Tally stick

Tally sticks were wooden sticks cut with notches representing an amount of money owed. The rods were split in half. The debtor would retain half, called the ‘foil’. The creditor would retain the other half, called the ‘stock’.

The Bank of England was established in 1694 as a way to overcome the Government’s cash-flow crisis. Early customers deposited money at the Bank as an investment or in return for banknotes.

The Bank then lent that money to the Government. This tally represents £25,000 of the Bank’s original loan to the Government.