Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Banknotes of the pound sterling
The pound sterling (symbol: £; ISO 4217 currency code: GBP) is the official currency of the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Tristan da Cunha. The Bank of England has a legal monopoly of banknote issuance in England and Wales. Six other banks (three in Scotland and three in Northern Ireland) also issue their own banknotes as provisioned by the Banking Act 2009, but the law requires that the issuing banks hold a sum of Bank of England banknotes (or gold) equivalent to the total value of notes issued.
Versions of the pound sterling issued by Crown dependencies and other areas are regulated by their local governments and not by the Bank of England. Four British Overseas Territories (Gibraltar, Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the Falkland Islands) also have currencies called pounds which are at par with the pound sterling. Pound sterling paper banknotes were the first to be issued in Europe, printed and circulated by the Bank of Scotland in 1696.
The pound sterling banknotes in current circulation consist of Series G Bank of England notes in denominations of £5, £10, £20 and £50. The obverse of these banknotes issued through 4 June 2024 feature the portrait of Elizabeth II originally introduced in 1990. Starting on 5 June 2024, the Bank of England began issuing notes featuring a portrait of Charles III, which will circulate alongside the Elizabeth II notes and gradually replace them. Select banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland also issue their own banknotes at par with Bank of England issues. Scottish and Northern Irish notes, which are not legal tender but are promissory notes, are occasionally rejected as payment in England by merchants unfamiliar with them, and are likely difficult or impossible to exchange outside Britain.
Until the middle of the 19th century, privately owned banks in Great Britain and Ireland were free to issue their own banknotes. Paper currency issued by a wide range of provincial and town banking companies in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland circulated freely as a means of payment.
As gold shortages affected the supply of money, note-issuing powers of the banks were gradually restricted by various acts of Parliament, until the Bank Charter Act 1844 gave exclusive note-issuing powers to the central Bank of England. Under the act, no new banks could start issuing notes; and note-issuing banks gradually vanished through mergers and closures. The last private English banknotes were issued in 1921 by Fox, Fowler and Company, a Somerset bank.
However, some of the monopoly provisions of the Bank Charter Act 1844 only applied to England and Wales. The Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845 was passed the following year, and to this day, three retail banks retain the right to issue their own sterling banknotes in Scotland, and four in Northern Ireland. Notes issued in excess of the value of notes outstanding in 1844 (1845 in Scotland) must be backed up by an equivalent value of Bank of England notes.
Following the partition of Ireland, the Irish Free State created an Irish pound in 1928; the new currency was pegged to sterling until 1979. The issue of banknotes for the Irish pound fell under the authority of the Currency Commission of the Republic of Ireland, which set about replacing the private banknotes with a single Consolidated Banknote Issue in 1928. In 1928, the Currency and Bank Notes Act 1928 reduced the fiduciary limit for Irish-bank issued sterling banknotes circulating in Northern Ireland to take account of the reduced size of the territory concerned.[citation needed]
Elizabeth II was not the first British monarch to have her face on UK banknotes. George II, George III and George IV appeared on early Royal Bank of Scotland notes and George V appeared on 10/– and £1 notes issued by the British Treasury between 1914 and 1928. However, prior to the issue of its Series C banknotes in 1960, Bank of England banknotes generally did not depict the monarch. Today,[when?] notes issued by Scottish and Northern Irish banks do not depict the monarch.
Hub AI
Banknotes of the pound sterling AI simulator
(@Banknotes of the pound sterling_simulator)
Banknotes of the pound sterling
The pound sterling (symbol: £; ISO 4217 currency code: GBP) is the official currency of the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Tristan da Cunha. The Bank of England has a legal monopoly of banknote issuance in England and Wales. Six other banks (three in Scotland and three in Northern Ireland) also issue their own banknotes as provisioned by the Banking Act 2009, but the law requires that the issuing banks hold a sum of Bank of England banknotes (or gold) equivalent to the total value of notes issued.
Versions of the pound sterling issued by Crown dependencies and other areas are regulated by their local governments and not by the Bank of England. Four British Overseas Territories (Gibraltar, Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the Falkland Islands) also have currencies called pounds which are at par with the pound sterling. Pound sterling paper banknotes were the first to be issued in Europe, printed and circulated by the Bank of Scotland in 1696.
The pound sterling banknotes in current circulation consist of Series G Bank of England notes in denominations of £5, £10, £20 and £50. The obverse of these banknotes issued through 4 June 2024 feature the portrait of Elizabeth II originally introduced in 1990. Starting on 5 June 2024, the Bank of England began issuing notes featuring a portrait of Charles III, which will circulate alongside the Elizabeth II notes and gradually replace them. Select banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland also issue their own banknotes at par with Bank of England issues. Scottish and Northern Irish notes, which are not legal tender but are promissory notes, are occasionally rejected as payment in England by merchants unfamiliar with them, and are likely difficult or impossible to exchange outside Britain.
Until the middle of the 19th century, privately owned banks in Great Britain and Ireland were free to issue their own banknotes. Paper currency issued by a wide range of provincial and town banking companies in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland circulated freely as a means of payment.
As gold shortages affected the supply of money, note-issuing powers of the banks were gradually restricted by various acts of Parliament, until the Bank Charter Act 1844 gave exclusive note-issuing powers to the central Bank of England. Under the act, no new banks could start issuing notes; and note-issuing banks gradually vanished through mergers and closures. The last private English banknotes were issued in 1921 by Fox, Fowler and Company, a Somerset bank.
However, some of the monopoly provisions of the Bank Charter Act 1844 only applied to England and Wales. The Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845 was passed the following year, and to this day, three retail banks retain the right to issue their own sterling banknotes in Scotland, and four in Northern Ireland. Notes issued in excess of the value of notes outstanding in 1844 (1845 in Scotland) must be backed up by an equivalent value of Bank of England notes.
Following the partition of Ireland, the Irish Free State created an Irish pound in 1928; the new currency was pegged to sterling until 1979. The issue of banknotes for the Irish pound fell under the authority of the Currency Commission of the Republic of Ireland, which set about replacing the private banknotes with a single Consolidated Banknote Issue in 1928. In 1928, the Currency and Bank Notes Act 1928 reduced the fiduciary limit for Irish-bank issued sterling banknotes circulating in Northern Ireland to take account of the reduced size of the territory concerned.[citation needed]
Elizabeth II was not the first British monarch to have her face on UK banknotes. George II, George III and George IV appeared on early Royal Bank of Scotland notes and George V appeared on 10/– and £1 notes issued by the British Treasury between 1914 and 1928. However, prior to the issue of its Series C banknotes in 1960, Bank of England banknotes generally did not depict the monarch. Today,[when?] notes issued by Scottish and Northern Irish banks do not depict the monarch.