Bank of England £5 note
Smallest denomination of England's banknotes
The Bank of England £5 note, also known as a fiver, is a sterling banknote. It is the smallest denomination of banknote currently issued by the Bank of England. On 5 June 2024 and 13 September 2016, a new polymer note was introduced, featuring the images of King Charles III and the late Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and a portrait of Winston Churchill on the reverse. The old paper note, first issued in 2002 and bearing the image of prison reformer Elizabeth Fry on the reverse, was phased out and ceased to be legal tender after 5 May 2017.
History.
Introduction.
Five pound notes (£5) were introduced by the Bank of England in 1793, following the ten pound note, which had been introduced in 1759 as a consequence of gold shortages caused by the Seven Years' War. The 5 pound note was introduced again, due to gold shortages caused by the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars and was the lowest denomination of note issued until 1797. The earliest notes were handwritten and were issued to individuals as needed. These notes were written on one side only and bore the name of the payee, the date and the signature of the issuing cashier.
Restriction period.
In 1797, due to the extra money needed to fund the war and the uncertainty caused as Britain declared war on France, a series of bank runs drained the Bank of England of its gold supply. The Bank was forced to stop exchanging gold for notes and to issue notes of £1 and £2 denominations. This was known as the 'restriction period', as the exchange of notes for their value in gold was restricted.
The Restriction Period ended in 1821 as the Government had to anchor the value of the currency to gold in order to control sharply rising inflation and national debt. After a brief period to offset any sudden deflation, the UK returned to the gold standard on 1 May 1821. These notes could again be exchanged in full, or in part, for an equivalent amount of gold when presented at the bank. If redeemed in part, the banknote would be marked to indicate the amount that had been redeemed. From 1853 printed notes replaced handwritten notes, with the declaration "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of five pounds" replacing the name of the payee. This declaration remains on Bank of England banknotes to this day. A printed signature of one of three cashiers appeared on the printed notes, though this was replaced by the signature of the Chief Cashier from 1870 onward.
Move away from gold standard.
The right to redeem banknotes for gold ceased in 1931, when Britain stopped using the gold standard. Metal thread was introduced on the £5 note in 1945 as a security feature. The printed black and white notes were replaced from 1957 onwards by new, two-sided notes. The first two-sided £5 notes (series B) were blue and featured a bust of Britannia on the front and a lion on the back. Series C notes, first introduced in 1963, were the first notes to feature an image of the monarch on the front, with Britannia being relegated to the back. From 1971 onward, with the introduction of series D, a British historical figure was portrayed on the reverse: the soldier and statesman the Duke of Wellington in this case. Series E notes, first issued in 1990, are multicoloured, although they are predominantly turquoise-blue. These notes feature a portrait of railway pioneer George Stephenson, as well as for the first time 'windowed' metal thread; this thread appears as a dashed line, yet forms a single line when held up to the light.
2002 Varnish issue.
In 2002, a problem was identified in which the serial numbers could be rubbed off some notes. The problem was highlighted after six members of the public complained to The Bank of England; banks as well as Post Offices stopped distributing the notes at the request of the Bank of England to stop issuing the new £5 notes. The Bank said the move was a "precautionary measure while we carry out further tests and investigative work into what might have caused the fault and how widespread the problem is". The bank consequently did rigorous testing and found the problem to be that the serial numbers were printed over the varnish rather than under it allowing the ink to be removed if enough force was applied. The Bank started to varnish the notes in an attempt to make them last longer than previous notes which only had an estimated lifespan of nine months.
A spokesman for the Bank of England said: "The notes are still legal tender and the public shouldn't have a problem spending them in the shops. As long as shopkeepers check the anti-counterfeit measures, then the lack of serial numbers is not a problem.
"If members of the public are concerned, then they should take the notes back to the bank where they will be exchanged."
The F series £5 note was never issued.
Moving to polymer.
In April 2013, the Governor of the Bank of England Sir Mervyn King announced on behalf of the bank that Elizabeth Fry would be replaced by Winston Churchill on the next £5 note which would enter circulation in 2016. It was also announced that the images featured on the reverse would include the famous 1941 portrait of Churchill ("The Roaring Lion") by Yousuf Karsh, a view of the Houses of Parliament, a quote by Churchill ("I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat") and a background image of Churchill's Nobel Prize in Literature, while the obverse would feature an image of Queen Elizabeth II.
In December 2013 the Bank of England announced that the next £5 note would be printed on a polymer, rather than cotton paper. The bank cited that they would be cleaner, more secure and more durable. It was also said that the new polymer notes would be more environmentally friendly, lasting 2.5 times as long as cotton paper notes, according to the Bank's own environmental testing.
The note was introduced on 13 September 2016, with an initial print run of 440 million notes (worth £2.2 billion), over the period of co-circulation. It was announced that there would be a co-circulatory period with the old series E notes, and then on 5 May 2017, the series E would cease to be legal tender. However, as with all Bank of England notes, they can be exchanged at face value at any time in the future.
Ingredients controversy.
In November 2016, there was controversy when the Bank of England confirmed that the new notes contained traces of tallow. According to an online petition on this issue, this is unacceptable to vegans, vegetarians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Jews and other groups in the UK, and one Cambridge cafe boycotted the new note. The note's manufacturer, Innovia Security, was looking into changing the recipe for the polymer used, so as to contain no animal products, which are added to polymer pellets at an early stage of production. However, on 10 August 2017 the Bank of England announced that all future notes, including future £5 note prints would continue the use of traces of tallow.
Design.
List of historical designs.
Sources from the Bank of England:
Current designs.
The series G (polymer) note is the only £5 note that is currently legal tender. The old paper series E was withdrawn, following a co-circulation period with both notes being legal tender which ended on 5 May 2017.
Circulation.
The Bank of England is responsible for printing and issuing notes to ensure a smooth monetary supply across the United Kingdom. It reports the number of notes in circulation at any given time. The £5 note circulation peaked in 1979 before the £50 was re-introduced.
Table sources from the Bank of England Statistics
References.
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Bank of England £50 note
Banknote
The Bank of England £50 note is a sterling banknote circulated in the United Kingdom. It is the highest denomination of banknote currently issued for public circulation by the Bank of England. The current note, the second of this denomination to be printed in polymer, entered circulation on 5 June 2024. It bears the images of King Charles III on the obverse and computer scientist and World War II codebreaker Alan Turing on the reverse, with his birth date reflecting the release date. Cotton £50 notes from the previous series remained in circulation alongside the new polymer notes until 30 September 2022, when the last 'paper' banknote issue finally ceased to be legal tender.
History.
