20 December 2022
|
The Bank of England has unveiled the design of the King Charles III banknotes. The portrait of The King will appear on existing designs of all four polymer banknotes (£5, £10, £20 and £50), with no other changes to the existing designs.
The King’s image will appear on the front of the banknotes, as well as in cameo in the see-through security window.
The new notes are expected to enter circulation by mid-2024.
SIGN UP TO THE FREE NEWSLETTER TODAY and we'll send you coin news, views and coins guides direct to your inbox. It's completely free and a great way to keep up to date with the very latest new coins and enter our latest competitions.
All polymer banknotes carrying a portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II remain legal tender, and the public can continue to use these as normal. In line with guidance from the Royal Household, to minimise the environmental and financial impact of this change, new notes will only be printed to replace worn banknotes and to meet any overall increase in demand for banknotes. Notes featuring HM Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III will therefore co-circulate.
Speaking ahead of the release, Governor Andrew Bailey said:
“I am very proud that the Bank is releasing the design of our new banknotes which will carry a portrait of King Charles III. This is a significant moment, as The King is only the second monarch to feature on our banknotes. People will be able to use these new notes as they start to enter circulation in 2024.”
Although the note designs unveiled today will feature a new portrait of the monarch, the reverse side of each note remains unchanged. Therefore these notes can be checked using the same security features as existing HM Elizabeth II banknotes.
The current series of banknotes (series G) features the following characters in the designs:
- £5 – Winston Churchill
- £10 – Jane Austen
- £20 JMW Turner
- £50 – Alan Turing
