Posts Tagged ‘Bank of England’
Just 100 days left to spend your old £5 note
Time is running out to spend the old cotton paper £5 notes. In just 100 days, on the 5th May 2017, the old £5 note will cease to be legal tender. This means you wont be able to use them as payment.
The Bank of England have predicted that the number of old £5 notes in circulation has halved, although its thought that almost 165 million of these fivers are still out there.
But don’t worry too much if you come across old banknotes after 5th May. The Bank of England notes retain their face value for all time, so you will still be able to exchange your notes at the Bank of England.
The Bank of England was established in 1694 to raise money for King William III’s war against France. Since then, the Bank have been issuing bank notes.
We’ve taken a look back at previous Bank of England £5 notes since their inception over 200 years ago.
1793: The white fiver – Britain’s most famous banknote
There are not so many people about today who remember using the White Fiver, especially since it has been almost 60 years since its last year of issue. But it’s certainly the most famous British banknote ever issued.
With dimensions of almost 20cm x 12cm, the ‘White Fiver’ was almost two times larger than today’s polymer £5 note.
Not only would it not fit in your wallet today, it was also considered too vulnerable for copying – particularly after the Nazi’s Operation Bernhard tried to destabilise the British economy with fake ‘White Fivers’
This famous banknote was printed for the last time in 1956 – a century and a half after it was first issued by the Bank of England in 1793.
1957: Series B – the first double-sided and multi-coloured £5 note
First issued in 1957, the new £5 banknote was revolutionary. Not only was it the first multi-coloured banknote, it was also the first note to feature a watermark image which could be viewed from both sides of the note.
Designed by Stephen Gooden, the note featured a helmeted Britannia on the front as well as an image of St George and the dragon in the centre, while the back featured a Lion holding a key.
This particular banknote was short lived with only this design being accepted and printed. It was also this type of banknote that was stolen during the Great Train Robbery in 1963. This note continued to be legal tender until June 1967.
1963: Series C – The portrait series
The Series C £5 banknote was issued in 1963, and was part of the portrait series – this note being the first £5 to depict a portrait of a monarch.
Designed by Reynolds Stone, Queen Elizabeth II features on the front of the note in a oval window. The back of the note features a full body depiction of Britannia seated with her famous shield holding her trident in one hand and an olive branch in the other.
Among his other work, including book illustrations, portraits and engravings, Reynolds Stone also designed the official coat of arms in 1955 which is still reproduced today on the cover of our UK passports.
This banknote continued using complex designs and drawings as a security measure against counterfeits.
1971: Series D – The Pictorial Series
The 1971 Series D £5 note was designed by Harry Eccleston and was part of the series that became known as pictorial bank notes. For the first time, Series D notes not only had an image of the Queen on the front but depicted a historical figure on the reverse.
Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington and one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, featured as the historical figure on the back of this note.
On this banknote, the Queen is depicted wearing the George IV State Diadem with Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee necklace, while on previous notes the Queen had been shown wearing the diadem with a pearl necklace. Next to the Queen there is an image of Nike the goddess of victory and below that a seal showing Britannia.
In 1987, this banknote was revised to feature an increased width of the metal thread, which doubled to 1mm.
1990 – 2016: Series E
Designed by Roger Withington, the Series E banknote was first issued in 1990 and was the first £5 to be truly multi-coloured as well as a windowed metal thread security feature.
Roger Withington, banknote design manager at The Bank of England at the time of issue, put a strong emphasis on the turquoise blue colour used in the design. The chief cashier signature is also blue, which at the time, was considered quite radical.
The design features the historical figure George Stephenson, who was an English civil & mechanical engineer. He is best known for his achievements building the worlds first inter-city steam locomotive railway system.
The Series E £5 banknote has been revised twice since its initial release in 1990. The first revision was made in 1993, which saw the £5 at the top of the banknote changed to a darker and bolder colour – dark blue for the front and olive for the rear. This banknote ceased to be legal tender in 2003.
Still in use today, is the Series E (Version three) £5 issue.
Issued in 2002, the historical figure on the reverse of the banknote depicts Elizabeth Fry instead of George Stephenson.
Elizabeth Fry was an English activist and social reformer who had a massive influence on the the treatment of prisoners. In 1818 she also became the first woman to give evidence in Parliament. The images on the back of the note are related to the life and work of Elizabeth Fry. This banknote will cease to be legal tender on May 5th 2017 – that’s in 100 days time.
2016: The first Bank of England polymer banknote
The Bank of England issued the first ever poly,er banknote into circulation on 13th September 2016.
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.’
This banknote has been considerably popular among the general public and has been the subject of many headline news stories since its release. You can find out more about the new polymer banknote in our blog ‘Everything you need to know about the new polymer £5 note’.
A new polymer £10 note
This summer, we’ll see a new £10 note in circulation. The new £10 note will be made of polymer and Jane Austen will become the 17th historical figure to feature on a Bank of England note, replacing Charles Darwin.
If you want to keep up to date with news and information regarding the new Jane Austen Polymer £10 banknote, please leave your details below and we will contact you in due course with more information.
Please note we will only use this information to contact you about specifically about the Jane Austen Polymer banknote.
Pride without prejudice – how Jane Austen came to appear on our coins and banknotes in 2017.
