THE debate over the new £50 note has been baffling.

Comment sections and social media has been filled with thousands of comments, many critical, on the announcement of Alan Turing's appearance on the note.

For me Turing was a good choice. The celebrated genius' code-cracking work was crucial in the Second World War.

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And the LGBT+ community has spoken out for him being a good choice, highlighting that he was convicted for being gay in the 1950s.

But despite this, critics listed others they considered 'more worthy' including Stephen Hawkin, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Frederick Sanger and Mary Anning.

In the end, whoever was chosen, it was likely to not make everyone happy. But how do people get so worked up on the subject?

What we are talking about here is a £50 note, not exactly everyday currency for most.

I can remember only once carrying a £50 note, given to me by a bank, and walking down the street feeling like I was carrying a target.

It was the one time in my life I was convinced I was going to be mugged, and had to check every two seconds it was still there - so that was not an experience I ever wanted to repeat.

I'm sure many others feel the same and after the Treasury highlighted it was the fewest note used in transactions, and as it is the favoured payment method of criminals, at one point government officials looked at scrapping it.

That would have been the most sensible move but instead is it being reinvented. Which leads me back to the 'who is the face on the note' debate.

I guess some will argue it is the principal and people chosen for notes says a lot about a country and its society.

But those who care so much should ask themselves, apart from a few promotional shots, will they even see it when it enters circulation in 2021?

The other thing to remember is the pace we have been moving to a cashless society means all notes will probably be scrapped in the next 20 years anyway. Many are already nearly there as only 1.9 million Brits mainly used cash to make transactions last year.

I wouldn't be surprised if we follow Sweden's lead, which has announced that by March 2023, cash will no longer be accepted in the country.

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