Waterlow and Sons
Encyclopedia
The Waterlow and Sons Limited was a major worldwide engraver of currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...

, postage stamps, stock
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...

s and bond certificates established in 1897, in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Portuguese Bank Note Crisis

Waterlow's was involved in the Portuguese Bank Note Crisis of 1925. The Banco de Portugal sued Waterlow & Sons in the High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...

 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 because of counterfeiting. In one of the most complex trials in legal history, the case was finally settled in favour of the Bank in 1932.

Bank of England banknotes

In 1921 the Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...

 gained a legal monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...

 on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales, a process that started with the Bank Charter Act of 1844 when the ability of other banks to issues notes was restricted.

On 22 November 1928 the Bank issued notes for ten shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...

s and one pound for the first time when the Bank took over responsibility for these denominations from the Treasury which had issued notes of these denominations three days after the declaration of war
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 in 1914 in order to remove gold coin
Coin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....

s from circulation. The treasury bills had been printed by Waterlows, and the loss of the contract contributed to the closure of Waterlow's operations at Milton Street in Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...

.

De La Rue ownership

Waterlow's was acquired by Purnell and Sons
Purnell and Sons
Purnell and Sons was a small family printer based in Somerset which merged with other printers to become a large national publisher.- History :...

 in 1961, but Purnell sold Waterlow's segment that printed banknotes, postage stamps, traveler's checks, and bonds to De La Rue
De La Rue
De La Rue plc is a British security printing, papermaking and cash handling systems company headquartered in Basingstoke, Hampshire. It also has a factory on the Team Valley Trading Estate, Gateshead, and other facilities at Loughton, Essex and Bathford, Somerset...

 soon after.

In 2003 De La Rue acquired the banknote
Banknote
A banknote is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender. In addition to coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern fiat money...

printing operations of the Bank of England, 75 years after Waterlow's had lost the business.

Waterlow and Sons Ltd was dissolved in January 2009.
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