The stick was evidence, not money.
Notches represented the value before the stick was split, so marks added later would not match. Tallies recorded money owed, and some were exchanged to transfer that debt. A Bank of England tally from 1694 records one of its earliest loans to government.
The security trick lasted for centuries. Its disposal control was worse. After the Exchequer stopped using tallies in 1826, two cartloads remained at Westminster. The Clerk of Works chose furnaces beneath the House of Lords, and workers kept feeding them despite heat and smoke.
See the Bank's tally stick →The fraud control worked. The disposal control did not.
A new city is easier when someone shows up.
Restore brings refugees and asylum seekers in Birmingham into one-to-one befriending, fortnightly social groups and conversational-English support. Its Wonderful Org profile says it aims to create 50 new matches each year, helping people rebuild confidence and connection after war or persecution.
Support Restore →Britain has a £100 million banknote you cannot spend.
Monday: why the Bank of England makes £100 million Titans and £1 million Giants, where they stay, and how they help back the banknotes issued in Scotland and Northern Ireland.