View source for Banknotes of the pound sterling

{{Dark mode problems}}
{{Short description|none}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox
| name             = Banknotes of the pound sterling
| title            = Banknotes of the pound sterling
| headerstyle      = background:#ccf;
| data1            = {{Image array
| perrow = 2
| width = 140
| height = 140
| border-width = 0
| image1 = Pound sterling note selection.png| caption1 = Pound sterling banknotes
| alt1 = A selection of sterling banknotes
| image2 = Sterling area.svg | caption2 = The UK and Crown dependencies (red) and [[BOTs|overseas territories]] (blue) using the pound or their local issue
| alt2 = Map of the British Islands and overseas territories
}}
| header2          = [[ISO 4217]]
| label3           = Code
| data3            = GBP
| header4          = Denominations
| data5            = {{Infobox | subbox = yes
    | headerstyle = background:none;
     |  label6 = [[Currency symbol]]  
     |   data6 = [[Pound sign|£]]
     |  label7  = Subunit
     |   data7  = [[Penny (British decimal coin)|p]] (penny)<br />(1/100) 
    | header9 = Banknotes
     |  label10 = Freq. used    |   data10 = £5, £10, £20, £50
     |  label11 = Rarely used    |   data11 = {{ubl|£1 (not used by the Bank of England, Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, or in NI)|£100 (not issued by the Bank of England)}}

|  data12 = Higher valued banknotes do exist, such as the £1,000,000 (Giant) and £100,000,000 (Titan), however, usage is restricted<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/museum/exhibitions/securitybydesign.pdf|publisher=Bank of England|title=Security by Design|access-date=27 March 2008|year=2007}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}– such as through backing Scottish and Northern Ireland banknotes<ref>{{cite news|last=Bowlby|first=Chris|title=Britain's £1m and £100m banknotes|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21145103|work=BBC News|access-date=22 May 2014}}</ref>

   }}
| header23         = Demographics
| label23          = Users
| data24           = England, [[Scotland]], [[Northern Ireland]], [[Jersey]], [[Guernsey]], [[Isle of Man]]
| data25           = [[British Antarctic Territory]], [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands]], [[St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha]] ([[Tristan da Cunha]] only), [[Gibraltar]]
| header14         = Issuance
| label15          = [[Central bank]]
| data15           = [[Bank of England]]
| label16          = 
| data16           = {{Infobox | subbox = yes
    | headerstyle = background:none;

    | header17 = Note-issuing banks
         |  label18 = England and Wales
         |   data18 = [[Bank of England note issues|Bank of England]]
         |  label19 = Scotland
         |   data19 = {{ubl|[[Bank of Scotland]]|[[Royal Bank of Scotland]]|[[Clydesdale Bank]]}}
         |  label20 = Northern Ireland
         |   data20 = {{ubl|[[Danske Bank (Northern Ireland)|Northern Bank / Danske Bank]]|[[Ulster Bank]]|[[Bank of Ireland]]}}
         |  label21 = [[Crown dependency|Crown dependencies]]
         |   data21 = {{ubl|[[Guernsey pound|States of Guernsey]]|[[Jersey pound|States of Jersey]]|[[Manx pound|Isle of Man Government]]}}
   }}
| label22          = Printer
| data22           = [[De La Rue]]
| data33           = 
| belowstyle       = 
| below            = 
}}
<!-- There is no need to force the title (or related text) in bold font into the lead paragraph, especially if only descriptive and cannot be used except awkwardly; see MOS:TITLEABSENTBOLD, MOS:REDUNDANCY -->

The [[pound sterling]] (symbol: [[Pound sign|£]]; [[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 ([[Banknotes of Scotland|three in Scotland]] and [[Banknotes of Northern Ireland|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 note issues|Bank of England banknotes]] (or gold) equivalent to the total value of notes issued.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{London Gazette |issue=58254 |date=21 February 2007 |page=2544 }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lloyds Banking Group |url=https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/who-we-are/our-brands/bank-of-scotland.html |website=www.lloydsbankinggroup.com |access-date=9 February 2025}}</ref>

==Currently circulating Bank of England notes==
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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/king-charles-banknotes |title=King Charles III banknotes entered circulation on 5 June 2024 |website=Bank of England |date=5 June 2024 |language=en}}</ref>{{efn-lr|The designs for the circulation of banknotes can be found [https://www.flickr.com/photos/bankofengland/albums/72177720304598718 here] via the Bank of England.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2022/december/king-charles-iii-banknotes-unveiled |title=King Charles III banknotes unveiled |website=Bank of England |date=20 December 2022 |language=en}}</ref>}} 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 note]]s, are occasionally rejected as payment in England by merchants unfamiliar with them, and are likely difficult or impossible to exchange outside Britain.<ref name="bankofengland_faqs" /><ref name="rm-legal-tender">{{cite web| title=Legal Tender Guidelines| url=http://www.royalmint.com/corporate/policies/legal_tender_guidelines.aspx| publisher=[[Royal Mint]]| access-date=8 November 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217182521/http://www.royalmint.com/corporate/policies/legal_tender_guidelines.aspx| archive-date=17 December 2008|url-status = dead}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto;"
! Value !! Dimensions<br />(millimetres)!! colspan="2" | Main colour !! Reverse figure !! Issue date
|-
!colspan="6"| Series G polymer banknotes
|-
|align=center|[[Bank of England £5 note|£5]]{{anchor|10}}
| style="text-align:center;" | 125 × 65
| style="text-align:center; background:#57bdbf;" |
| Turquoise/Blue
| 1941 portrait of [[Winston Churchill]] by [[Yousuf Karsh]], the Elizabeth Tower, and the maze at [[Blenheim Palace]], the quote "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." from [[Blood, toil, tears and sweat|a 1940 speech]] by Churchill, and the [[Nobel Prize]] medal.
| 13 September 2016<ref name="Peachey">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-22306707|title=Sir Winston Churchill to feature on new banknote|date=26 April 2013|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=19 August 2014|author=Peachey, Kevin}}</ref>
|-
|align=center|[[Bank of England £10 note|£10]]{{anchor|20}}
| style="text-align:center;" | 132 × 69
| style="text-align:center; background:#FF5800;" |
| Orange
| Portrait of author [[Jane Austen]] (c. 1810) by James Andrews, based on a portrait by her sister, [[Cassandra Austen|Cassandra]], the quote "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!" from ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'', an illustration of [[Elizabeth Bennet]] and a view of [[Godmersham Park]] in Kent.<ref name="tenhere">{{cite web| url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/news/2017/054.aspx|publisher=Bank of England| title=The new £10 note is here | access-date=14 September 2007 | date=14 September 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170914154531/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/news/2017/054.aspx| archive-date= 14 September 2017 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.thenewten.co.uk/|publisher=Bank of England| title=The New £10 Note | access-date=14 September 2007 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170908132435/https://www.thenewten.co.uk/| archive-date= 8 September 2017 | url-status= live}}</ref>
| 14 September 2017<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer-10-pound-note|title=£10 note|publisher=Bank of England|access-date=16 November 2020}}</ref>
|-
|align=center|[[Bank of England £20 note|£20]]{{anchor|50}}
| style="text-align:center;" | 139 × 73
| style="text-align:center; background: #A020F0;" |
|Purple
|Self-portrait of artist [[J. M. W. Turner]] (c.1799), a version of Turner's ''[[The Fighting Temeraire]]'', the quote "Light is therefore colour" from an 1818 lecture by Turner, and a copy of Turner's signature as made on his will.
| 20 February 2020<ref name=turnerboe>{{cite web|url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer-20-pound-note|title=Polymer £20 note|publisher=Bank of England|access-date=20 February 2020}}</ref>
|-
|align=center|[[Bank of England £50 note|£50]]{{anchor|100}}
| style="text-align:center;" | 146 × 77
| style="text-align:center; background:#ED0A3F;" |
|Red
| 1951 photographic portrait of mathematician and computing science pioneer [[Alan Turing]] with formulae from [[Turing's proof]] and technical drawings for [[Bombe]], the quote "This is only a foretaste of what is to come and only the shadow of what is going to be" from a 1949 interview with ''[[The Times]]'', over a background of [[Pilot ACE]].
| 23 June 2021<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer-50-pound-note|title=The new £50 note|date=7 June 2021|publisher=[[Bank of England]]}}</ref>
|-
|}

