England
Bank of England to withdraw 20-pound note on 30 June 2010
Mar 08, 2010 11:38 AM Category: Europe
According to a Bank of England press release dated 8 March 2010, the 20-pound (US$30.10) note with the portrait of composer Sir Edward Elgar on back will cease to be legal tender after 30 June 2010. “This note has been gradually replaced by the Adam Smith £20 which was introduced in 2007. Announcing this today, the Bank of England assured holders of the Elgar £20 banknote that they could certainly use the notes up to, and including, 30 June. After that date the note will no longer have ‘legal tender’ status. The note will not have to be accepted in payment, or in change, in retail outlets after this date.”
“For several months from the end of June banks, building societies and Post Offices will accept Elgar £20 notes for deposit to customer accounts and for other customer transactions. Agreeing to exchange the notes for non-customers is at the discretion of the individual institution. The Bank of England will always give value for these notes (and all other banknotes the Bank has issued).”
“Andrew Bailey, the Bank of England’s Chief Cashier, said, ‘The Elgar £20 banknotes were first introduced in 1999 and we introduced the Adam Smith £20 banknotes three years ago. We said at the time that the two designs would circulate in tandem, with the Elgar notes gradually being withdrawn over the next few years. It is time now to withdraw the Elgar £20 notes completely, with the Adam Smith £20 banknotes to be the only £20 note design continuing in circulation.’”
Courtesy of Aidan Work.
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Bank of England to issue new £50 note in 2011
Jun 22, 2009 06:00 AM Category: Europe
On 29 May 2009, the Bank of England announced that it would issue a new 50-pound note in early 2011. The new £50 note (US$82) will feature portraits of 18th century entrepreneur Matthew Boulton and engineer James Watt. Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, said, “Just as the Bank of England plays an essential role in the economy as the United Kingdom’s central bank, so too did Boulton and Watt’s steam engines and their many other innovations as essential factors in the nation’s Industrial Revolution. So many of the advantages society now enjoys are due in large part to the vital role of engineering and the brilliance and foresight of people such as Boulton and Watt whose development and refinement of steam engines gave an incredible boost to the efficiency of industry.”
“The unique and rare opportunity that the Bank has through its banknotes to acknowledge and promote awareness of our nation’s heritage of artistic, social and scientific endeavour is an honour for us. The Bank’s choice of Boulton and Watt, a reminder of the invaluable contribution from engineering and the entrepreneurial spirit to the advancement of society, I think, well reflects this.”
The Boulton and Watt £50 banknote will be the second note in the Series F family which began with the introduction of the Adam Smith £20 note on 13 March 2007. Therefore its overall appearance will be similar. But for the first time two portraits will appear together on the reverse of the note, those of Boulton and Watt, along with the image of a steam engine and the Soho (Birmingham) Manufactory. As with the Adam Smith £20 banknote however, continuity is provided with the current portrait of Her Majesty The Queen, which was first used in 1990 and which will be retained on the front of the note. Further details of the design and the range of security features to be included on the new note will be revealed when the new note is launched.
“The unique and rare opportunity that the Bank has through its banknotes to acknowledge and promote awareness of our nation’s heritage of artistic, social and scientific endeavour is an honour for us. The Bank’s choice of Boulton and Watt, a reminder of the invaluable contribution from engineering and the entrepreneurial spirit to the advancement of society, I think, well reflects this.”
The Boulton and Watt £50 banknote will be the second note in the Series F family which began with the introduction of the Adam Smith £20 note on 13 March 2007. Therefore its overall appearance will be similar. But for the first time two portraits will appear together on the reverse of the note, those of Boulton and Watt, along with the image of a steam engine and the Soho (Birmingham) Manufactory. As with the Adam Smith £20 banknote however, continuity is provided with the current portrait of Her Majesty The Queen, which was first used in 1990 and which will be retained on the front of the note. Further details of the design and the range of security features to be included on the new note will be revealed when the new note is launched.
