Sir Isaac Newton Fifty Pence 2017

[Charic]

Not only are they removing the £1 (GBP) coin for the new dodecagon shaped £1 coin, Sir Isaac Newton will be commemorated on the new Fifty Pence coin this Year.

Edited January 1, 2017 by Charic

[faulksy]

cool. thanks for that charic

[Putaendo Patrick]

Hope this doesn't mean that the importance of his scientific research has been devalued by 50%   Even Jane Austin's worth a tenner these days!

[Mr Spock]

I think he's worth more than ten bob...

[RayD]

5 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

I think he's worth more than ten bob...

Now there's a phrase I've not used for 40 years 

[Charic]

...showing your age? mind you, I still remember thruppnee bits, the coins, not the cockney slang ?

And you know what, Its still possible to find them today on a local beach, I already have an ice cream tub full of mixed coins from that era,  part of the beach is adjacent to the old railway line and station, so quite possibly loose change was thrown into the water by the passengers, just to make a splash? why else throw money away?  There are more coins, its just reaching them between the boulders, that's  the difficult bit!

Edited January 1, 2017 by Charic

[ollypenrice]

Imagine what would happen if they put Robert Hooke on the pound coin while they were about it...

Oo-er missus.

Olly

[Macavity]

On 1/1/2017 at 15:22, ollypenrice said:

Imagine what would happen if they put Robert Hooke on the pound coin while they were about it...

Hahaha! The thought of a pocket punch up... "G'wan HIT him Robbo (my son)"!
For me and & Leibniz? I have arranged bookshelves by "philosophical emnity"...
 

[Knight of Clear Skies]

It's an appropriate tribute as Newton was first a warden and then the master of the Royal Mint. He also liked to play detective.

Edited February 8, 2017 by Knight of Clear Skies

[Chris]

On 1/1/2017 at 13:40, Putaendo Patrick said:

Hope this doesn't mean that the importance of his scientific research has been devalued by 50%   Even Jane Austin's worth a tenner these days!

I think it's great that he's on a coin rather than a note. I've collected old coins since I was 6 when I dug an old Victorian penny out the ground. I've since obtained coins going back to the 1870's but no notes, I think most of them would be long gone unless purposely put aside and framed/stored. 

Coins are good for longevity  

Edited February 8, 2017 by Chris Lock

[Chris]

On 1/1/2017 at 15:22, ollypenrice said:

Imagine what would happen if they put Robert Hooke on the pound coin while they were about it...

Oo-er missus.

Olly

Dr Stuart Clark wrote a good book about the relationship/rivalry between Hooke and Newton. It was written as a novel but very well researched as to give a good idea of what it must have been like at the time. Halley made a good appearance too.

[Singlin]

Hooke a true all rounder who deserved much more recognition .

[Chris]

2 minutes ago, Singlin said:

Hooke a true all rounder who deserved much more recognition .

Plus one for that, a great thinker and inventor of the microscope among other things.

[ollypenrice]

I don't think there is much doubt amongst historians that Hooke did have a role in giving Newton a cenceptual, though not a mathematical, leg up on his way to his theory of gravitation.

Of course Newton would never admit this. When Newton said he had seen further because he stood upon the shoulders of giants he was, in fact, taking a swipe at Hooke who was deformed and dwarfish. There's a geat Hooke biography byu Stephen Inwood which I have read and another by Allan Chpman which I have yet to read.

Olly

[Putaendo Patrick]

Just learnt something new today!

People used to clip the edges of silver coins thus devaluing their real worth which depended on their weight of silver. Newton became Warden of the Royal mint in 1696, and introduced milled edges for coins - these fine lines on the edge of the coin made it immediately visible that a coin had been clipped and was thus not legally valid.

So I guess a coin to celebrate Newton is more appropriate than a banknote.

http://blog.perthmint.com.au/2015/09/29/how-isaac-newton-helped-shape-our-coins/

[Knight of Clear Skies]

44 minutes ago, Putaendo Patrick said:

...and introduced milled edges for coins - these fine lines on the edge of the coin made it immediately visible that a coin had been clipped and was thus not legally valid.

I posted up the same thing but then had to edit it out a couple minutes later after googling a bit more. Apparently newton often gets credited for the introduction of milled coins but they predate him, although he did have to sign a document swearing not to reveal the process used.

[mikemarotta]

 

And I got the Stephen Hawking, also.