==History{{anchor|Issue of Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1797|Issue of Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1799|Issue of Bank Notes (Scotland) (No. 2) Act 1799|Issue of Bank Notes (Scotland) (No. 3) Act 1799}}==
[[File:£1 Gloucester Old Bank note for Charles Evans & James Fell 1814.jpg|thumb|right|An example of a provincial English banknote: a £1 note issued in 1814 by the [[Gloucester Old Bank]]]]
{{see|Bank of England note issues}}

Until the middle of the 19th century, privately owned banks in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|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,<ref name="birminghambank">{{cite web| url= http://www.bmagic.org.uk/objects/1965N221.174| title= One Guinea Banknote, Birmingham Bank| access-date=8 October 2007|work= Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071018174324/http://bmagic.org.uk/objects/1965N221.174| archive-date= 18 October 2007 |url-status = live}}</ref><ref name="swaledale">{{cite web| access-date=8 October 2007| author=Malcolm Lobley FCIB| url= http://www.p-wood.com/articles/swalebank.html| title= the Swaledale and Wensleydale Banking Company| publisher= P-Wood.com| date=November 1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813001320/http://www.p-wood.com/articles/swalebank.html|archive-date=13 August 2009|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name="englishprovincial">{{cite web| url= http://homepage.ntlworld.com/trev.rh/Notes/prov.htm| title= British Provincial Banknotes| pages= 1–6| access-date=8 October 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071119023653/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/trev.rh/Notes/prov.htm| archive-date= 19 November 2007 |url-status = live}}</ref> Wales,<ref name=bbcwales>{{cite web|title=Welsh bank notes|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/galleries/welsh_banks/|work=Wales History|publisher=BBC Cymru/Wales|access-date=27 April 2013}}</ref> Scotland<ref name="bankofscotland">{{cite web| title= Bank of Scotland (1695- )| url= http://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/about_us/company_heritage/BOS_Heritage/bank_of_scotland.asp| access-date= 8 October 2007| publisher= Lloyds Banking Group| archive-date= 29 May 2013| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130529134620/http://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/about_us/company_heritage/BOS_Heritage/bank_of_scotland.asp| url-status= dead}}</ref> and Ireland<ref name=cbi_bulletin>{{cite journal|last=Kelly|first=John|title=The Irish Pound: From Origins to EMU|journal=Central Bank of Ireland Quarterly Bulletin|year=2003|issue=Spring 2003|page=91|url=http://www.centralbank.ie/paycurr/notescoin/history/Documents/spring8.pdf|access-date=27 April 2013|archive-date=27 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327173416/http://www.centralbank.ie/paycurr/notescoin/history/documents/spring8.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 [[Act of Parliament (UK)|acts of Parliament]],<ref name="historyofbanknotes">{{cite web| url= http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/history.htm| title= A brief history of banknotes| access-date=8 October 2007| publisher= Bank of England| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011190051/https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/history.htm|archive-date=11 October 2007|url-status = dead}}</ref> 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.<ref name="historyofbanknotes"/>

However, some of the monopoly provisions of the Bank Charter Act 1844 only applied to [[England and Wales]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ledr.com/bank_act/1844032.htm#11| title=Bank Charter Act 1844, Section XI, "Restriction against Issue of Bank Notes"}}</ref>
The [[Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845]] was passed the following year, and to this day, three [[retail bank]]s retain the right to issue their own sterling banknotes in Scotland, and four in Northern Ireland.<ref name="cscb-legal">{{cite web| access-date=8 October 2007| url=http://www.scotbanks.org.uk/banknote_history.php| title= Banknote History – Legal tender| author=Committee of Scottish Clearing Bankers| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071016092721/http://www.scotbanks.org.uk/banknote_history.php| archive-date= 16 October 2007 |url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+Primary&PageNumber=99&NavFrom=2&parentActiveTextDocId=1031777&ActiveTextDocId=1031777&filesize=50345| title=Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845| publisher=[[UK Statute Law Database]]}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Other_Notes">{{cite web| url= http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/other_notes.htm| title= Other British Notes| access-date=8 October 2007| publisher=Bank of England| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071015034002/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/other_notes.htm| archive-date= 15 October 2007 |url-status = live}}</ref>

Following the [[partition of Ireland]], the [[Irish Free State]] created an [[Irish pound]] in 1928; the new currency was [[Fixed exchange rate|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 [[Banknotes of the Republic of Ireland|Consolidated Banknote Issue]] in 1928.<ref name="irishpound">{{cite web| title= Bank of Ireland Company History| url= http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Bank-of-Ireland-Company-History.html| access-date=8 October 2007| publisher= Funding Universe| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071018150257/http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Bank-of-Ireland-Company-History.html| archive-date= 18 October 2007 |url-status = live}}</ref> 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|date=January 2020}}

[[Elizabeth II]] was not the first British monarch to have her face on UK banknotes. [[George II of Great Britain|George II]], [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]] and [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] appeared on early [[Royal Bank of Scotland]] notes and [[George V of the United Kingdom|George V]] appeared on 10[[Shilling (British coin)|/–]] and £1 notes issued by the British [[HM Treasury|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|date=February 2025}}, notes issued by Scottish and Northern Irish banks do not depict the monarch.

The monarch is depicted on banknotes issued by the [[Crown dependencies]] and on some of those issued by overseas territories.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Key events and acts of Parliament that affected the course of banknote history in Great Britain and Ireland
!Year
!Event
!style="width:10em;"|Extent
!Impact
|-
|1694
|[[Bank of England Act 1694]]
|England & Wales
|Incorporation of the Bank of England.<ref name="historyofbanknotes"/>
|-
|1695
|[[Bank of Scotland Act 1695]]
|Scotland
|Creation of the Bank of Scotland, principally as a trading bank.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}
|-
|1696
|First banknotes issued by the Bank of Scotland
|Scotland
|The first sterling notes issued<ref>{{cite book|last=Saville|first=Richard|title=Bank of Scotland: A History, 1695–1995|year=1996|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|location=Edinburgh|isbn=0-7486-0757-9|pages=20–24}}</ref>
|-
|1707
|[[Acts of Union 1707]]
|{{ubl|England & Wales|Scotland}}
|English and Scottish parliaments merged into the [[Parliament of Great Britain]]
|-
|{{ubl|1708|1709}}
| style="white-space:nowrap" |{{ubl|[[Bank of England Act 1708]]|[[Bank of England Act 1709]]}}
|England & Wales
|Prohibition of companies or partnerships of more than six people to set up banks and issue notes, preventing smaller banks from printing their own money.<ref name="historyofbanknotes"/>
|-
|1727
|Chartering of the Royal Bank of Scotland
|Scotland
|Broke the monopoly of the Bank of Scotland, initiated the banking war when the Royal Bank attempted to drive the Bank of Scotland out of business by stockpiling and then presenting its notes for payment.
|-
|1765
|[[Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1765]]
|Scotland
|Prohibited deferred conversion of notes into coin and the issue of notes for values under £1 by banks in Scotland.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scotbanks.org.uk/history/banknote-history.html|title=Banknote History: Early Scottish banknotes|work=cscb|publisher=Committee of Scottish Bankers|access-date=6 February 2018}}</ref>
|-
|1801<ref>The Act of Union was passed in August 1800, but came into force on the following 1 January.</ref>
|[[Act of Union 1800]]
|Great Britain & Ireland
|British and Irish parliaments merged into the Parliament of [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain and Ireland]]
|-
|1826
|[[Country Bankers Act 1826]]
|England & Wales
|Allowed [[Joint-stock company|joint-stock]] banks with more than six partners which were at least 65 miles away from London to print their own money. Bank of England allowed to open branches in major English provincial cities, enabling wider distribution of its notes.<ref name="historyofbanknotes"/>
|-
|1826
| nowrap="nowrap" |{{ubl|[[Bank Notes Act 1826]]|[[Bankers (Scotland) Act 1826]]}}
|Great Britain
|Prohibition of circulation of notes under £5 in England. Attempts to apply this law in Scotland fail after a protest by Sir [[Walter Scott]], and the Scottish £1 note is saved.<ref name="cscb-legal" />
|-
|1833
|[[Bank Notes Act 1833]]
|England & Wales
|Gave Bank of England notes official status as [[legal tender]] for all sums above £5 in England and Wales to guarantee public confidence in the notes even in the event of a gold shortage.<ref name="historyofbanknotes"/>
|-
|1844
|[[Bank Charter Act 1844]]
|UK
|Took away the note-issuing rights of any new banks; existing note-issuing banks barred from expanding their issue. Began the process of giving the Bank of England a monopoly over banknote issue in England and Wales.<ref name="historyofbanknotes"/>
|-
|1845
|[[Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845]]
|Scotland
|Regulated the issue of notes in Scotland; most Scottish banknotes had to be backed by Bank of England notes<ref name="cscb-legal"/>
|-
|1908
|Bank closure
|Wales
|The last private note issuer in Wales, the [[North and South Wales Bank]], loses its note-issuing rights under the 1844 act after it is acquired by [[Midland Bank]].
|-
|1914
|[[Currency and Bank Notes Act 1914]]
|UK
|[[HM Treasury]] given powers to issue banknotes to the values of £1 and 10/– in the UK (ended 1928)
|-
|1921
|Bank closure
|England
|The last private note issuer in England, [[Fox, Fowler and Company]] of Somerset, loses its note-issuing rights under the 1844 act after it is acquired by [[Lloyds Bank (historic)|Lloyds Bank]].<ref name="historyofbanknotes"/>
|-
|1928
|Irish pound established
|Ireland
|Following the [[Partition of Ireland]], the Irish pound is established as a separate currency (at parity with sterling until 1979); Northern Ireland remains within sterling
|-
|1954
|[[Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954]]
|UK
|Extended the Bank Notes Act 1833 to make Bank of England notes under £5 in value legal tender; the act also applied to Scotland, making English 10/– and £1 legal tender for the first time. Bank of England withdrew low-denomination notes in 1969 and 1988, removing legal tender from Scotland.
|-
|2008
|[[Banking Act 2009]]
|UK
|A consequence of the [[2008 financial crisis]], this act altered the rules governing the issue of private banknotes in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and requires commercial issuing banks to hold backing assets to protect the value of their notes in the event of commercial failure of the bank.
|}

