We Brits print banknotes out in Debden in Essex, and have contracted it out to the private sector. Here in the U.S. it is a government operation right in the heart of Washington next door to the Holocaust Museum.

Davis contrasts British and American approaches to producing currency to make a broader point about differing assumptions regarding what the state should do itself versus what it can outsource. By noting that British banknote printing occurs at Debden in Essex and is contracted to a private firm, he frames the UK as more willing to delegate even symbolically sovereign functions. The U.S., by contrast, is depicted as keeping banknote production as a visible federal operation in central Washington, emphasizing governmental control and the civic symbolism of money-making. The reference to the Holocaust Museum functions as a vivid geographical marker underscoring how prominent and public the U.S. facility is.