£50 notes were introduced by the Bank of England for the first time in 1725. The earliest notes were handwritten and were issued as needed to individuals. These notes were written on one side only and bore the name of the payee, the date, and the signature of the issuing cashier. With the exception of the Restriction Period between 1797 and 1821, when the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars caused a bullion shortage, these notes could be exchanged in full, or in part, for an equivalent amount of gold when presented at the bank. If redeemed in part, the banknote would be signed to indicate the amount that had been redeemed. From 1853 printed notes replaced handwritten notes, with the declaration "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of fifty pounds" replacing the name of the payee. This declaration remains on Bank of England banknotes to this day. A printed signature of one of three cashiers appeared on the printed notes, although this was replaced by the signature of the Chief Cashier from 1870 onwards.
The ability to redeem banknotes for gold ceased in 1931 when Britain stopped using the gold standard. The £50 note ceased to be produced by the Bank of England in 1943 and did not reappear until it was reintroduced in 1981. These D series notes were predominantly olive green on both sides, with an image of Queen Elizabeth II on the front (as with all subsequent £50 notes) and an image of architect Christopher Wren on the back. As a security feature, this note had a metallic thread running through it, which was upgraded to a "windowed" thread from July 1988 onward. The thread is woven into the paper such that it forms a dashed line, yet appears as a single line when held up to the light. The series D note was gradually replaced by the series E, beginning in 1994. This reddish note replaced Christopher Wren with John Houblon, the first governor of the Bank of England, on the reverse. As an additional security feature, these notes had a foil patch on the front. The E revision series did not have a £50 note.
The 2011 £50 note features two portraits on the reverse: engineer and scientist James Watt and industrialist and entrepreneur Matthew Boulton, along with the Whitbread Engine and the Soho Manufactory. The note has a number of security features in addition to the metallic thread, including motion thread, raised print, a watermark, microlettering, a see-through registration device, and a colourful pattern that only appears under ultraviolet light. It is the first Bank of England banknote to feature two people on the reverse, and the first Bank of England note to feature the motion thread security feature. This is an image in a broken green thread that moves as the note is viewed from different angles.
The new Series G £50 note was brought into circulation in June 2021; it is the last of the Bank of England's notes to switch from paper to polymer. The reverse of the note features a portrait of mathematician and codebreaker Alan Turing.
Suggestions were sought by the Bank for eligible scientists prior to Turing's selection. Some 227,299 nominations covering 989 scientists were received, and the shortlist eventually consisted of (in individuals and pairs) Mary Anning, Paul Dirac, Rosalind Franklin, William Herschel and Caroline Herschel, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, Stephen Hawking, James Clerk Maxwell, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Ernest Rutherford, Frederick Sanger, and Alan Turing.
Use and future.
As of 2019, the £50 note was not widely used in the UK. Its lack of common handling has led to some retailers refusing it for payment.
Peter Sands, an advisor to the British Government and former Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, has raised concern with the Bank of England over high denomination notes and their role in tax evasion. He claimed that scrapping the £50, and other high denomination notes such as the 1000 Swiss francs, €500 and 100 United States dollars, would reduce financial crime.
Designs.
Information taken from Bank of England website.
Notes.
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References.
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Bank of England note issues
Banknotes issued by the Bank of England
The Bank of England, which is now the central bank of the United Kingdom, British Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories, has issued banknotes since 1694. In 1921 the Bank of England gained a legal monopoly on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales, a process that started with the Bank Charter Act 1844, when the ability of other banks to issue notes was restricted.
Banknotes were originally hand-written; although they were partially printed from 1725 onwards, cashiers still had to sign each note and make them payable to someone. Notes were fully printed from 1855. Since 1970, the Bank of England's notes have featured portraits of British historical figures.
Of the eight banks authorised to issue sterling notes in the UK, only the Bank of England can issue banknotes in England and Wales, where its notes are legal tender. Bank of England notes are not legal tender in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but are always accepted by traders.
The Bank of England now issues notes, all in polymer, in four denominations – £5, £10, £20 and £50.
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Current banknotes.
There are currently four different denominations of notes – £5, £10, £20 and £50. Each value has its own distinct colour scheme and the size of each note increases in length and width as the value increases. They all feature a portrait of Elizabeth II or Charles III on the obverse. The Bank of England introduced its Series G set of banknotes between 2016 and 2021. Following the death of Elizabeth II, the Bank unveiled new notes, in the same design but featuring Charles III, on 20 December 2022. These notes entered circulation on 5 June 2024.
All current Bank of England banknotes are printed by contract with De La Rue at Debden, Essex. They include the printed signature of the Chief Cashier of the Bank of England, Sarah John, for notes issued since mid-2018, and depict the British monarch in full view, facing left. They also include the EURion constellation, a pattern of yellow circles which stops copying of banknotes and is easily identified by photocopiers.
The table below shows the notes currently in circulation. Two issue dates are given for each note – the first is for the Elizabeth II issue: the second date is for the Charles III issue.
History.
The Bank of England now has a monopoly of note issue in England and Wales, but this has not always been the case. Until the middle of the 19th century, private banks in Great Britain and Ireland were free to issue their own banknotes, and notes issued by provincial banking companies were commonly in circulation. Over the years, various acts of Parliament were introduced in the United Kingdom to increase confidence in banknotes in circulation by limiting the rights of banks to issue notes.
Provincial banknote issues.
Attempts to restrict banknote issue by banks other than the Bank of England began in 1708 and 1709, when acts of Parliament were passed which prohibited banking companies of more than six partners or shareholders. Notes under 1 guinea and 5 guineas were prohibited in the 1770s and thereafter almost all the provincial banks were established by the more substantial merchants, landed gentry etc. of a town and district.
Gold shortages.
Gold shortages in the 18th century, caused by the Seven Years' War and war with Revolutionary France, began to affect the supply of gold bullion reserves, giving rise to the "Restriction period". The Bank of England was unable to pay out gold for its notes, and so under the Bank Restriction Act 1797 began to issue lower denomination £1 and £2 notes in place of gold guineas, that were hoarded as so often was the case in time of war. Confidence in the value of banknotes was rarely affected, except during 1809–11 and 1814–15 under the extreme conditions of war.
Restriction of banknote issues.
The Country Bankers Act 1826 allowed some joint-stock banks outside London to issue notes, and also allowed the Bank of England to open branches in major provincial cities, enabling better distribution of its notes.
Introduction of legal tender.
With the passing of the Bank Notes Act 1833, Bank of England notes over £5 in value were first given the status of "legal tender" in England and Wales, effectively guaranteeing the worth of the Bank's notes and ensuring public confidence in the notes in times of crisis or war. The Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954 extended the definition of legal tender to 10/– and £1 notes; unlike the 1833 act, this law also applied to Scotland, meaning that Bank of England notes under £5 were classed as legal tender. Due to inflation the Bank of England 10/– note was withdrawn in 1969 and the £1 was removed from circulation in 1988, leaving a legal curiosity in Scots law whereby there is now no paper legal tender in Scotland. (Notes issued by Scottish banks were not included in the 1833 or 1954 acts.)
Note-issuing monopoly.
