Is Jane Austen the new face for the 10 pound note?
After the Bank of England announced that Sir Winston Churchill would be the next 'head' on the 5 pound note, all hell has broken loose. Not so much over Churchill but on the abscence of a woman on any of the English banknotes. Women's Rights groups, feminists, politicians: all of them are using their influence to get a woman back on an English banknote.
Now, outgoing Governor Sir Mervyn King has hinted that novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817) might be the next historical figure who will appear on a 10 pound banknote. The author of works like Pride and Prejudice is "quietly waiting in the wings" according to Mervyn King.
The way the Bank's money-printing system works is that there are always two versions of a banknote "running in parallel" - the one in circulation, and a back-up note in case there are problems. The reserve figure on that second note often becomes the figure on the following note, he explained - revealing that in the case of the £10 note featuring Charles Darwin, the back-up is Austen.
King's successor as Governor Mark Carney will decide if Jane Austen is indeed the next figure on the 10 pound note. When that will be decided is unknown at this moment.
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