There once was a little boy from Belfast who went with his family on holiday to Blackpool, England. His mother gave him a 5 pound Norn Iron note so he could exchange them for tokens to play games at the arcade. He handed the man the note, the man handed him back an equivalent of 1 GBP. Confused, the boy said he needed 4 more pounds because he gave him a 5 pound Norn Iron note. The man at the booth screamed at the boy and said he gave him the exact change. The boy scared ran to his his Norn Iron mummy and told her what happened. Mummy grabbed the boy by the scruff of the neck and gave the concession stand man a piece of her mind in her harshest Norn Iron accent, "I gave him a 5 pound Norn Iron note. Give the boy the rest of his money. How dare you call my son a liar?!?!?!" The man taken aback, gave the rest of the money. After that, the Belfast boy never wanted to return to England again much less with any Norn Iron note. Belfast boy never liked England anyway and had no desire to visit as an adult.
The real story behind Norn Iron notes:
"Banknotes issued by Northern Ireland banks have the same legal status as Scottish banknotes in that they are promissory notes issued in pounds sterling and may be used for cash transactions anywhere in the United Kingdom. However, they are rarely seen outside Northern Ireland and are often not accepted in England and Wales without some explanation.[17] As with Scottish notes, clearing banks and building societies will accept them.
Scottish and Northern Ireland banknotes are not legal tender anywhere...The fact that these banknotes are not legal tender in the UK does not however mean that they are illegal under English law, and creditors and traders may accept them if they so choose. Traders may, on the other hand, choose not to accept banknotes as payment as contract law across the United Kingdom allows parties not to engage in a transaction at the point of payment if they choose not to."
Can someone explain this to me in layman's terms? Cuz I don't get it. This goes way over my Flippin Yank noggin'.
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2 comments:
If you have a look at our money you'll see printed near the top "I promise to pay the bearer on demand xxx pound sterling" which basically just makes our money glorified IOUs.
The fact that there are so many forgeries floating about doesn't help matters.
The Norn Iron notes have been a mystery to me until you cleared it up.
Thank You! :)
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