The Bank Charter Act 1844 began the process which gave the Bank of England exclusive note-issuing powers in England and Wales. Under the act, no new banks could start issuing notes, and note-issuing banks in England and Wales were barred from expanding their note issue. Gradually, these banks vanished through mergers, closures and take-overs, and their note issues went with them. The last privately issued banknotes in Wales were withdrawn in 1908, on the closure of the last Welsh bank, the North and South Wales Bank. The last private English banknotes were issued in 1921 by Fox, Fowler and Company, a Somerset bank, when it was bought out by Lloyds Bank. Under the terms of the Bank Charter Act 1844, the bank lost the legal right to issue banknotes when it merged with Lloyds, and the Bank of England became the sole note-issuing bank in England and Wales.
Note printing.
Notes were originally handwritten; although they were partially printed from 1725 onwards, cashiers still had to sign each note and make them payable to someone. Notes were fully printed from 1855, no doubt to the relief of the bank's workers. Until 1928 all notes were the monochromatic Series A type, printed in black with a blank reverse. During the 20th century, notes in Series A were issued in denominations between £5 and £1,000, but in the 18th and 19th centuries there were Series A notes for £1 and £2.
20th and 21st centuries.
The Bank of England's first issue of 10/– and £1 notes in the 20th century was on 22 November 1928 when it took over responsibility for these denominations from the Treasury. The Treasury had issued notes of these denominations at the start of the First World War in 1914 in order to supplant the sovereign and half-sovereign and remove gold coins from circulation. The notes issued by the Bank of England in 1928 were the first coloured banknotes and also the first notes to be printed on both sides.
The Second World War saw a reversal in the trend of warfare creating more notes when, in order to combat forgery, higher denomination notes (at the time as high as £1,000) were removed from circulation.
Until her death in 2022, Queen Elizabeth II had appeared on all the notes issued since Series C in 1960. The custom of depicting historical figures on the reverse began in 1970 with Series D, designed by the Bank of England's first permanent artist, Harry Eccleston.
Denominations.
Banknotes in various denominations have been issued over time. The denominations are listed in this table, using information from the Bank of England's Withdrawn Banknotes Reference Guide:
10/–.
The Bank of England's first 10 shilling (10/-) note, which was issued on 22 November 1928, featured a vignette of Britannia, a feature of the Bank's notes since 1694. The predominant colour was red-brown. Unlike previous notes it, and the contemporaneous £1 note, were not dated but their approximate year of issue can be identified by the signature of the Chief Cashier of the time. In 1940 a metal security thread was introduced, and the colour of the note was changed to mauve for the duration of the Second World War. The original design of the note was replaced by the Series C design on 12 October 1961, when Queen Elizabeth II agreed to allow the use of her portrait on the notes.
As part of the planned Series D, which introduced historical figures, a new 10 shilling note featuring Sir Walter Raleigh was planned. This was to be issued as a 50 pence note in anticipation of the decimalisation of Britain's currency in 1971. However, inflation, particularly after the 1967 sterling devaluation, was eroding the note's lifespan in circulation and it was decided to replace it with a 50 pence coin, which was first issued in 1969. The 10 shilling note was withdrawn from circulation on 20 November 1970.
£1.

The first Bank of England £1 note was issued on 2 March 1797 under the direction of Thomas Raikes, Governor of the Bank of England, and according to the orders of the government of William Pitt the Younger, in response to the need for smaller denomination banknotes to replace gold coin during the French Revolutionary Wars.
The Bank of England's first £1 note since 1845 was issued on 22 November 1928. This note featured a vignette of Britannia, a feature of the Bank's notes since 1694. The predominant colour was green. Unlike previous notes it, and the contemporaneous ten shilling note, were not dated but their approximate year of issue can be identified by the signature of the Chief Cashier of the time. In 1940 a metal security thread was introduced, and the colour of the note was changed to blue and pink for the duration of the Second World War, to combat German counterfeits (see below).
The original design of the note was replaced by the Series C design on 17 March 1960, when Queen Elizabeth II agreed to allow the use of her portrait on the notes. The Series C £1 note was withdrawn on 31 May 1979. On 9 February 1978 the Series D design (known as the "Pictorial Series"), featuring Sir Isaac Newton on the reverse, was issued. However, like the 10/– note in the 1960s, inflation was quickly making production of the note uneconomic and printing was discontinued in favour of a coin. The note was withdrawn from circulation on 11 March 1988.
£5.
The first Bank of England £5 note was issued in 1793 in response to the need for smaller denomination banknotes to replace gold coin during the French Revolutionary Wars. (Previously the smallest note issued had been £10.) The 1793 design, latterly known as the "white fiver" (black printing on white paper), remained in circulation essentially unchanged until 21 February 1957 when the multicoloured (although predominantly dark blue) "Series B" note, depicting the helmeted Britannia, was introduced. The old "white fiver" was withdrawn on 13 March 1961.
The Series B note was replaced in turn on 21 February 1963 by the Series C £5 note which for the first time introduced the portrait of the monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, to the £5 note (the Queen's portrait having first appeared on the Series C ten shilling and £1 notes issued in 1960). The Series C £5 note was withdrawn on 31 August 1973.
On 11 November 1971, the Series D pictorial £5 note was issued, showing a slightly older portrait of the Queen and a battle scene featuring the Duke of Wellington on the reverse. It was withdrawn on 29 November 1991.
On 7 June 1990, the Series E £5 note, by now the smallest denomination issued by the Bank, was issued. For the Series E note (known as the "Historical Series") the denomination's colour was changed to a turquoise blue, and the note incorporated design elements to make photocopying and computer reproduction of it more difficult. Initially the reverse of the Series E £5 note featured the railway engineer George Stephenson, but on 21 May 2002 a new Series E note, in a green colour and featuring the prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, was issued.
The initial printing of several million Stephenson notes was destroyed when it was noticed that the wrong year for his death had been printed. The original issue of the Fry banknote was withdrawn after it was found the ink on the serial number could be rubbed off the surface of the note; these notes are now very rare and sought by collectors. The Stephenson £5 note was withdrawn as legal tender from 21 November 2003, at which time it formed around 54 million of the 211 million £5 notes in circulation.
A newly designed £5 note, featuring Winston Churchill, was introduced on 13 September 2016.
£10.
The first Bank of England £10 note was issued in 1759, when the Seven Years' War caused severe gold shortages. It ceased to be produced in 1943, during the Second World War. A string of devaluations through the late 1940s and 1950s meant increased demand for notes of higher values than £5 and, on 21 February 1964, a new brown-coloured note was issued in the Series C design. This Series C note was withdrawn on 31 May 1979.
The Series D pictorial note appeared on 20 February 1975, featuring nurse and public health pioneer Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) on the reverse, plus a scene showing her work at the army hospital in Scutari during the Crimean War. It was withdrawn on 20 May 1994.
