BBC NEWS | Business | Smith replaces Elgar on �20 note (original) (raw)

A new �20 note featuring a portrait of economist Adam Smith is to be issued, the Bank of England has said.

The new note will signal the start of a new series of notes which will come into circulation next spring.

When Adam Smith replaces composer Edward Elgar on �20 notes, he will also make history as the first Scotsman to appear on a Bank of England note.

The decision to use Smith's likeness on the notes was made by the Bank's governor Mervyn King.

Smith was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife - part of Chancellor Gordon Brown's constituency.

The economist is most famous for his book the Wealth of Nations which many regard as almost inventing the concept of competition and market forces.

However, while it may be his first appearance on English currency, it his not his first on a bank note. He is already featured on a Scottish �50 note.

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A look at the life of Adam Smith