==Everyday use and acceptance==
The wide variety of sterling notes in circulation means that acceptance of different sterling banknotes varies. Their acceptance may depend on the experience and understanding of individual retailers, and it is important to understand the idea of "legal tender", which is often misunderstood (see [[#Legal tender|section below]]).

In summary, the various banknotes are used as follows:
=== Bank of England banknotes ===  <!-- ==== is intentional as appropriate for context -->
Most sterling notes are issued by the Bank of England. These are [[legal tender]] in England and Wales.<ref name="bankofengland_faqs">{{cite web| url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/faqs.htm#15| title=Are Scottish & Northern Irish notes legal tender?| access-date=14 October 2007| author = Bank of England- Frequently Asked Questions| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071012030427/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/faqs.htm| archive-date= 12 October 2007 |url-status = live}}</ref> Bank of England notes are generally accepted in the Overseas Territories which are at parity with sterling. In Gibraltar, there are examples of pairs of automatic cash dispensers placed together, one stocked with Bank of England notes, and the other with local ones.

=== Scottish banknotes ===
{{main|Banknotes of Scotland}}
These are the recognised currency in Scotland, although they are not legal tender (nor are Bank of England notes). They are always accepted by traders in Scotland, and are usually accepted elsewhere in the United Kingdom. However, some outside Scotland may be unfamiliar with the notes and they are sometimes refused.<ref name="bbc-hinders">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7203378.stm|title= Law 'hinders' Scottish bank notes |date=23 January 2008|work=BBC News|access-date=15 October 2008}}</ref><ref name=scotsman_refused>{{cite news|title=7 in 10 Scots have money rejected in England|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotland/top-stories/7-in-10-scots-have-money-rejected-in-england-1-3289552|access-date=1 February 2014|newspaper=The Scotsman|date=31 January 2014}}</ref> Institutions such as [[Cheque and Credit Clearing Company|clearing banks]], [[Building society|building societies]] and the Post Office will readily accept Scottish bank notes. Branches of the Scottish note-issuing banks situated in England dispense Bank of England notes and are not permitted to dispense their own notes from those branches.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.rbs.com/heritage/subjects/our-banknotes.html| title=Our Banknotes| publisher=RBS.com| access-date=4 August 2018| year=2018}}</ref> Modern Scottish banknotes are denominated in sterling, and have exactly the same value as Bank of England notes; they should not be confused with the former [[pound Scots]], a separate currency which was abolished in 1707.

=== Northern Irish banknotes ===
{{main|Banknotes of Northern Ireland}}
Banknotes issued by Northern Irish banks have the same legal status as Scottish banknotes in that they are promissory notes issued in pounds sterling and may be used for cash transactions anywhere in the United Kingdom. However, they are rarely seen outside of Northern Ireland. In England and Wales, although they might be accepted by any shop, they are often not accepted without explanation.<ref name="whs-banknotes">{{cite news| url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/store-uturn-on-ulster-notes-after-nolan-raises-a-rumpus-13924375.html| title=Store U-turn on Ulster notes after Nolan raises a rumpus| date=30 July 2007| newspaper=Belfast Telegraph| access-date=16 October 2008| author=matthew McCreary}}</ref> Like Scottish notes, clearing banks and building societies will accept them. Northern Irish pound sterling banknotes should not be confused with the [[Irish pound]] (or ''punt''), the former currency of the [[Republic of Ireland]], which was replaced by the [[euro]] in 2002.

=== Banknotes of the Crown dependencies ===
{{main|Guernsey pound#Banknotes|Jersey pound#Banknotes|Manx pound#Banknotes}}
The [[Bailiwick]]s of Jersey and Guernsey, and the [[Isle of Man]], are possessions of the Crown but are outside the UK; they are in [[currency union]] with the United Kingdom and issue pound sterling banknotes in local designs (Jersey and Guernsey pounds are freely interchangeable within the Channel Islands). In the United Kingdom, they are intermittently accepted by merchants. However, they are accepted by banks and post offices and the holder can exchange these notes for other sterling banknotes. They also issue their own coinage.

=== British Overseas Territories ===
{{main|Falkland Islands pound#Banknotes|Gibraltar pound#Banknotes|Saint Helena pound#Banknotes}}
There are fourteen British Overseas Territories, many of which issue their own currencies which are distinct under [[ISO 4217]]: Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands, and [[Saint Helena|St Helena]], [[Ascension Island]] have their own pounds which are at par with sterling. These notes cannot be used in the UK or outside the territories of origin. [[Falkland Island pound]]s are also valid in [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands]] and the [[British Antarctic Territory]]. [[Saint Helena pound]]s, however, cannot be used in the constituent territory of [[Tristan da Cunha]], where sterling is the only official currency.

The remaining British Overseas Territories use the [[Bermudian dollar]], the [[Cayman Islands dollar]], the [[Eastern Caribbean dollar]], the [[Euro]], the [[New Zealand dollar]], or the [[United States dollar]].

==Legal tender==
{{main|Legal tender#United Kingdom}}
<!-- The first paragraph of this section have been copied from Legal tender#United Kingdom so please don't change it without also changing that article too. [Done by hand because {{excerpt}} copies too much.] -->
In the UK legal tender specifically relates to the settlement of [[debt]]s: a debtor cannot successfully be sued for non-payment if they pay the exact amount into court in legal tender. Legal tender is solely for the guaranteed settlement of debts, and does not imply a right to pay with cash in other contexts.<ref name="Royal Mint">{{cite web|url=https://www.royalmint.com/aboutus/policies-and-guidelines/legal-tender-guidelines/|title=Legal Tender Guidelines|access-date=2 July 2022|publisher=Royal Mint|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302223933/http://www.royalmint.com/aboutus/policies-and-guidelines/legal-tender-guidelines|archive-date=2 March 2012}}</ref> 