On 29 April 1992, a new £10 note in Series E, with orange rather than brown as the dominant colour, was issued. The reverse featured author Charles Dickens and a scene from "The Pickwick Papers". This note was withdrawn from circulation on 31 July 2003. A second Series E note was issued on 7 November 2000 featuring naturalist and biologist Charles Darwin, "HMS Beagle", a hummingbird, and flowers under a magnifying glass, illustrating the "Origin of Species". The hummingbird's inclusion was criticised, since Darwin's ideas were spurred by finches and mockingbirds, not hummingbirds.
A newly designed £10 banknote, featuring early 19th-century novelist Jane Austen, was issued on 14 September 2017. The decision to replace Darwin with Austen followed a campaign to have a woman on the back of a Bank of England banknote when it was announced that the only woman to feature on the back of a note — prison reformer Elizabeth Fry on the £5 note — was to be replaced by Winston Churchill. Like the £5 note featuring Churchill, the new £10 note is made from polymer rather than cotton paper.
£20.
£20 notes, in white, appeared in 1725 and continued to be issued until 1943. They ceased to be legal tender in 1945.
After the 1967 sterling devaluation increased demand for a higher denomination notes than £10, the Series D £20 note was introduced on 9 July 1970. The note was predominantly purple and featuring a statue of William Shakespeare and the balcony scene from "Romeo and Juliet" on its reverse. On 5 June 1991 this note was replaced by the first Series E £20 note, featuring the physicist Michael Faraday and the Royal Institution lectures. By 1999 this note had been extensively counterfeited, and therefore it became the first denomination to be replaced on 22 June 1999 by a second Series E design, featuring a bolder denomination figure at the top left of the obverse side, and a reverse side featuring the composer Sir Edward Elgar and Worcester Cathedral.
In February 2006, the Bank announced a new design for the note which featured Scottish economist Adam Smith with a drawing of a pin factory – the institution which supposedly inspired his theory of economics. Smith is the first Scot to appear on a Bank of England note, although the economist has already appeared on Scottish Clydesdale Bank £50 notes. The design of the £20 note was controversial for two reasons: the choice of a Scottish figure on an English note was a break with tradition; and the removal of Elgar took place in the year of the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth, causing a group of English MPs to table a motion in the House of Commons calling for the new design to be delayed. The new note entered circulation on 13 March 2007. The Elgar note ceased to be legal tender on 30 June 2010.
A new polymer £20 note, featuring the artist J. M. W. Turner, was issued in 2020.
£50.
Series A £50 notes appeared in 1725 and continued to be issued until 1943. They ceased to be legal tender in 1945.
The Series D £50 note was released on 20 March 1981 featuring the architect Christopher Wren and the plan of St Paul's Cathedral on the reverse. In 1994 this denomination was the last of the first Series E issue, when the Bank commemorated its 300th birthday by featuring its first governor, Sir John Houblon, on the reverse. The old Series D £50 note was withdrawn from circulation on 20 September 1996.
In May 2009, the Bank of England announced a new design in Series F, featuring James Watt, Matthew Boulton, the Whitbread Engine and Soho Manufactory. It entered circulation on 2 November 2011 and is the first Bank of England note to feature two portraits on the reverse. The predominant colour of this denomination banknote is red. This note includes a security feature not present in the other denominations (though it is by no means the only security feature in any of the notes). The interwoven thread ("Motion") is a hologram whose image of a green circle with a "£" sign alternates with a green "50" as the note is rotated. If the note is rotated, the image appears to move up and down, in the opposite plane to the rotation.
A new polymer £50 note, featuring Alan Turing, was issued on 23 June 2021.
£500.
A £500 note, issued by the Bank of England's Leeds branch in 1936, fetched £24,000 at auction in 2023.
£500,000.
The Bank of England held money on behalf of other countries and issued Treasury bills to cover such deposits, on Bank of England paper. Examples include a note issued in London on behalf of the Royal Romanian Government on 21 January 1915, payable on 21 January 1916, for £500,000, and a similar Treasury bill, dated 22 April 1927 and payable on 22 April 1928. These exist in private hands as cancelled specimens.
£1,000,000, £10,000,000 and £100,000,000.
The banknotes issued by commercial banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland are required to be backed pound for pound by Bank of England notes. High denomination notes, for £1 million ("Giants") and £100 million ("Titans"), were used for this purpose. They were used only internally within the Bank and were never seen in circulation. They were based on a much older design of banknote, and are A5 and A4 sized respectively. However, the need for these large notes has been obviated by section 217(2)(c) of the Banking Act 2009.
Nine £1 million notes were issued in connection with the Marshall Plan on 30 August 1948, signed by E. E. Bridges, and were used internally as "records of movement", for a six-week period (along with other denominations, with total face value of £300,000,000, corresponding to a loan from the US to help shore up HM Treasury.
These were cancelled on 6 October 1948, and presumably destroyed, except for the £1,000,000 "Number Seven" and "Number Eight" notes (serial numbers 000007 and 000008), which were given to the British and American Treasury Secretaries. These two have been in private hands since 1977, and most recently, the "Number Eight" was auctioned for £69,000. These are "Treasury Notes" issued on Bank of England paper, and they state: "This Treasury note entitles the Bank of England to payment of one million pounds on demand out of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom."
A third note surfaced on the collector market, dated 8 September 2003 and with the serial number R016492; it is signed by Andrew Turnbull, Secretary to the Treasury, and cancelled.
A £10.000,000 Treasury Bill, stamped "cancelled", sold for £17,000 at auction in London on 29 September 2014 by Dix Noonan Webb.
Until 2006, these Treasury Notes were issued by the Bank of England, in the City of London. HM Treasury would manage its cash and ensure that adequate funds were available. London's banks and other financial institutions would bid for these instruments, at a discount, specifying which day the following week they wanted the bills issued. Maturities would be for one, three, six or, theoretically but not practically, twelve months. The tenders were for the face value of the Treasury Notes, less a discount, which represented the interest rate. This system was replaced by a computerised system by the Debt Management Office, an executive agency of the Treasury, and the last Treasury Notes were printed in September 2003.
These notes would often get traded to other banks, so they did circulate; this was done without the Bank of England's knowledge, and the notes would be redeemed by the bank on their date of maturity by the bearer. The circulating nature of the notes led to the City bonds robbery on 2 May 1990, when John Goddard, a messenger for the firm Sheppards, was mugged of £292 million in Treasury bills and certificates of deposit. All but two of these bonds were eventually recovered.
The Bank of England £100,000,000 note, also referred to as Titan, is a non-circulating sterling banknote used to guarantee the value of the notes issued by commercial banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Counterfeited and withdrawn notes.
