This side is called the 'stock', this was kept by the... ...person who made the loan, or paid the money in, and this... ...is the foil - so the foil would be spent into the... ...existence, and the idea was that this splitting the stick... ...down the middle was to prevent counterfeiting because... ...of course a stick splits uniquely down the middle -... ...because when the debt was repaid the two pieces were put... ...together and if they didn't tally something wasn't right. 