2006-11-12 21:07:21 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
On the rim of a £2 coin, it's a quote from Isaac Newton.
(He's saying that he couldn't have got to be the great scientist that he was without having the work of other scientists before him to work with)
Wikipedia will tell you that it has been "mistakenly" attributed to Isaac Newton - but although it has been used by other people before him - the quote is most famous for Newton's use.
2006-11-12 21:12:13 · answer #1 · answered by Electra 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Actually, I think Newton said 'If I have seen further than others, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants'
It was possibly the only modest thing he ever said in his life!
He was also master of the royal mint, and he invented edge decorations on coins as a method of preventing 'coin-clipping' (When coins were made of silver and gold, people would clip or shave flakes off the edge, reducing their value)
So to have his quote around the edge of a modern coin is a very fitting tribute!
2006-11-12 21:29:11 · answer #2 · answered by Avondrow 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ashypoo is right. You'd also see it on the cover of a not-very-good Oasis album. And in a letter by Sir Isaac Newton to Robert Hooke.
2006-11-12 21:11:51 · answer #3 · answered by Bad Liberal 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a part of a quotation by Isaac Newton:
"If I have got anywhere it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
2006-11-12 21:13:10 · answer #4 · answered by plwimsett 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
On a coin and the Oasis album
2006-11-13 03:23:20 · answer #5 · answered by Tabbyfur aka patchy puss 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
On a British coin... I believe its the £2 coin without looking.
2006-11-12 21:09:44 · answer #6 · answered by ashypoo 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
DOHH!! I was asking that question of Oasis fans when the £2 coin first came into circulation!!Where have you all been???
2006-11-12 23:05:47 · answer #7 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