Banknotes do not have to be classed as legal tender to be acceptable for trade; millions of retail transactions are carried out each day in the UK using debit cards and credit cards, none of which is a payment using legal tender. Equally, traders may offer to accept payment in foreign currency, such as the euro, yen, or US dollars. Acceptability as a means of payment is essentially a matter for agreement between the parties involved.<ref name="bankofengland_faqs"/><ref>{{cite news| date=27 December 2007| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/7161728.stm| title=Scottish money 'needs protection'|work=BBC News| access-date=15 October 2008}}</ref> Where a transaction is subject to [[Value added tax|VAT]], the transaction must be converted to sterling for tax purposes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/guidance/foreign-currency-transactions-vat-and-tour-operators |title=Transactions in foreign currencies and VAT |website=GOV.UK |publisher=[[HM Revenue and Customs]]|date=18 June 2018 |access-date=20 February 2021}}</ref>

Millions of pounds' worth of sterling banknotes in circulation are not legal tender, but that does not mean that they are illegal or of lesser value; their status is of "legal currency" (that is to say that their issue is approved by the British parliament) and they are backed up by Bank of England securities.<ref name="CSCB_legaltender">{{cite web| title=Legal Tender| access-date=14 October 2007| url=http://www.scotbanks.org.uk/legal_tender.php| author=Committee of Scottish Clearing Bankers| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070520214954/http://www.scotbanks.org.uk/legal_tender.php| archive-date=20 May 2007}}</ref>

Bank of England notes are the only banknotes that are legal tender in England and Wales. Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes are not legal tender anywhere, and Jersey, Guernsey and Manx banknotes are only legal tender in their respective jurisdictions. Although these banknotes are not legal tender in the UK, this does not mean that they are ''illegal'' under English law, and creditors and traders may accept them if they so choose. Traders may, on the other hand, choose not to accept banknotes as payment, as contract law across the United Kingdom allows parties not to engage in a transaction at the point of payment if they choose not to.<ref name="bbc-hinders"/>

In Scotland and Northern Ireland, no banknotes, not even those issued by local banks, are legal tender.<ref name="cscb-legal"/> They have a similar legal standing to cheques or debit cards, in that their acceptability as a means of payment is essentially a matter for agreement between the parties involved, although [[Scots law]] requires any reasonable offer for settlement of a debt to be accepted.

Until 31 December 1984, the Bank of England issued £1 notes, and these notes did have legal tender status in Scotland and Northern Ireland while they existed. The [[Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954]] defined Bank of England notes of less than £5 in value as legal tender in Scotland.<ref name="siliconglen">{{cite web| url=http://www.siliconglen.com/Scotland/1_7.html| title= Scotland Guide – Currency and legal tender| author=Silicon Glen| access-date=8 October 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071007054247/http://www.siliconglen.com/Scotland/1_7.html| archive-date= 7 October 2007 |url-status = live}}</ref> Since the English £1 note was removed from circulation in 1988, this leaves a legal curiosity in [[Scots law]] whereby there is no paper legal tender in Scotland. HM Treasury has proposed extending legal tender status to Scottish banknotes.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}} The proposal has been opposed by [[Scottish national identity|Scottish nationalists]] who believe it would reduce the independence of the Scottish banking sector.<ref name="scotsman">{{cite news| url=http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1974862005| archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201205847/http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1974862005| url-status=dead| archive-date=1 February 2013|work=The Scotsman| date=22 September 2005| title=Activists fight 'threat' to Scottish banknotes| access-date=28 February 2011| author=Hamish Macdonell| location=Edinburgh}} </ref>

{{anchor|GiantTitan}}Most of the notes issued by the note-issuing banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland have to be backed by Bank of England notes held by the issuing bank. The combined size of these banknote issues is well over a billion pounds. To make it possible for the note-issuing banks to hold equivalent values in Bank of England notes, the Bank of England issues special notes with denominations of one million pounds ("[[Bank of England £1,000,000 note|Giants]]") and one hundred million pounds ("[[Bank of England £100,000,000 note|Titans]]") for internal use by the other banks.

Banknotes are no longer redeemable in gold, and the Bank of England will only redeem sterling banknotes for more sterling banknotes or coins. The contemporary sterling is a [[fiat currency]] which is backed only by securities; in essence [[promissory note]]s from the Treasury that represent future income from the taxation of the population. Some economists term this "currency by trust", as sterling relies on the faith of the user rather than any physical [[Coin|specie]].

==Issuing banks and authorities==
The following table lays out the various banks or authorities which are authorised to print pound sterling banknotes, organised by territory:

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="3" style="background:#dedede;"|United Kingdom
|-
! style="width:33%;"|[[England and Wales]]
! style="width:33%;"|[[Scotland]]
! style="width:33%;"|[[Northern Ireland]]
|-
| valign="top"|
* [[Bank of England]]
| valign="top"|
* [[Bank of Scotland]]
* [[Royal Bank of Scotland]]
* [[Clydesdale Bank]]
| valign="top"|
* [[Bank of Ireland]]
* [[Danske Bank (Northern Ireland)|Danske Bank]]
* [[Ulster Bank]]
<small>A further retail bank, [[First Trust Bank]],<br />issued its own banknotes until 30 June 2020</small>
|-
! style="background:#dedede;" colspan="3" |[[Crown dependency|Crown dependencies]]
|-
! [[Isle of Man]]
! [[Jersey|Bailiwick of Jersey]]
! [[Guernsey|Bailiwick of Guernsey]]
|-
| valign="top"|
* [[Isle of Man Government]] <small>([[Manx pound]])</small>
| valign="top"|
* [[States of Jersey]] <small>([[Jersey pound]])</small>
| valign="top"|
* [[States of Guernsey]] <small>([[Guernsey pound]])</small>
|-
! colspan="3" style="background:#dedede;"|[[British overseas territories]]
|-
! [[Gibraltar]]
! [[Saint Helena]]
! [[Falkland Islands]]
|-
|valign="top"|
* [[Government of Gibraltar]] <small>([[Gibraltar pound]])</small>
|valign="top"|
* [[Legislative Council of Saint Helena|Government of Saint Helena]] <small>([[Saint Helena pound]])</small>
| valign="top"|
* [[Government of the Falkland Islands]] <small>([[Falkland Islands pound]])</small>
|}

==Bank of England notes==
{{Main|Bank of England note issues}}
[[File:Bank of England printing at Debden.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Debden, Epping Forest|Debden]] Security Printing Ltd printing facility, owned by [[De La Rue]], which prints Bank of England banknotes<ref name="debden">{{cite web| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/myths_legends/england/essex/user_3_article_1.shtml|publisher=BBC |title=Your Story: The Bank of England Printing Works |access-date=1 June 2008 |date=February 2004 |first=Richard |last=Morris}}</ref>]]

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 rights of other banks to issue notes was restricted.

The bank issued its first banknotes in 1694, although before 1745 they were written for irregular amounts, rather than predefined multiples of a pound. It tended to be times of war, which put inflationary pressure on the British economy, that led to greater note issue. In 1759, during the [[Seven Years' War]], when the lowest-value note issued by the Bank was [[Bank of England £20 note|£20]], a [[Bank of England £10 note|£10 note]] was issued for the first time. In 1793, during the [[French Revolutionary Wars|war with revolutionary France]], the Bank issued the first [[Bank of England £5 note|£5 note]]. Four years later, [[Bank of England £1 note|£1]] and £2 notes appeared, although not on a permanent basis. Notes did not become entirely machine-printed and payable to the bearer{{clarify|date=August 2015}} until 1855.

At the start of the First World War, the government issued £1 and 10/– Treasury notes to replace the [[Gold sovereign|sovereign]] and [[half sovereign|half-sovereign]] gold coins. The first coloured banknotes were issued in 1928, and were 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: to [[Operation Bernhard|combat forgery]], higher denomination notes (some as high as £1,000) were removed from circulation.

There are no Welsh banknotes in circulation; Bank of England notes are used throughout Wales. The last Welsh banknotes were withdrawn in 1908 upon the closure of the last Welsh bank, the [[North and South Wales Bank]].<ref name="kates">{{cite web| url= http://www.katespapermoney.co.uk/page.asp?ID=11| title= The Man who printed his own Money| author=Dr A.H. Stamp| access-date=8 October 2007| format=JPEG| date=1 June 2006| work=Country Quest Magazine| publisher=KatesPaperMoney.co.uk}}</ref> An attempt was made in 1969 by a Welsh banker to revive [[banknotes of the Chief Treasury of Wales Limited|Welsh banknotes]], but the venture was short-lived and the notes did not enter general circulation, surviving today only as a collectors' curiosity.<ref>[http://pjsymes.com.au/articles/Private03.htm The Chief Treasury of Wales and the Black Sheep Company] pjsymes.com.au. Retrieved on 7 March 2014</ref>

All Bank of England notes issued since Series C in 1960 through June 2024 depict [[Elizabeth II]], who was [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|monarch]] at the time, on the obverse side, in full view facing left; her image also appears as a hidden [[watermark]], facing right; recent issues have the anti-photocopier security [[EURion constellation]] around.

