All I wanted
to see was the gold, but this free museum offered a good basic
history of the beginnings and developments of banking.
Banking
began with goldsmiths holding assets, including gold, for people.
People realised that it was easier to use the notes given to
them by the goldsmiths to pay for things rather than actually
getting the gold itself. Hence the bank note was we know it
was born.
Some of
the silver the bank holds was on display. There was also a large
section on the development of the bank note and the fight against
forgery. The first reported forgery occurred just a few days
after the introduction of the first note. I also had a turn
on a computer simulated trading floor. I made a loss but kept
within my budget.
Now for
the good stuff, or should I say gold stuff. Each of these bars
is worth £74, 800. There are 59 bars each weighing 13
kgs.
As the museum was free I would definitely recommend it, although
it is only open on week days.
)
)