Posts Tagged ‘Bank of England’
First look – the new Churchill £5 note revealed…
The New Sir Winston Churchill Polymer £5 Note © Bank of England [2015]
The new £5 note features an image of Sir Winston Churchill, alongside the famous quotation from his first speech as Prime Minister: ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.’
In the background the clock on Queen Elizabeth’s Tower reads 3pm, the time Churchill was making his speech in 1940. Behind the Houses of Parliament you can see the Nobel Prize for literature which the great statesman won in 1953.
The other side of the £5 note featuring Queen Elizabeth II © Bank of England [2015]
But most importantly…
When can I find one in my change?
The new note will enter circulation on September 13th this year. However, with millions of existing five pound notes still in use you may not be able to find one straight away.
Will I still be able to spend my current £5 notes?
Yes you will, but only up until May 2017. After that, they will cease to be legal tender – but you will still be able to exchange them at the Bank of England.
So the new era of Plastic Banknotes is officially upon us! What do you make of the new design? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter or in the comments below.
You can Find, Collect and Swap all of the UK commemorative coins you find in your change for free on the Change Checker Web App… try it here now: www.changechecker.org/app
Revealed: The face of the new £20 banknote
Exciting news emerged over the weekend on who would replace economist Adam Smith on the £20 note.
Adam Smith’s image has featured on the £20 banknote since 2007, but early last year the Bank of England announced plans to replace him.
The bank of England asked the British public to nominate “people of historical significance” from the world of visual arts, from a list of 590 eligible candidates. Some of the nominations included Alfred Hitchcock, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Richard Attenborough, Beatrix Potter and William Blake.
Of the 590 candidates, just 5 were shortlisted by a Bank committee and included – artist JMW Turner, designer Josiah Wedgwood, filmmaker Charlie Chaplin, sculptor Barbara Hepworth and painter William Hogarth.
The final decision was made by the Bank’s governor, Mark Carney and it has now been revealed that artist JMW Turner and his painting ‘The Fighting Temeraire’ will feature on the new £20 banknote.
Meet the new £20 note character: JMW Turner
Find out more: https://t.co/CsMLVfc9DJ#turner #jmwturner #20poundnote pic.twitter.com/5quxL5SnJz— Bank of England (@bankofengland) April 22, 2016
The design
The design features Turner’s self-portrait from 1788 along with one of his most famous paintings ‘The Fighting Temeraire’ which is a tribute to the ship HMS Temeraire which played an important role during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
The quote ‘Light is therefore colour’ comes from a lecture by Turner at the Royal Academy in 1818 and his signature is taken from will when he donated all of his works to the nation.
Due to enter into circulation in 2020, the £20 note will be the third banknote made from Polymer, following on from the £5 note featuring Winston Churchill and the £10 note featuring Jane Austen. The £50 note will remain in circulation with the same design and there are currently no plans for them to be issued in polymer.
Whose face would you like to see on the £20 note?
You may not be familiar with the life and work of economist Adam Smith, but chances are you’ve seen his face more often than you realise. His image has featured on the £20 banknote since 2007, but earlier this year, the Bank of England have announced plans to replace him.
They have asked the British public to nominate “people of historical significance” from the world of visual arts, and over the past 2 months there have been just shy of 30,000 nominations and 592 eligible candidates from which to choose.
The category is a broad one, and the suggestions have been diverse, with painters, authors, architects, film-makers and even fashion designers in contention.
Living people, fictional characters and anyone “unduly divisive” are not permitted.
Some of the nominations (from left to right) include Alfred Hitchcock, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, William Hogarth, Richard Attenborough, Beatrix Potter and William Blake
Ultimately it will be the Bank’s Governor Mark Carney who makes the decision, and the winner will be announced in Spring 2016, with the new note being introduced in the next 3-5 years. Launching the nominations, he said:
“There are a wealth of individuals within the field of visual arts whose work shaped British thought, innovation, leadership, values and society and who continue to inspire people today”.
So who would you like to feature on the new £20 note?
We’ve narrowed the list down to 10 front runners, and you can have your say in our poll below…