William Booth, of South Staffordshire, was a notable forger of English banknotes, and was hanged for the crime in 1812. Several of his forgeries and printing plates are in the collection of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
After the start of the World War II in September 1939 the German Operation Bernhard attempted to counterfeit various denominations between £5 and £50. Although the plans were classified, in November Michael Palairet, Britain's ambassador to Greece, got full details of them from a Russian émigré and reported them to London. Although the Bank considered the existing security measures to be sufficient, in 1940 it released emergency notes with different colour schemes and a magnetic security thread running through the paper.
The original plan was to parachute or smuggle the counterfeit notes into Britain in an attempt to destabilise the British economy, but in 1942 Heinrich Himmler decided it was more useful to use the notes to pay German agents operating throughout Europe, and in 1943 they were producing 500,000 notes monthly. Although most fell into Allied hands at the end of the war and were destroyed, forgeries frequently appeared for years afterwards, so all denominations of banknote above £5 were subsequently removed from circulation. The incident is alluded to in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel "Goldfinger".
All banknotes, regardless of when they were withdrawn from circulation, may be presented at the Bank of England where they will be exchanged for current banknotes and coins. In practice, commercial banks will accept most banknotes from their customers and negotiate them with the Bank of England themselves. However, forgeries (including Bernhard notes) will be retained and destroyed by the Bank. If a suspect note is found to be genuine a full refund by cheque will be made. However, it is a criminal offence to knowingly hold or pass a counterfeit bank note without lawful authority or excuse.
Notes.
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Five pounds (British coin)
Commemorative denomination of the pound sterling
The British five pound (£5) coin is a commemorative denomination of sterling coinage. As of October 2022, the obverse of new coins feature the profile of King Charles III. The obverse previously depicted Queen Elizabeth II between the coin's introduction in 1990 and the Queen's death in 2022. Two different portraits of the Queen graced the coin, with the last design by Ian Rank-Broadley being introduced in 1998. The coin has no standard reverse; instead it is altered each year to commemorate important events. Variant obverses have also been used on occasion.
The coin is a continuation of the crown, which after decimalisation became the commemorative twenty-five pence coin. The twenty-five pence was discontinued in 1981 after creating a large coin with such small value became prohibitively expensive. The five pound coin shares the same dimensions as the twenty-five pence coin, and the five shilling coin before it, but has a nominal value twenty times greater.
Five pound coins are legal tender but are intended as souvenirs and are rarely seen in circulation. The coins are sold by the Royal Mint at face value and also, with presentation folders, at a premium to that face value. The vast majority of souvenir crowns were issued as "Brilliant Uncirculated" and were affordable by most collectors. The 2010 coins, with such folders, were sold for £9.95 each. As of 2020 the coin and folder cost £13. Occasionally, to mark special occasions, the Royal Mint issued some crowns only struck in .925 sterling silver to a higher standard, known as "silver proof" and priced at £100 and upwards aimed at serious collectors with deeper pockets.
A £5 memorial crown featuring the image of Charles III was released on 3 October 2022 honouring the life and legacy of his mother Queen Elizabeth II - the UK's longest reigning monarch.
Separate five pound coin designs have also been released in various British crown dependencies and British Overseas Territories. These are outside of the scope of this article and are not listed below.
Design.
Obverse: Queen Elizabeth II.
The designs which have appeared on the five pound coin's reverse are summarised in the table below.
Obverse: King Charles III.
C = Circulating
Coin Sets.
Additionally, the Royal Mint have released a number of five pound coin sets in silver proof quality.
2012 Olympics Set.
A series of 18 commemorative £5 coins were issued to celebrate the London 2012 Olympics.
Queen's Portrait Set.
Four proof coins were released as part of the 2013 "Queen's Portrait" set. These coins feature the four portraits of Elizabeth II that appear on British coins.
The Portrait of Britain Set.
Sixteen silver proof coins have been released as part of the 'Portrait of Britain' set.
The First World War Set.
A series of silver proof coins have been released as part of the 'First World War' set. 36 coins were released as part of this series.
References.
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External links.
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Bank of Scotland £50 note
The Bank of Scotland £50 note is a sterling banknote. It is the second largest of five banknote denominations issued by the Bank of Scotland. The current polymer note, first issued in 2021 bears the image of Walter Scott on the obverse and a vignette of the Falkirk Wheel and The Kelpies on the reverse.
History.
Paper currency was introduced in Scotland immediately following the foundation of the Bank of Scotland in 1695. Early banknotes were monochrome, and printed on one side only. The issuing of banknotes by Scottish banks was regulated by the Banknote (Scotland) Act 1845 until it was superseded by the Banking Act 2009. Though strictly not legal tender in Scotland, Scottish banknotes are nevertheless legal currency and are generally accepted throughout the United Kingdom. Scottish banknotes are fully backed such that holders have the same level of protection as those holding genuine Bank of England notes. The £50 note is currently the second largest of five denominations of banknote issued by the Bank of Scotland.
The Tercentenary series of Bank of Scotland notes was introduced in 1995, and is named for the three hundredth anniversary of the bank's founding, which occurred in that year. Each note features a portrait of Walter Scott on the front. The £50 note has a triangle on the front (other denominations having different shapes) to aid identification for those with impaired vision. The back features an image of The Mound, the location of the bank's headquarters. Each denomination also features a rear design reflecting a certain aspect of Scottish industry and society. On the £50 note the rear design represents Scotland's achievements in art and culture. Three symbols appear on the right-hand side of the rear of the note. These are (from top to bottom) Pallas, goddess of weaving (symbol of the British Linen Bank which merged with the Bank of Scotland in 1971), a saltire with gold bezants (part of the bank's coat of arms), and ship (symbol of the Union Bank of Scotland which merged with the Bank of Scotland in 1955).
The Bridges series of banknotes was introduced in 2007 to replace the Tercentenary series. The size and colour remain is unchanged, and Walter Scott remains on the obverse. The image of The Mound was moved to the front and a new rear design featuring the Falkirk Wheel appears. The text has been updated to a more modern style and new large, raised numerals act as an aid for the partially sighted.
On 1 July 2021, a new polymer £50 note was introduced to replace the paper notes, featuring the Falkirk Wheel and The Kelpies. Unlike the paper note, it is red instead of green.
Designs.
Information taken from The Committee of Scottish Bankers website.
References.
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Five pounds (gold coin)
Gold five pound coin
The five pound British gold coin, also known as a quintuple sovereign, has a nominal value of five pounds sterling. It has been struck intermittently since 1820, though as a circulation coin only in 1887, 1893 and 1902. Through most of its history, it has depicted, on its reverse, Benedetto Pistrucci's portrayal of St George and the Dragon, which has traditionally been used on the sovereign, or one-pound gold coin.
The five-pound piece was one of the original denominations of gold coins authorised as part of the Great Recoinage of 1816. It was not struck until 1820, and then only as a pattern coin. It was issued again in small numbers in 1826, 1829 and 1839, with the last using the well-regarded depiction of Una and the Lion by William Wyon. Although the Una coin was for sale for almost half a century at the Royal Mint, only about 400 are believed to have been struck.
