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Bank of England £50 note

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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.[note 1] The current note, the second of this denomination to be printed in polymer, entered circulation on 5 June 2024.[1] It bears the images of King Charles III and late Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and computer scientist and World War II codebreaker Alan Turing on the reverse, with his birth date reflecting the release date.[2][3] 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.

Fifty pounds
(United Kingdom)
Value£50 sterling
Width146 mm
Height77 mm
Security featuresSee-through windows the larger one with the King's/Queen's portrait a maroon border on both the front and back, with gold and green foil squares on the front and silver foil squares on the back, the image squares on the front changes between a '50' and a '£' symbol when the note is tilted, second smaller window at the bottom right corner, raised dots, finely detailed shaped red metallic shape containing the letters 'A' and 'T', turquoise, lilac and pink foil patch with a 3D image of the Coronation Crown, micro-lettering, textured print, UV feature, hologram
Material usedPolymer
Years of printing1725–1943;
1981–1994;
1994–2011;
2011–2021;
2021–2022
2023–present (current design)
Obverse
DesignKing Charles III
Design date5 June 2024
Reverse
DesignAlan Turing
DesignerElliott & Fry
Design date5 June 2024

History

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£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.[4]

 
A £50 note, issued in 1934

The ability to redeem banknotes for gold ceased in 1931 when Britain stopped using the gold standard.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6][7] 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.[8] It is the first Bank of England banknote to feature two people on the reverse,[9] 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.[2]

 
The image of Alan Turing was selected by the Bank of England in 2019.

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.[2][10][11][12]

Use and future

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As of 2019, the £50 note was not widely used in the UK.[13] Its lack of common handling has led to some retailers refusing it for payment.[14]

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.[15][16]

Designs

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Note First issued Last issued Ceased to be legal tender Colour Size Design Additional information
White 1725 1943 16 April 1945 Monochrome (printed on one side only) 211 × 133 mm (may vary)
Series D 20 March 1981 1994 20 September 1996 Predominantly olive green 169 × 95 mm Front: Queen Elizabeth II; Back: Christopher Wren First £50 note to carry a portrait of a monarch and used a "windowed" security thread (July 1988 onwards)
Series E 20 April 1994 2011 30 April 2014 Predominantly red 156 × 85 mm Front: Queen Elizabeth II; Back: John Houblon Foil patch for additional security
Series F 2 November 2011 2021 30 September 2022 Front: Queen Elizabeth II; Back: Matthew Boulton and James Watt
Series G (I) 23 June 2021 2022 146 × 77 mm Front: Queen Elizabeth II; Back: Alan Turing Final Series G Polymer issued, Also final note issued to feature the late Queen Elizabeth II.[2]
Series G (II) 5 June 2024[17] 146 × 77 mm Front: King Charles III; Back: Alan Turing First King Charles III notes

Information taken from Bank of England website.[4][5]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The Bank of England issues plain notes in the values of £1 million and £100 million for internal use.

References

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  1. ^ "The new £50 note unveiled" (Press release). Bank of England. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "New face of the Bank of England's £50 note is revealed". BBC News. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Introducing the new £50 note". Bank of England. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "A brief history of banknotes". Bank of England. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Withdrawn banknotes reference guide". Bank of England. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Steam engine heroes grace new £50 banknote". Channel 4 News. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  7. ^ "£50 Note – Design Features". Bank of England. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  8. ^ "£50 Note – Security Features". Bank of England. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  9. ^ "New £50 banknote in circulation". BBC News. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  10. ^ Peachey, Kevin (2 September 2015). "Paper banknotes disappearing fast as £20 turns plastic". BBC News. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  11. ^ "The £50 note is changing and here's why". BBC News. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  12. ^ "Alan Turing to be the face of new £50 note". Bank of England. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  13. ^ When most people never see a £50 note, why have it?. BBC News. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  14. ^ One pound coin: What is legal tender - and why can shops refuse your cash?. Yahoo! Finance. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Ban £50 notes to tackle crime, ex-bank chief says". BBC News. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  16. ^ Wilkinson, Michael (8 February 2016). "Scrap £50 notes to stop plumbers and builders avoiding tax, urges government adviser". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  17. ^ "King Charles banknotes to enter circulation in June". BBC News. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
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