In September 2022, following the [[Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II|death of Elizabeth II]], speculation arose as to precisely when the Bank of England would begin replacing banknotes with her portrait on for ones with the portrait of [[Charles III]]. After the end of the mourning period, the Bank announced that the portrait of the King intended for use on its banknotes would be released by the end of 2022. New banknotes with the portrait of the King would circulate alongside existing banknotes with the image of the late Queen for an unspecified period of time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63034255 |title=King Charles: New royal cypher revealed |last=Coughlan |first=Sean |date=27 September 2022 |website=BBC News |publisher= |access-date=27 September 2022 |quote=}}</ref> Images of the revised notes featuring a new portrait of the King, as well as his [[Royal cypher|personal cypher]], were released by the Bank of England on 20 December 2022,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/king-charles-banknotes |title=King Charles III banknotes unveiled |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=20 December 2022 |website=Bank of England |publisher= |access-date=20 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220000813/https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/king-charles-banknotes |archive-date=20 December 2022 |quote=}}</ref> and entered circulation on 5 June 2024.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/king-charles-banknotes |title=King Charles III banknotes entered circulation on 5 June 2024 |website=Bank of England |date=5 June 2024 |language=en}}</ref> The portrait of Charles III is based on a photograph taken when he was in his early 60s.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/britain/2024/06/05/charles-iii-gets-his-own-paper-currency |title=Charles III gets his own paper currency |work=The Economist |date=5 June 2024 |access-date=6 June 2024}}</ref>

The Bank of England has a set of criteria for choosing characters for banknotes – initially, it looks at who has previously featured, to allow for a reflection of the diversity of society. It does not accept fictional characters, or any living people with the exception of the reigning monarch, but instead aims for individuals that are both widely admired, and are considered to have made an important contribution to British society and culture. The final criterion is that the individual has an easily recognisable portrait available for use.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/banknote-characters |title=Choosing banknote characters |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=14 May 2018 |publisher=[[Bank of England]] |access-date=13 October 2018 }}</ref> This does not need to be a painting, as, up to {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}, there have been two sculptures and two photographs used.

===Historical figures===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Bank of England notes since series D
|-
! Value !! Size (mm) !! Obverse portrait !! Reverse portrait !! Issued !! Withdrawn !! Time in circulation
|-
! colspan="7" |Series D
|-
| [[Bank of England 10s note|10/-]] || rowspan="2" |121 × 62<ref>{{cite book |last=Duggleby |first=Vincent |date=2011 |title=English Paper Money |publisher=Pam West |page=218 |isbn=9780954345730}}</ref> || rowspan=2|[[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]]<br><small>in Garter mantle and hat<br>by [[Harry Eccleston]]</small> || rowspan=2|[[Walter Raleigh|Sir Walter Raleigh]]<ref name="Eccleston">{{cite web |url=http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n22a08.html |title=BANKNOTE DESIGNER HARRY ECCLESTON, 1923–2010 |last1=Homren |first1=Wayne |date=30 May 2010 |website=The E-Sylum |publisher=Numismatic Bibliomania Society |access-date=2 March 2015}}</ref><br /><small>by Unknown</small> ||rowspan=2 colspan=3 align=center|Never issued
|-
|[[Bank of England 10s note|50p]]
|-
| [[Bank of England £1 note|£1]] ||135 × 67<ref name="withdrawn">{{cite web| url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/BANKNOTES/Pages/denom_guide/default.aspx| title=Withdrawn Banknotes Reference Guide| access-date=20 April 2016| archive-date=16 November 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116181605/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/denom_guide/default.aspx| url-status=dead}}</ref> || rowspan=2|Queen Elizabeth II<br><small>in Garter mantle and [[George IV State Diadem|Diamond Diadem]]<br>by [[Harry Eccleston]]</small> || [[Isaac Newton|Sir Isaac Newton]]<br /><small>by [[Godfrey Kneller|Sir Godfrey Kneller]]</small> || 9 February 1978 || 11 March 1988 || {{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 2|day1 = 9|year1 = 1978|month2 = 3|day2 = 11| year2 = 1988}}
|-
| [[Bank of England £5 note|£5]] ||145 × 78<ref name="withdrawn" /> || [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]]<br /><small>by [[Thomas Lawrence|Sir Thomas Lawrence]]</small> || 11 November 1971 || 29 November 1991||{{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 11|day1 = 11|year1 = 1971|month2 = 11|day2 = 29| year2 = 1991}}
|-
| [[Bank of England £10 note|£10]] ||151 × 85<ref name="withdrawn" /> || rowspan=3|Queen Elizabeth II<br><small>in Robe of State and [[George IV State Diadem|Diamond Diadem]]<br>by [[Harry Eccleston]]</small> || [[Florence Nightingale]]<br /><small>by Unknown</small> || 20 February 1975 || 20 May 1994 || {{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 2|day1 = 20|year1 = 1975|month2 = 5|day2 = 20| year2 = 1994}}
|-
| [[Bank of England £20 note|£20]] ||160 × 90<ref name="withdrawn" /> || [[William Shakespeare]]<br /><small>by [[William Kent]] & [[Peter Scheemakers]]</small> || 9 July 1970 || 19 March 1993 || {{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 7|day1 = 9|year1 = 1970|month2 = 3|day2 = 19| year2 = 1993}}
|-
| [[Bank of England £50 note|£50]] ||169 × 95<ref name="withdrawn" /> || [[Christopher Wren|Sir Christopher Wren]]<br /><small>by Sir Godfrey Kneller</small> || 20 March 1981 || 20 September 1996 || {{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 3|day1 = 20|year1 = 1981|month2 = 9|day2 = 20| year2 = 1996}}
|-
! colspan="7" |Series E
|-
| [[Bank of England £5 note|£5]] || 135 × 70<ref name="size_5">{{cite web | url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/current/current_5.aspx | title=£5 note design features (Bank of England) | access-date=21 January 2016 | archive-date=25 September 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925084527/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/current/current_5.aspx | url-status=dead }}</ref> || rowspan=4|Queen Elizabeth II<br><small>in Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara<br>by Don Ford</small> || [[George Stephenson]]<br /><small>by [[Charles Turner (engraver)|Charles Turner]]</small> || 7 June 1990 || 21 November 2003 || {{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 6|day1 = 7|year1 = 1990|month2 = 11|day2 = 20| year2 = 2003}}
|-
| [[Bank of England £10 note|£10]] || 142 × 75<ref name="size_10">{{cite web | url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/current/current_10.aspx | title=£10 note design features (Bank of England) | access-date=21 January 2016 | archive-date=5 December 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151205115441/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/current/current_10.aspx | url-status=dead }}</ref> || [[Charles Dickens]]<br /><small>by [[John Watkins (photographer)|John Watkins]]</small> || 29 April 1992 || 31 July 2003 || {{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 4|day1 = 29|year1 = 1992|month2 = 7|day2 = 31| year2 = 2003}}
|-
| [[Bank of England £20 note|£20]] || 149 × 80<ref name="size_20">{{cite web | url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/current/current_20.aspx | title=£20 note design features (Bank of England) | access-date=21 January 2016 | archive-date=17 November 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117022729/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/current/current_20.aspx | url-status=dead }}</ref> || [[Michael Faraday]]<br /><small>by Henry Dixon</small> || 5 June 1991 || 28 February 2001 || {{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 6|day1 = 5|year1 = 1991|month2 = 2|day2 = 28| year2 = 2001}}
|-
| [[Bank of England £50 note|£50]] || 156 × 85<ref name="size_50">{{cite web | url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/current/current_50.aspx | title=£50 note design features (Bank of England) | access-date=21 January 2016 | archive-date=22 November 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122161223/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/current/current_50.aspx | url-status=dead }}</ref> || [[John Houblon|Sir John Houblon]]<br /><small>by Robert Grave</small> || 20 April 1994 || 30 April 2014 || {{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 4|day1 = 20|year1 = 1994|month2 = 4|day2 = 30| year2 = 2014}}
|-
! colspan="7" |Series E (Variant)
|-
| [[Bank of England £5 note|£5]] || 135 × 70<ref name="size_5"/> || rowspan=3|Queen Elizabeth II<br><small>in Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara<br>by Don Ford</small> || [[Elizabeth Fry]]<br /><small>by [[Charles Robert Leslie]]</small> || 21 May 2002 || 5 May 2017 || {{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 5|day1 = 21|year1 = 2002|month2 = 5|day2 = 5| year2 = 2017}}
|-
| [[Bank of England £10 note|£10]] || 142 × 75<ref name="size_10"/> || [[Charles Darwin]]<br /><small>by [[Julia Margaret Cameron]]</small> || 7 November 2000 || 1 March 2018 ||{{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 11|day1 = 7|year1 = 2000|month2 = 3|day2 = 1| year2 = 2018|}}