In 1887, it was struck for the first time for circulation, and it was struck also in 1893 and 1902, though few actually circulated; examples struck in 1911 were only available as part of a proof set. In 1887 and 1902 it was struck in very small numbers at the Sydney Mint, with examples bearing its mint mark S. The examples struck in preparation for the coinage of Edward VIII are highly prized; one sold in 2021 for £1,654,000, the highest price paid for a British coin.
Since 1980, the five-pound gold piece has been struck in most years by the Royal Mint for sale to collectors and holders of bullion. Although generally featuring Pistrucci's design, commemorative versions have been issued, such as in 2022, as a memorial following the death of Elizabeth II, featuring the bust of her son and successor, Charles III.
Origins.
The five guinea gold coin started out in 1668 as a coin worth one hundred shillings (five pounds), and was sometimes called a five-pound coin. This was before the fluctuating value of the guinea settled at twenty-one shillings in 1717. According to Richard Lobel, in his "Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins", there is some argument that the five-pound piece issued after the Great Recoinage of 1816 was merely a continuation of the earlier coin, which had last been struck in 1753. However, Lobel separates the two series in his catalogue.
After the Napoleonic Wars, Parliament, by the Coinage Act 1816, placed Britain officially on the gold standard, with the pound to be defined as a given quantity of gold. During parliamentary debate, almost every speaker supported having a coin valued at twenty shillings, rather than continuing to use the guinea. One reason for the introduction of gold coinage based on the sovereign was that its value, equal to one pound sterling, was more convenient than the guinea, equal to twenty-one shillings. Nevertheless, the Coinage Act did not specify which coins the Mint should strike.
A committee of the Privy Council recommended gold coins of ten shillings, twenty shillings, two pounds and five pounds be issued, and this was accepted by George, Prince Regent on 3August 1816. The twenty-shilling piece was named a sovereign, with the resurrection of the old name possibly promoted by antiquarians with numismatic interests. The sovereign and half sovereign were both first issued in 1817, but there was initially no striking of the two larger coins. Since 1754, there had been no issuance of coins more valuable than a guinea intended for general circulation; the need for higher value tender had been met by bank notes. The St George and the dragon design was suggested as an appropriate motif for the sovereign by its creator, Benedetto Pistrucci, based on a cameo he had carved.
Early issues.
The first striking of the five-pound denomination after the coinage reform was in 1820 as a pattern coin, depicting George III (r. 1760 – 1820). The obverse shows the right-facing bust of the king with the legend (transl. George III by the grace of God king of the Britains, defender of the faith) and the date, while the reverse shows Pistrucci's George and dragon design with no legend or date. This design had first appeared on the sovereign in 1817, surrounded by a Garter. The design has Pistrucci's surname at the lower left, with the initials of the master of the Mint, William Wellesley-Pole, near the broken spear.
Lobel, in describing the 1820 five-pound piece, noted that on a copy of G. F. Crowther's 1887 book, "A Guide to English Pattern Coins" presented to an unknown person with the publisher's compliments, there is a pencil notation that work on the 1820 piece was completed a few days before George III's death, and after Pistrucci, walking home on the day the king died, heard church bells announcing the demise. He then returned to the Royal Mint and instructed that some five-pound coins be struck the next morning. Lobel described this as a "fascinating episode of numismatic history". The numismatist Edward Hawkins, writing in 1850, also wrote dramatically, describing what he deemed heroic efforts to ensure that the pattern double sovereigns and five-pound coins were actually struck before the king died, but William John Hocking and others have since studied the matter, concluding the coinage dies were not completed until after the king's death on 29 January. The approximately 25 specimens were distributed among Royal Mint officials, prominent numismatists and other important people of the day, as well as given to the Royal Mint and British Museum. One sold in October 2021 for about £635,000.
The next appearance of the denomination was in the reign of George IV (r. 1820 – 1830), in 1826, included in the proof set of that year. One piece is known dated 1829. The obverse shows the left-facing bust of the king with the legend (transl. George IV by the grace of God) while the reverse shows a crowned shield within a mantle cape with the legend (transl. King of the Britains, defender of the faith). The 1826 coin has the edge inscription (transl. An ornament and a safeguard; seventh year of the reign), while the 1829 coin has a plain edge. No five-pound coins were issued during the reign of William IV (r. 1830 – 1837).
Victoria five-pound coins.
The next coin of this value did not appear until early in the reign of Queen Victoria (r. 1837 – 1901), when what Lobel deems one of the most famous and attractive of all British coins was produced. This piece, known as the "Una and the Lion" coin, is described by him as having "cult status". Una and the Lion appear in Edmund Spenser's 16th century epic "The Faerie Queene". The obverse shows the young head of the queen, facing left with the legend (transl. Victoria by the grace of God queen of the Britains, defender of the faith), while the reverse shows her as Una leading the lion to the left, with the legend (transl. O Lord, direct my steps), though some coins say (transl. The Lord directs my steps) with the date MDCCCXXXIX (1839) in the exergue under the lion. The edge may either have the inscription (transl. an ornament and a safeguard; in the third year of the reign) or be plain. These coins were struck on demand and were sold by the Royal Mint until 1886; there are a number of varieties and a total mintage of perhaps 400. A specimen in exceptional condition sold in 2021 for US$1.44 million (£1.04 million).
Pistrucci's George and dragon depiction returned to the five-pound coin in 1887, as part of the Jubilee coinage, with an obverse by Joseph Boehm. The new coin bears the wording (transl. Victoria by the grace of God queen of the Britains, defender of the faith). The abbreviated form of is rendered as rather than with a single "T": Gladstone, a classical scholar as well as a politician, had pointed out that the abbreviation of a Latin plural noun should end with a doubled consonant.
The 1887 five-pound coin marked the first time that the denomination was available to the public at its face value; previous issues had been pattern or proof coins. In addition to those available for purchase at face value, proof coins were struck as part of the 1887 proof set. The five-pound and two-pound pieces did not circulate to any great extent, and were kept primarily as souvenirs. Nevertheless, the 1887 issue made the five-pound piece the highest-denomination circulating coin in Britain. A few of the 1887 five-pound coins were struck at the Sydney Mint and bear its mint mark "S" on the reverse. This is an extreme rarity, with only two being known in private hands – one sold in 2021 for US$660,000 (£480,000).
The Pistrucci reverse was used again in 1893, when the obverse used the "Old Head" or "Veiled Head" of the queen, with the legend (transl. Victoria, by the grace of God queen of the Britains, defender of the faith, empress of India), and the edge, like that of the Jubilee issue, is milled. Victoria had been lobbying since 1888 for her title as empress of India, granted by the Royal Titles Act 1876, to be included on the coinage, and on 12 February 1892, the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, wrote to her, "Your Majesty's Servants are of opinion that the title of Empress of India, indicating, as it does, Your Majesty's relation to far the larger portion of Your subjects, ought to appear on the coin, in the shape of the letters 'Ind Imp' or 'I.I.' or some such abbreviation." , short for (transl. empress of India), thus appears on the 1893 issue, which was available both at face value and as part of a proof set.