2017 marks 200 years since the death of Jane Austen – one of the best-loved English novelists of all time. And to celebrate such an inspirational female figure, both The Royal Mint and the Bank of England chose to honour her on a brand new coin and banknote.
People power wins
Back in May 2013, a petition to ‘keep a woman on English banknotes’ gained momentum. Over 35,000 people signed the petition after it was announced that Winston Churchill would replace social reformer Elizabeth Fry as the face of the £5 note in 2016. At the time this meant that other than the Queen, there would be no women featuring on English banknotes.
However, people power won as Jane Austen became the new face of the polymer £10 note in 2017, replacing Charles Darwin.
It is thought that Jane Austen was already part of the Bank’s plans for the next new note as in a statement the Bank said it was “never the Bank’s intention” that none of the four characters on banknotes would be a woman.
The Bank of England have featured characters on their banknotes since 1970 to celebrate individuals that have shaped British thought, innovation, leadership, values and society.
Jane Austen is the 17th historical figure to feature on a Bank of England note.
So not only does Jane Austen feature on the new £10 note, The Royal Mint also feature this inspirational author on the new 2017 £2 coin. Designed by Dominique Evans, the new £2 features a silhouette of Jane Austen with the dates 1817-2017.
The £2 coin issued by The Royal Mint has been struck to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of Jane Austen, one of the best-loved English novelists.
This £2 for 2017 was struck to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of Jane Austen.
This was the first time ever that someone featured on a circulation coin and banknote at the same time – other than the reigning monarch.
A tiny portrait of Jane Austen also appears on four of the new polymer £5 notes as a microscopic engraving produced by Specialist micro-engraver Graham Short. The collector’s items are said to be worth over £20,000 each!
Own the 2017 Jane Austen £2 Coin and £10 Banknote Pack
This is your opportunity to receive one of the very first Polymer £10 notes issued in perfect mint condition alongside the 2017 Jane Austen £2 Coin issued by The Royal Mint.
Why your AK47 £5 note isn’t worth £80,000 and other myths about the polymer banknote
Time and again we hear from people with various serial numbers asking how much their £5 notes are worth, so we thought we would address some of the myths about the £5 polymer banknote.
The rare £5 note with serial number AK47 that ‘sold’ for over £80,000 on eBay!
Notes with the serial number AK47 have been particularly popular thanks to the machine gun connotations. Back in 2016, news emerged that a £5 banknote with the prefix Ak47 had fetched a winning bid of £80,100 on the online market place eBay. The seller must have been overjoyed with the jackpot amount but it turned out the buyer had no intention of paying up.
The bidding on this Ak47 banknote fetched a winning bid of £80,100
As much as we love the design of the new fiver, there is no way we would pay anywhere near £80,000 for it, no matter what serial number it had.
Or the fivers with a James Bond theme?
Described as an “AK37 007 James Bond Bank of England Polymer £5 note” in a lovely condition, this banknote sold for £5,000.
A James Bond themed £5 listing on eBay.
Although there must be plenty of James Bond fanatics out there, we can think of so many other items of James Bond memorabilia that fans could spend £5,000 on! And realistically, if you had the choice, which would you prefer to spend £5K on?
What about the AA01 banknotes?
When they were first released, the new polymer banknotes created a collecting storm. In fact I’m almost certain that every single person in the country checked their new note at some point to see if they were lucky enough to find one with the prefix AA01.
Although a banknote with the prefix AA01 might be worth slightly over face value to someone who is genuinely interested, we must remember that 1 million AA01 banknotes were printed. So as much as I wish it could be true, reality check – don’t expect a big payout if you do find one.
And the upside down fiver?
There were countless stories and accounts of plastic banknotes fetching eye-watering sums of money after the launch, but one eBay seller took things a step further when he listed his ‘upside down’ banknote.
The ‘upside down’ fiver
Although the seller stated in the description that the listing was a joke, he still received lots of serious questions about the note.
However…
Do look out for these £5 notes worth more than £20,000 in circulation! If you come across a fiver with a micro-engraved portrait of either Jane Austen or Harry Kane, whatever you do, do NOT spend it.
Micro-engraver Graham Short has created special £5 notes, engraved with tiny portraits. The first set features author Jane Austen and more recently notes featuring Harry Kane have been put into circulation and could be worth more than £20,000. In fact, Graham Short’s work has an insurance valuation of £50,000 so these £5 notes will give you an extra £49,995 of value if you find one…
Serious Collectors: What to look for…
Collecting banknotes is a serious hobby that many thousands of people all over the world enjoy.
There are many ways of assembling collections of banknotes, for example banknotes that feature famous people (scientists, writers or politicians) or banknotes with historical context such as those from a certain era.
Generally collecting banknotes is not about the serial number it possesses, instead the chief cashier is of most interest, particularly on UK banknotes. This is where real rarities can be found – in the form of Chief Cashier signatures.
Banknote designs rarely change but on average cashiers change every 5 or 6 years with some in the position for as little as 3 years.
These £5 polymer banknotes will always be considered the ‘first’ polymer banknotes regardless of what serial number they hold and importantly uncirculated notes or those in good condition will also always be more sought after.
So if you are genuinely interested in collecting banknotes, the chief cashier is what you should really be looking for.
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:
– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app