|-
| [[Bank of England £20 note|£20]] || 149 × 80<ref name="size_20"/> || [[Edward Elgar|Sir Edward Elgar]]<br /><small>by Unknown</small> || 22 June 1999 ||30 June 2010 || {{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 6|day1 = 22|year1 = 1999|month2 = 6|day2 = 30| year2 = 2010}}
|-
! colspan="7" |Series F
|-
| [[Bank of England £20 note|£20]] || 149 × 80<ref name="size_20"/> || rowspan=2|Queen Elizabeth II<br><small>in Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara<br>by Don Ford</small> || [[Adam Smith]]<br /><small>by [[James Tassie]]</small> || 13 March 2007 || 30 September 2022 ||{{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 3|day1 = 13|year1 = 2007|month2 = 9|day2 = 30| year2 = 2022 }}
|-
| rowspan="1" | [[Bank of England £50 note|£50]] || rowspan="1" | 156 × 85<ref name="size_50"/> || [[Matthew Boulton]] & [[James Watt]]<br /><small>by William Ridley and Sir Thomas Lawrence</small>||rowspan=1| 2 November 2011 || 30 September 2022 ||{{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 11|day1 = 2|year1 = 2011 |month2 = 9|day2 = 30| year2 = 2022}}
|-
! colspan="7" |Series G (Queen Elizabeth II)
|-
| [[Bank of England £5 note|£5]] || 125 × 65<ref name=polymer /> || rowspan=4|Queen Elizabeth II<br><small>in Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara<br>by Don Ford</small> || [[Winston Churchill|Sir Winston Churchill]]<br /><small>by [[Yousuf Karsh]]</small> ||13 September 2016|| In use<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22306707 | work=BBC News | title=Sir Winston Churchill to feature on new banknote | date=26 April 2013}}</ref> ||{{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 9|day1 = 13|year1 = 2016 }}
|-
| [[Bank of England £10 note|£10]] || 132 × 69<ref name=polymer>{{cite web|url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer/Pages/industry.aspx|title=Getting Your Business Ready |access-date=9 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171129134918/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer/Pages/industry.aspx |archive-date=29 November 2017}}</ref>|| [[Jane Austen]]<br /><small>by James Andrews</small> || 14 September 2017 
|In use<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41255976|title=Jane Austen polymer £10 note enters circulation|last=Peachey|first=Kevin|date=14 September 2017|work=BBC News|access-date=14 September 2017}}</ref>
|{{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 9|day1 = 14|year1 = 2017 }}
|-
| [[Bank of England £20 note|£20]] || 139 × 73<ref name=polymer />|| [[J. M. W. Turner]]<br /><small>by J.M.W. Turner</small> ||20 February 2020
|In use<ref name="Peachey Oct 2019" />
|{{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 2|day1 = 20|year1 = 2020 }}
|-
| [[Bank of England £50 note|£50]] || 146 × 77 ||[[Alan Turing]]<br /><small>by [[Elliott & Fry]]</small> || 23 June 2021 || In use<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer-50-pound-note|title=The new £50 note|publisher = [[Bank of England]]|date = 25 March 2021|access-date=25 March 2021|language=en}}</ref>
|{{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 6|day1 = 21|year1 = 2021 }}
|-
! colspan="7" |Series G II (King Charles III)
|-
| [[Bank of England £5 note|£5]] || 125 × 65 || rowspan=4| [[Charles III|King Charles III]] || [[Winston Churchill|Sir Winston Churchill]]<br /><small>by [[Yousuf Karsh]]</small> || rowspan=4| 5 June 2024<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68358277 |title=King Charles banknotes to enter circulation in June |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=21 February 2024 |website=BBC News |publisher= |access-date=21 February 2024 |quote=}}</ref>|| rowspan=4| In use || rowspan=4| {{Age in years, months, weeks and days |month1 = 6|day1 = 5|year1 = 2024 }}
|-
| [[Bank of England £10 note|£10]] || 132 × 69 ||[[Jane Austen]]<br /><small>by James Andrews</small> 
|-
| [[Bank of England £20 note|£20]] || 139 × 73 ||[[J. M. W. Turner]]<br /><small>by J.M.W. Turner</small> 
|-
| [[Bank of England £50 note|£50]] || 146 × 77 ||[[Alan Turing]]<br /><small>by [[Elliott & Fry]]</small> 
|-
! colspan="7" |High Value
|-
| rowspan="1" |[[Bank of England £1,000,000 note|£1,000,000]] || 210 × 148<ref name=titans/> ||rowspan=2 colspan=2 align=center| None || c. 1990 ||rowspan=2 colspan=2 align=center| Uncirculated
|-
| rowspan="1" |[[Bank of England £100,000,000 note|£100,000,000]] || 297 × 210<ref name=titans/> || 2004
|}

===Series D===
In the mid-1960s, shortly after the introduction of Series C, the Bank of England proposed to introduce a new banknote series featuring people from British history. In addition to enhancing the appearance of banknotes, the complexity of the new designs was intended to make counterfeiting harder. The task of designing the new Series D notes was given to the Bank's new in-house designer, [[Harry Eccleston]], who not only designed the notes themselves, but also created three individual portraits of the Queen.{{efn-lr|The first saw the Queen in [[Order of the Garter|Garter robe and cap]], and was intended for the 10 shilling note; the second had the Garter cap replaced by the [[George IV State Diadem]], and also featured [[Alexandra of Denmark|Queen Alexandra's]] cluster earrings, and was used for the one pound and five pound notes; the third had the Garter robe replaced by [[Coronation of the British monarch#Sovereign's robes|Robe of State]], and featured the State Diadem, Queen Alexandra's earrings and [[Queen Victoria]]'s [[Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria|Golden Jubilee]] necklace, and was for the ten, twenty and fifty pound notes.<ref name=portrait14>{{cite web |url=http://www.pjsymes.com.au/qe2/QE2-14.htm |title=Portrait 14 |last1=Symes |first1=Peter |date=2004 |website=The Portraits of Queen Elizabeth II |access-date=26 May 2016 }}</ref>}} It was initially envisaged that all of the denominations of notes then in circulation would be issued under Series D. To that end, a Series D [[Bank of England 10s note|10/– note]] was designed, featuring [[Walter Raleigh|Sir Walter Raleigh]], and which would become the 50 pence note upon decimalisation, and intended to be the first of the new series to be issued. However, inflation had shorted the estimated lifespan of the note to roughly five months in circulation.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/14/newsid_3151000/3151539.stm |title=1969: New 50-pence coin sparks confusion |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=BBC On This Day |date=14 October 1969 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=26 May 2016 }}</ref> As a result, the new note was not introduced, and the 10/- note was instead replaced with a [[Fifty pence (British coin)|50p coin]] in 1969.<ref name="Eccleston" /><ref>[http://www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-coins/seven-sides-of-a-50p-coin The seven sides of a UK 50p Coin]</ref> Instead, the £20 note was the first Series D note to enter circulation in 1970, with [[William Shakespeare]] on the reverse.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishnotes.co.uk/news_and_info/picture_library/englishpictures/reverses/jcarticle.php |title= Historical figures on Bank of England banknotes|last1=Callaway |first1=Jonathan |website=Pam West British Notes |access-date=23 March 2015}}</ref>

Runaway inflation through the 1970s also considerably eroded the lifespan of the £1 note, and the Series D £1 note, featuring [[Isaac Newton|Sir Isaac Newton]], was discontinued in 1984, having been replaced by a [[One pound (British coin)|coin]] the year before, and was officially withdrawn from circulation in 1988. Nonetheless, 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. Other banks may also decide to exchange old banknotes, but they are under no obligation to do so.