Early 20th-century five-pound coins.
Following the death of Queen Victoria in January 1901, preparations began for the coinage of her son and successor, Edward VII (r. 1901 – 1910), and a five-pound coin, with an obverse by George William de Saulles, was made current by proclamation dated 1 January 1902. The Royal Mint had decided to make as few changes as possible for King Edward's coinage, and the Pistrucci reverse continued for the gold coins. Five-pound coins were issued both at face value and in the proof sets issued to commemorate the coronation of Edward VII. The legend on the obverse reads (transl. Edward VII, by the grace of God king of all the Britains, defender of the faith, emperor of India). The word (short for , lit. 'of all'), was added after "BRITT" in recognition of the empire's assistance during the Boer War, these words last appeared on British coinage in 1953. During Edward's reign, five-pound coins were only struck in 1902. A small number of coins, with the mint mark "S", were struck in 1902 at Sydney, and are extremely rare.
Five-pound coins dated 1911 were struck as part of the coronation proof sets that year for George V (r. 1910 – 1936), but for uncertain reasons, no ordinary, non-proof specimens were coined. This was the only issuance of five-pound coins during that reign. These coins featured a bust of King George by Bertram Mackennal, Pistrucci's reverse and a legend that was unaltered except to substitute the name of the king, rendered as .
Following the death of King George in 1936, preparations began for the coinage of his son and successor, Edward VIII (r. 1936 – 1936). The new king wanted his profile to face left on the new coinage, the same way as his father, which would break a tradition to reverse the direction on the commencement of a new reign which dated back to 1660. Following extensive correspondence between the king and the chancellor of the exchequer, Neville Chamberlain, Edward got his way, and pattern coins bearing a left-facing bust of the king by Thomas Humphrey Paget were struck. The Pistrucci reverse was used, but the king's abdication in December 1936 ended the preparations. Edward later requested a set of the pattern coins prepared for him, but was refused by his brother and successor, George VI (r. 1936 – 1952). Edward's five-pound coin is extremely rare, with only two known to be in private hands, of which one sold in 2021 for US$2,280,000 (£1,654,000), a record for a British coin. The legend on Edward's five-pound piece was identical to that of the previous reign but for the name and date; only a similar change was made for George VI, whose five-pound coin features a left-facing bust by Paget and the Pistrucci reverse. This was only struck in 1937, with a plain edge, as part of the coronation proof sets. None were issued for general circulation; but gold had vanished from circulation in Britain twenty years previously.
Elizabeth II and Charles III.
The reign of Queen Elizabeth II (r. 1952 – 2022) saw a departure from the normal practice in issuing gold coinage, in which the four denominations of gold coins (the half sovereign, sovereign, double sovereign and five-pound piece) were available to the public in the coronation year. A small number of gold £5 pieces were struck in 1953, the year of Elizabeth's coronation, in order to provide continuity of the series, and again in 1957, with an obverse depicting Elizabeth by Mary Gillick and the Pistrucci reverse, but neither of these strikings were released to the public. The 1953 strikings bore an obverse legend of (transl. Elizabeth II by the grace of God queen of all the Britains, defender of the faith) but this was changed for 1957, removing (transl. of all the Britains). This change was made to acknowledge the evolving British Commonwealth, which by then contained some republics. The resulting wording continued to be used on Elizabeth's coinage, with variations in the abbreviations.
No further £5 gold pieces were struck until 1980, nine years after decimalisation. The Royal Mint realised there was a market for sovereign coins, and began to sell them to collectors at well over face or bullion value. Beginning in 1980, five-pound gold coins were sold every year, except 1983, sometimes in a four-piece proof set with the half sovereign, sovereign and double sovereign, and sometimes sold individually. The pieces sold individually were in uncirculated, rather than proof, condition, and display an encircled "U" to the left of the date. Pieces up to 1984 used an obverse portrait of Elizabeth by Arnold Machin, and later ones up to 1997 by Raphael Maklouf, excepting the 1989 issue, which featured special designs by Bernard Sindall in honour of the 500th anniversary of the sovereign coin.
From 1998, a new obverse portrait of Elizabeth by Ian Rank-Broadley was used on the five-pound piece. This was used up to 2015. The Pistrucci design continued on the reverse, except in 2002, 2005 and 2012, when commemorative designs were used instead. The special designs for the reverse which were substituted for Pistrucci's were for Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee in 2002 (by Timothy Noad, depicting a crowned shield within a wreath), in 2005 (a more modern interpretation of the George and dragon, also by Noad) and in 2012 for Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee (another modern interpretation of the George and dragon, by Paul Day). Beginning in 2009, the Pistrucci reverse for the five-pound coin was revised to closely resemble the denomination's original 1820 pattern coin, with the designer's last name in full to the left of the date, and a broader rim to the coin.
Beginning with some 2015 issues, an obverse portrait of Elizabeth by Jody Clark was used, though in 2016, some coins bore a different portrait of the queen by James Butler. In 2017, a version with the original, 1817 sovereign design was struck. This was for the 200th anniversary of the modern sovereign.
In 2022, the Royal Mint struck five-pound coins with a reverse design by Noad showing an interpretation of the Royal Arms. This design, used for the sovereign and its multiples and fractions, was to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Later in the year, following the death of Elizabeth II, the Royal Mint issued memorial coins in the sovereign range, including the five-pound coin, featuring an interpretation of the Royal Arms by Clark as the reverse, and for the obverse, the first coinage portrait of Elizabeth's successor, Charles III (r. 2022– ), by Martin Jennings. In addition to a left-facing bust of Charles, the obverse carried the wording (transl. Charles III by the grace of God king, defender of the faith). In 2023, a five-pound piece commemorating the coronation of Charles III was struck, with the obverse a crowned portrait of the king by Jennings and the reverse the Pistrucci George and dragon. For 2024, Jennings' uncrowned portrait of Charles was paired with Pistrucci's reverse on each of the five sovereign denominations struck in proof, from the quarter sovereign to the five-pound piece. For 2025, the five-sovereign piece featured Jean Baptiste Merlen's Royal Arms reverse, first used on the sovereign in 1825, for its 200th anniversary.
References.
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Bibliography.
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The Royal Bank of Scotland £5 note
Sterling banknote
The Royal Bank of Scotland £5 note, also known as a fiver, is a sterling banknote. It is the second smallest denomination of banknote issued by The Royal Bank of Scotland. The current polymer note, first issued in 2016, bears an image of author Nan Shepherd on the obverse and a pair of mackerel on the reverse.
