A Crisp Commentary on Inflation

IT offers a capsulized view of English history done in hues of lavender and mauve, royal purple and blue, yellow and green. On one side are juxtaposed St. George jamming his spear down the throat of a writhing dragon, Britannia ruling the waves, and Queen Elizabeth II wearing a crown, royal robes and a stately stare. On the other are a brooding Shakespeare and a portrayal of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. All this intricate--some would say opulent--artwork is compressed on Britain's new -L-20-note, which became the largest denomination in the land when issued last week.

As recently as 1943, notes of -L-1, -L-100, -L-500 and -L-1,000 denominations circulated in Britain. In that year, however, all paper bills were withdrawn because of skillful Nazi forgeries. After World War II, no notes larger than -L- 10 were reissued. The new note, worth $48 in U.S. currency, is considered by some Britons to be a crisp commentary on the country's inflationary drift. A letter writer to the Times of London had a more critical view. "The distinctive features of the new -L-20 bank note," he said, "are: A) a promise by the Bank of England which is not worth the paper it is written on; B) a Saint recently banished from the Canonical Calendar for lack of historic authenticity;C) a heraldic female symbolic of a bygone naval and colonial supremacy; and D) a Shakespeare play about civil riots, juvenile delinquency and fornication with a girl below the age of legal consent. Is it really fair, sir, to associate Her Majesty's portrait with such a package of unfortunate implications?"

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