Banknotes are fascinating things - little works of art that pass through our hands each day almost unnoticed. Every so often, there is a news story about a new design, andperhaps some controversy over which historical figure will feature on the front of the note. But what if the Bank of England is getting it all backwards?

It's fine to celebrate the achievements of the past, but we decided to put a new spin on things by thinking about the future that humankind needs to protect. Our newseries of speculative banknote concept designs celebrates not great humans that we've lost, but endangered species that we might lose if we don't put more work, andmoney, into saving

Welsh coast: Loggerhead Turtle

Turtles once shared the planet with dinosaurs, and each individual might live as long as a human being. But human interference has caused a drastic diminishing of the speciesover the past six decades.

Loggerhead turtles divide their time between far-flung locations from the coast of Wales to Florida and New Carolina, following the currents and the warm water. Industrialfishing, the development of coastal areas, and climate change all play a part in the reptile's precarious situation.

Scottish Highlands: Scottish Wildcat

Wildcats are so rare that they have begun interbreeding with domestic or feral cats, which is compromising the genetic lineage of the species. It can also result in thespreading of feline diseases.

They can grow to nearly a metre long and stalk the woods of the Scottish Highlands, where they are sometimes mistaken for ordinary cats by gun-wielding farmers keen to protecttheir game birds from predators. It's reckoned there may only be a 100-300 wildcats left.

Moray Firth: Bottlenose Dolphin

Just a few hundred of these playful, sociable, highly intelligent creatures remain in the Moray Firth and Cardigan Bay. If their international number is currently stable, thereare fears that overfishing in the next couple of decades will leave bottlenose dolphins short of food.

What's more, conservationists fear that toxic chemicals introduced to the sea by human culture may harm the general health of dolphins and their ability to reproduce.

To read the complete article, see:
UK Bank Notes Get A Makeover To Honor Endangered Species(https://www.valuewalk.com/2018/12/uk-bank-notes-honor-endangered-species/)

To read the complete article, see:
Margaret Thatcher on the new £50 note? Timefor some Irish banknote nostalgia (https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/margaret-thatcher-on-the-new-50-note-time-for-some-irish-banknote-nostalgia-1.3713440)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
SCIENTISTS NOMINATED FOR NEW £50 NOTE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n48a28.html)

To read the original article, see:
UK Banknote Concept Designs (Endangered Wildlife Edition)(https://www.quickquid.co.uk/quid-corner/uk-banknote-concept-designs-endangered-wildlife-edition/)