History.
The Royal Bank of Scotland began issuing £5 notes in 1727, the same year as the bank's founding. Early banknotes were monochrome, and printed on one side only. The issuing of banknotes by Scottish banks was regulated by the Banknote (Scotland) Act 1845 until it was superseded by the Banking Act 2009. Though strictly not legal tender in Scotland, Scottish banknotes are nevertheless legal currency and are generally accepted throughout the United Kingdom. Scottish banknotes are fully backed such that holders have the same level of protection as those holding genuine Bank of England notes. The £5 note is currently the second smallest denomination of banknote issued by The Royal Bank of Scotland.
Scottish banknotes are not withdrawn in the same manner as Bank of England notes, and therefore several different versions of the Royal Bank of Scotland five pound note may be encountered, although the Committee of Scottish Bankers encouraged the public to spend or exchange older, non-polymer five pound notes before 1 March 2018.
The Ilay series of banknotes was first issued in 1987. These banknotes feature a portrait of Lord Ilay, first governor of the bank, on the front. Lord Ilay's image is also used as a watermark on the notes. Other design elements include the bank's coat of arms and logo, the facade of Dundas House, the bank's headquarters in Edinburgh, and a pattern representing the ceiling of the headquarters' banking hall. All of the Ilay series notes feature a castle on the back. On the reverse of the £5 note is an image of Culzean Castle. Other versions of the £5 note have been produced since the introduction of the Ilay series to commemorate certain events, including the Queen's Golden Jubilee, the 250th anniversary of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, the 400th anniversary of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and a celebration of the career of American golfer Jack Nicklaus.
In 2015 it was announced that a new polymer £5 note would be issued in the second half of 2016. The new design was unveiled in April 2016, and features a portrait of author Nan Shepherd on the front. Alongside the portrait is an image of the Cairngorms, as well as a quote from Shepherd's book "The Living Mountain". The rear of the note bears an image of two mackerel alongside an excerpt from Sorley MacLean's poem "The Choice".
Designs.
Information taken from The Committee of Scottish Bankers website.
References.
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Bank of Scotland £5 note
Scottish banknote
The Bank of Scotland £5 note, also known informally as a fiver, is a sterling banknote. It is the smallest denomination of banknote issued by the Bank of Scotland. The current polymer note, first issued in October 2016, bears the image of Sir Walter Scott on the obverse and a vignette of the Brig o' Doon on the reverse. The polymer replaces a cotton note also featuring a portrait of Sir Walter Scott.
History.
Paper currency was introduced in Scotland immediately following the foundation of the Bank of Scotland in 1695. Early banknotes were monochrome, and printed on one side only. The issuing of banknotes by Scottish banks was regulated by the Banknote (Scotland) Act 1845 until it was superseded by the Banking Act 2009. Though strictly not legal tender in Scotland, Scottish banknotes are nevertheless legal currency and are generally accepted throughout the United Kingdom. Scottish banknotes are fully backed such that holders have the same level of protection as those holding genuine Bank of England notes. The £5 note is currently the smallest denomination of banknote issued by the Bank of Scotland.
Scottish banknotes are not withdrawn in the same manner as Bank of England notes, and therefore several different versions of the Bank of Scotland five pound note may be encountered, although the Committee of Scottish Bankers encouraged the public to spend or exchange older, non-polymer five pound notes before 1 March 2018.
The Tercentenary series of Bank of Scotland notes was introduced in 1995, and was named for the three hundredth anniversary of the bank's founding, which occurred in that year. Each note featured a portrait of Walter Scott on the front. The £5 note had a circle on the front (other denominations having different shapes) to aid identification for those with impaired vision. The back featured an image of The Mound, the location of the bank's headquarters. Each denomination also featured a rear design reflecting a certain aspect of Scottish industry and society. On the £5 note the rear design represented the oil and energy industry. Three symbols appeared on the right-hand side of the rear of the note. These are (from top to bottom) Pallas, goddess of weaving (symbol of the British Linen Bank which merged with the Bank of Scotland in 1971), a saltire with gold bezants (part of the bank's coat of arms), and ship (symbol of the Union Bank of Scotland which merged with the Bank of Scotland in 1955).
The Bridges series of banknotes was introduced in 2007 to replace the Tercentenary series. The size and colour remain was unchanged, and Walter Scott remained on the obverse. The image of The Mound was moved to the front and a new rear design featuring the Brig o' Doon appeared. The text was updated to a more modern style and new large, raised numerals acted as an aid for the partially sighted.
In June 2016 the design was unveiled for a new polymer £5 note, which was available from 4 October onwards. The new note is the same size as the polymer Bank of England £5 note. It continues to feature Walter Scott on the front, and also features The Mound on both sides, appearing alongside the Brig o' Doon on the reverse.
Designs.
Information taken from The Committee of Scottish Bankers website.
References.
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List of people on banknotes
This is a list of people on the banknotes of different countries. The customary design of banknotes in most countries is a portrait of a notable citizen (living and/or deceased) on the front (or "obverse") or on the back (or "reverse") of the banknotes, unless the subject is featured on both sides.
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Albania.
 Currency: Lek (pl. Lekë) (since 1926)Symbol: L
Angola.
 Currency: Kwanza (since 1999)Symbol: Kz
Argentina.
 Currency: Peso (since 1992)Symbol: $
Armenia.
 Currency: Dram (since 1993)Symbol:
Australia.
 Currency: Dollar (since 1966)Symbol: A$
The Bahamas.
 Currency: Dollar (since 1966)Symbol: B$
Bahrain.
 Currency: Dinar (since 1965)
Symbol: BD
Bangladesh.
 Currency: Taka (since 1972)Symbol: ৳
Barbados.
 Currency: Dollar (since 1935)Symbol: $/Bds$
Bhutan.
 Currency: Ngultrum (since 1974)Symbol: Nu
Bolivia.
 Currency: Boliviano (since 1987)Symbol: Bs
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
 Currency: Convertible mark (since 1998)Symbol: KM
Botswana.
 Currency: Pula (since 1976)Symbol: P
Brunei.
 Currency: Dollar (since 1967)Symbol: B$
Bulgaria.
 Currency: Lev (pl. Leva) (since 1881)Symbol: лв
Burundi.
 Currency: Franc (since 1916)Symbol: FBu
Cambodia.
 Currency: Riel (since 1980)Symbol: ៛
Canada.
 Currency: Dollar (since 1867)Symbol: $
Cape Verde.
 Currency: Escudo (since 1914)Symbol:
Chile.
 Currency: Peso (since 1975)Symbol: $
China.
 Currency: Renminbi (since 1948)Symbol: ¥
Colombia.
 Currency: Peso (since 1837)Symbol: $
Comoros.
 Currency: Franc (since 1920)Symbol: CF
Congo, Democratic Republic (Congo-Kinshasa).
 Currency: Franc (since