Bank of England refutes report of new notes depicting religious leaders
Mar 10, 2009 07:06 AM Category: Europe
According to a TotallyJewish.com article dated March 5, 2009, “A new British banknote featuring a portrait of the Chief Rabbi is to be issued later this year in an effort to literally 'restore faith in the economy'. Sir Jonathan Sacks is one of five senior religious leaders whose images will appear on UK currency as part of a series of measures to tackle the credit crunch. The initiative was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Bank of England this week.”
This “news” item struck me as highly unlikely, so I wrote to the Bank of England for confirmation or denial. As I suspected, the TotallyJewish.com item is either false or was intended as satire. Here is the full response I received from Malcolm Shemmonds, a media representative at the BoE:
“I'm afraid that the news concerning this supposed new banknote issue by ourselves is totally untrue. There are no plans to circulate any new Bank of England notes in the immediate future. However, the Bank of England has a rolling banknote design programme and we may well decide to revise the design of our other notes in due course to reflect the same security features and theme (British historical figures) that have been incorporated within our current banknote series.
“By way of background, you may be interested to know that we decide whom to feature on our banknotes on the basis of an enduring contribution to the advancement of society. Having said that, the choice of whom to celebrate on the banknotes is never easy, and any candidate will naturally have both staunch supporters and detractors. The final choice of who appears on our notes rests with the Governor of the Bank of England.”
This “news” item struck me as highly unlikely, so I wrote to the Bank of England for confirmation or denial. As I suspected, the TotallyJewish.com item is either false or was intended as satire. Here is the full response I received from Malcolm Shemmonds, a media representative at the BoE:
“I'm afraid that the news concerning this supposed new banknote issue by ourselves is totally untrue. There are no plans to circulate any new Bank of England notes in the immediate future. However, the Bank of England has a rolling banknote design programme and we may well decide to revise the design of our other notes in due course to reflect the same security features and theme (British historical figures) that have been incorporated within our current banknote series.
“By way of background, you may be interested to know that we decide whom to feature on our banknotes on the basis of an enduring contribution to the advancement of society. Having said that, the choice of whom to celebrate on the banknotes is never easy, and any candidate will naturally have both staunch supporters and detractors. The final choice of who appears on our notes rests with the Governor of the Bank of England.”
England issues new 20-pound note featuring Adam Smith
Mar 13, 2007 05:39 PM Category: Europe
Today the Bank of England issued a new £20 featuring Adam Smith, one of the fathers of modern economics. This is the first design in a new series of notes from the bank known collectively as “Series F.”
The new notes will circulate in parallel with the current £20 (Pick 390), which will be progressively withdrawn from circulation. Measuring 149 x 80 mm, the new £20 is the same size as the current note. The portrait of Queen Elizabeth II is retained on the front, but the new note features a brighter color purple, as well as a large silver holographic strip, a registration device, additional intaglio printing, improved watermark, and more UV features to deter counterfeiters. The new note bears the signature of Andrew Bailey, Chief Cashier.
A portrait of Smith appears on the back of the new note, along with an engraving showing “The division of labour in pin manufacturing” with the parenthetical quote “and the great increase in the quantity of work that results” drawn from his major work, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. The image of Adam Smith is based on a likeness of the portrait of him by James Tassie — Scottish National Portrait Gallery — and reproduced by permission; and the image of pin manufacturing is based on an original image, and by permission of The British Library. Adam Smith (1723 - 1790) is the first economist and the first Scotsman to appear on a Bank of England note.
Pick 392: 20 pounds (US$38.60)). Issued March 13, 2007. Bright purple. Series F. QEII portrait, holographic stripe, registration device, additional intaglio printing, improved wmk, and more UV features. Signature: Andrew Bailey, Chief Cashier. Portrait of economist Adam Smith and illustration of “The division of labour in pin manufacturing” on back. 149 x 80 mm.