold in high esteem. I recently acquired a 50 Pound note from the United Kingdom and the Bank of England, the oldest central bank in the world. On the front of the note is Queen Elizabeth II and on the back are two people of importance, James Watt and Matthew Boulton. James Watt was a scientist and engineer and Matthew Boulton was an industrialist and entrepreneur who worked together and formed a partnership that created the Boulton Watt steam engine that helped spur the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain. Their steam engines helped the mechanisation of factories and mills that enabled Britain to maintain its supremacy in the world at the time. It's interesting to note that their steam engines were used in the minting of coins for Great Britain and other countries that enabled them to efficiently mint coins thereby enabling the greater use of coins in their societies.