===Series E===
When Series E was introduced in 1990, a new portrait of the Queen was commissioned based on photographs by Don Ford, one of the Bank of England's photographers. In this portrait, intended for all of the Series E banknotes, the Queen is shown wearing the [[Elizabeth II's jewels#Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara|Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara]], Queen Alexandra's cluster earrings and Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee necklace.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pjsymes.com.au/qe2/QE2-20.htm|title=Portrait 20 |last1=Symes |first1=Peter |date=2004 |website=The Portraits of Queen Elizabeth II |access-date=6 August 2018 }}</ref> Two different Series E sets were produced, each with a different set of historical figures - the first Series E banknote was the £5 featuring George Stephenson, followed by the £20 (Michael Faraday), the £10 (Charles Dickens) and the £50 (Sir John Houblon). The three lower denominations were replaced by the Series E (Variant) series, featuring Elizabeth Fry, Charles Darwin and Sir Edward Elgar; the £50 note was not replaced during this period.

===Series F===
The Series F banknotes consists of the £20 note introduced in 2007 and the £50 introduced in 2011; no £5 or £10 notes were designed for this series. Its launch was announced on 29 October 2006 by the Governor of the Bank of England. These notes were withdrawn on 30 September 2022, after which they are only exchangeable for Series G banknotes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/50-pound-note|title = Paper £50 note}}</ref>

The first of these new notes, a £20 note, features the Scottish economist [[Adam Smith]], the first Scot to appear on an English note. (The first non-Englishman, [[Anglo-Irish]] Field Marshal [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington]], appeared on the Series D £5 in 1971.) Smith also features on £50 notes issued by the [[#Clydesdale Bank notes|Clydesdale Bank]]. Previous issues of Bank of England £20 notes were known to have suffered from a higher incidence of counterfeiting (276,000 out of 290,000 cases detected in 2007) than any other denomination.<ref>[http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/counterfeits.htm "Counterfeit Bank of England banknotes"]. Bank of England. Retrieved 16 June 2008.</ref> The note, which also includes enhanced security features, entered circulation on 13 March 2007.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6444003.stm|publisher=BBC| title=New Adam Smith £20 note launched| access-date=13 March 2007 | date=13 March 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070315175936/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6444003.stm| archive-date= 15 March 2007 |url-status = live}}</ref>

The next new Series F banknote, the [[Bank of England £50 note|£50 note]], entered circulation on 2 November 2011. It is the first Bank of England banknote to feature two Britons on the reverse: James Watt (another Scotsman) and Matthew Boulton.<ref name="steam">{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8075130.stm| title=Steam giants on new £50 banknote| date=30 May 2009| access-date=28 February 2011| work=BBC News}}</ref>

===Series G===
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | total_width = 400
 | header = Series G portraits
 | image1 = Sir Winston Churchill (cropped).jpg
 | caption1 = Sir Winston Churchill
 | image2 = Jane Austen, from A Memoir of Jane Austen (1870) - Original scan (cropped).png
 | caption2 = Jane Austen
 | image3 = Turner selfportrait (cropped).jpg
 | caption3 = J. M. W. Turner
 | image4 = Alan Turing (1951).jpg
 | caption4 = Alan Turing
 | caption_align = center
}}
In 2011, the Bank of England announced plans to begin introducing a new set of banknotes, which were to become Series G. As part of the initial consultation, the bank obtained opinion on whether the planned new banknotes should continue to be made from banknote paper, or if they should be polymer.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/quarterly-bulletin/2021/2021-q3/our-new-banknotes-the-journey-from-design-to-launch |title=Our new banknotes: the journey from design to launch |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=8 October 2021 |website=Bank of England |publisher= |access-date=19 July 2022 |quote=}}</ref> Having made the decision to switch to polymer banknotes, the first note of Series G, the polymer £5 note, entered circulation on 13 September 2016;<ref>{{cite news|last1=Milligan|first1=Brian|title=New £5 note: Consumers face wait for plastic fiver|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37338979|access-date=31 January 2017|work=[[BBC News]]|date=13 September 2016}}</ref> the £10 note on 14 September 2017;<ref name="tenhere"/><ref>{{cite news|title=New £5 note: Bank to keep note despite animal fat content|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38980352|access-date=23 February 2017|work=[[BBC News]]|date=15 February 2017}}</ref> the £20 note on 20 February 2020;<ref name="Peachey Oct 2019">{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49987329 |title=£20 note: New design for Britain's most-forged banknote |last=Peachey |first=Kevin |date=11 October 2019 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=11 October 2019}}</ref> and the £50 on 23 June 2021.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/50-pound-note-nominations |title=Think science and celebrate Alan Turing |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=15 July 2019 |website=Bank of England |access-date=15 July 2019 }}</ref> The material used to make the banknotes is [[biaxially oriented polypropylene]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Bank of England considers switch to plastic banknotes | url=https://www.ft.com/content/38b9a0ea-1a01-11e3-b3da-00144feab7de |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/38b9a0ea-1a01-11e3-b3da-00144feab7de |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | publisher=[[Financial Times]] | last1=Jones | first1=Claire | date=10 September 2013 |access-date=19 July 2022 }}</ref>

In April 2013, the Bank of England announced that its next planned new note issue, intended to be the £5 note in 2016, would feature former British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/news/2013/062.aspx |title=Sir Winston Churchill: the historical figure on the next banknote |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=26 April 2013 |publisher=Bank of England |access-date=26 April 2013}}</ref> The selection of Churchill to replace [[Elizabeth Fry]] raised some debate about the representation of women on British banknotes, with critics raising concerns that Bank of England notes would portray exclusively male figures, other than [[Elizabeth II]] who appears on every sterling coin and Bank of England note.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.channel4.com/news/winston-churchill-to-be-the-new-face-of-the-five-pound-note|publisher=Channel4|title=Winston Churchill to be new face of five pound note|access-date=27 April 2012 | date=27 April 2012}}</ref> In July 2013 it was announced that the Series F £10 note design would bear a portrait of 19th century author [[Jane Austen]].<ref name="bbc-austen">{{cite news|title=Jane Austen to be face of the Bank of England £10 note|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23424289|access-date=24 July 2013|newspaper=BBC News|date=24 July 2013}}</ref> In 2015, the Bank announced that they were accepting suggestions from the public for a figure from the visual arts to appear on the £20 note to replace Adam Smith, with the new note to be introduced in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer-20-pound-note |title=The next £20 note |website=Bank of England |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910193730/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/characters/nexttwenty.aspx |archive-date=10 September 2015 |access-date=27 August 2015 |url-status = live }}</ref> In April 2016, it was announced that [[J. M. W. Turner]] had been selected to appear on the new £20 note.<ref name="Turner">{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-36111975 | work=BBC News | title=New £20 note design and personality unveiled by Bank of England | date=22 April 2016}} ||</ref>

