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What do Winston Churchill, Adam Smith and Charles Darwin have in common?

Clue: Think money. Bonus question: Whose face appears on a 100-pound bill?
Written by Mark Halper, Contributor
bank-of-england-churchill-note-concept.jpg
We shall spend on the beaches. The Bank of England's concept of what the £5 Churchill bill will look like.

How much is the late wartime and world leader Winston Churchill worth?

Answer: $7.73, according to the Bank of England, which will put the great man's picture on a £5 bill beginning in 2016. At today's exchange rate, £5 is 27 cents shy of $8.00.

Churchill will peer out from the reverse side the bill - called a "note" in UK parlance. The front of all British bills is reserved for the Queen no matter what the denomination.

Other backups to Her Majesty include evolutionary sensation Charles Darwin on a £10 note, seminal free market economist Adam Smith on a 20, and banker, businessman and engineer/inventor John Houblon, Michael Boulton and James Watt on a 50.

Churchill looks set to replace 19th century prison reformer Elizabeth Fry on the £5 note. Fry is the only woman other than the Queen currently in circulation. (The BBC has a list of  the facial comings and goings over the years).

Bonus question: Whose mug appears on a £100 note?

While you're contemplating that, here's a salute to Churchill and the new fiver. His wish for it might have been that millions of Britons shall spend on the beaches, spend in the streets, spend in the hills and shall never surrender to a lackluster economy.

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PS. As it's Friday, and as the summer travel season is around the corner, one of my top tips for a London outing: Go to the Churchill War Rooms, just around the corner from Westminster Abbey, and not far at all from the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. It would be a few fivers well spent.

Image is a screen grab from the Bank of England website

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

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