In September 2013 the Bank of England opened a period of public consultation about the introduction of polymer, or plastic, banknotes, which would be introduced into circulation from 2016 if the proposals were supported.<ref>[http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer/Pages/default.aspx Understanding polymer notes] Bank of England</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24029785 Plastic banknotes ready for 2016, says Bank of England] BBC News</ref><ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/09/10/bank-notes-uk_n_3899266.html Bank Of England Could Introduce Polymer Banknotes, Replacing Paper] Huffington Post</ref> The polymer notes will be "around 15% smaller" than the notes being replaced.<ref>[http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer/Pages/default.aspx Moving to Polymer Banknotes] Bank of England</ref> Following the consultation, in December 2013, the Bank confirmed that plastic or polymer notes would be brought into circulation in 2016 with the introduction of the £5 note featuring Sir Winston Churchill.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/dec/18/bank-england-plastic-pound-notes-winston-churchill-fiver Bank of England switches to plastic pound notes with Churchill fiver] Guardian</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Peachy|first=Kevin|title=Sir Winston Churchill to feature on new banknote|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22306707|work=BBC News|access-date=22 May 2014}}</ref> A spokesman for [[LINK (UK)|LINK]], the company that operates many of the cash machines in the United Kingdom, said there would need to be significant investment as machines would need to be altered to fit the polymer £5 banknotes, which would be smaller than the previous ones.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/dec/17/plastic-banknotes-security-dealers-magicians Plastic banknotes: the implications for security, dealers and magicians] Guardian</ref> The Jane Austen polymer £10 note went into circulation in September 2017.<ref name="tenhere"/><ref>{{cite news|last=BBC|title=Jane Austen to be face of the Bank of England £10 note|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23424289|work=BBC News|access-date=22 May 2014}}</ref> The £20 shows [[J. M. W. Turner]] (from a [[:File:Turner selfportrait.jpg|self-portrait]]), the quote "Light is therefore colour" from an 1818 lecture by Turner, and a view of ''[[The Fighting Temeraire]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Morley|first1=Katie|title=JMW Turner unveiled as new face of £20 notes|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/22/jmw-turner-unveiled-as-new-face-of-20-notes/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/22/jmw-turner-unveiled-as-new-face-of-20-notes/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=25 September 2017|work=The Telegraph|date=22 April 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In March 2018, the [[HM Treasury|Treasury]] began a consultation looking at the potential withdrawal of the £50 note, as well as the [[Penny (British decimal coin)|one]] and [[Two pence (British decimal coin)|two pence]] coins, on the basis that they are used significantly less than other denominations, with an additional rationale over the £50 note being the perception in the UK of its use in [[money laundering]], [[tax evasion]] and other financial crime, despite the demand for it overseas.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/copper-coins-50-notes-scrapped-royal-mint-metal-spring-statement-a8254231.html |title=Copper coins and £50 notes could be scrapped, Treasury documents reveal |last=Cowburn |first=Ashley |date=13 March 2018 |website=The Independent |access-date=16 March 2018 }}</ref> The Series F version was introduced in 2011, while its predecessor was in circulation for twenty years, so there was some consideration to withdrawing the £50 note entirely as a way of combatting tax evasion, and the fact that cash transactions using such a high value note are becoming increasingly rare.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/02/plastic-5-notes-featuring-sir-winston-churchill-that-are-unteara/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/02/plastic-5-notes-featuring-sir-winston-churchill-that-are-unteara/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=The £50 note may be taken out of circulation after Bank of England says there are 'no plans' to introduce new plastic notes |last=Yorke |first=Harry |date=2 June 2016 |website=Daily Telegraph |access-date=28 April 2017 }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ft.com/content/0944a7f2-c128-11e6-81c2-f57d90f6741a |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/0944a7f2-c128-11e6-81c2-f57d90f6741a |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-status=live |title=An unloved banknote: is the £50 in danger? |last=Stott |first=Michael |date=15 December 2016 |website=Financial Times|access-date=28 April 2017 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> However, in October 2018 the Bank of England announced plans to introduce a Series G polymer £50 note, following the review by the government.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45850135 |title=The £50 note is changing and here's why |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=13 October 2018 |website=BBC News |access-date=13 October 2018 }}</ref> The new £50 note is planned for introduction once the Series G £20 note featuring J. M. W. Turner is released.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article219984550.html |title=Britain to introduce new, more secure 50-pound notes |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=13 October 2018 |website=Miami Herald |access-date=13 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013150552/https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article219984550.html |archive-date=13 October 2018 }}</ref> In July 2019, it was announced that the new note would feature computer pioneer [[Alan Turing]], from a photograph taken by the [[Elliott & Fry]] photographic studio in 1951, a table of formulae from Turing's 1936 work [[Turing's proof|''On Computable Numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem'']], an image of the [[Pilot ACE|Automatic Computing Engine Pilot machine]], technical drawings of the British [[bombe|bombe machine]], the quote "This is only a foretaste of what is to come, and only the shadow of what is going to be" from an interview Turing gave to ''[[The Times]]'' on 11 June 1949, and a [[ticker tape]] showing Turing's date of birth in [[binary code]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48962557 |title=New face of the Bank of England's £50 note is revealed |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=15 July 2019 |website=BBC News |access-date=15 July 2019 }}</ref>

===High-value notes===
Not since 1945 have notes with a higher value than £50 been issued for general circulation by the Bank of England, although banks in [[Scotland]] and [[Northern Ireland]] still use £100 notes. However, the Bank of England does produce [[#GiantTitan|higher-value notes]] that are used to maintain parity with Scottish and Northern Irish notes. Banknotes issued by Scottish and Northern Irish banks have to be backed pound for pound by Bank of England notes (other than a small amount representing the currency in circulation in 1845), and special £1&nbsp;million and £100&nbsp;million notes are used for this purpose. Their design is based on the old Series A notes.<ref name=titans>{{cite news|title=Britain's £1m and £100m banknotes|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21145103|work=BBC News|last = Bowlby |first = Chris | date=26 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Bank of England's Role in Regulating the Issue of Scottish and Northern Ireland Banknotes|url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/scottish_northernireland.htm|publisher=Bank of England|access-date=7 August 2011|archive-date=4 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204061720/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/scottish_northernireland.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Scotland and Northern Ireland==
While provincial banks in England and Wales lost the right to issue paper currency altogether, the practice of private banknote issue has continued in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The right of Scottish banks to issue notes is popularly attributed to the author [[Walter Scott|Sir Walter Scott]], who, in 1826, waged a campaign to retain Scottish banknotes under the pseudonym ''[[Malachi Malagrowther]]''. Scott feared that the limitation on private banknotes proposed with the Bankers (Scotland) Act 1826 would have adverse economic consequences if enacted in Scotland because gold and silver were scarce and Scottish commerce relied on small notes as the principal medium of circulating money. His action eventually halted the abolition of private banknotes in Scotland.<ref name=malagrowther>{{cite web|title=Letters of Malachi Malagrowther|url=http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/works/prose/malachi.html|work=The Walter Scott Digital Archive|publisher=Edinburgh University Library|access-date=27 April 2013}}</ref>

Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes are unusual, firstly because they are issued by retail banks, not central banks, and secondly, as they are technically not legal tender anywhere in the UK – not even in Scotland or Northern Ireland – as they are in fact [[promissory note]]s.<ref name="bankofengland_faqs" /><ref name="rm-legal-tender"/>

Six retail banks have the authority of [[HM Treasury]] to issue sterling banknotes as currency.<ref>{{cite web|title=Scottish and Northern Ireland banknotes|url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/scottish-and-northern-ireland-banknotes|access-date=30 July 2023}}</ref><ref name="Scotnotes">{{cite web |url=http://www.scotbanks.org.uk/banknote_history.php |title=Banknote History |publisher=Scottish Clearing Banks |access-date=26 October 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071030110844/http://www.scotbanks.org.uk/banknote_history.php| archive-date= 30 October 2007 |url-status = live}}</ref> Despite this, the notes can be refused at the discretion of recipients in [[England and Wales]], and are often not accepted by banks and exchange bureaus outside of the United Kingdom. This is particularly true in the case of the [[Royal Bank of Scotland]] [[The Royal Bank of Scotland £1 note|'s £1 note]], which is the only £1 note to remain in circulation within the UK.<ref name="BanknoteDesign">{{cite web |url=http://www.scotbanks.org.uk/banknote_denominations.php |title=Current Banknotes|publisher=Scottish Clearing Banks |access-date=26 October 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071030110823/http://www.scotbanks.org.uk/banknote_denominations.php| archive-date= 30 October 2007 |url-status = live}}</ref>

In 2000, the [[European Central Bank]] indicated that, should the United Kingdom join the Euro, Scottish banks (and, by extension, Northern Irish banks) would have to cease banknote issue.<ref name="ECB">{{cite news| date=25 February 2000| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/656600.stm|title=ECB opposes notes issue |work=BBC News |access-date=15 October 2008}}</ref> During the [[2008 financial crisis]], the future of private banknotes in the United Kingdom was uncertain as several banks were rescued from collapse by the United Kingdom government. The [[Banking Act 2009]] was passed to improve protection for holders of banknotes issued by the authorised banks, so that the notes would have the same level of guaranteed value to that of Bank of England notes.<ref>{{cite web| title=Banking Bill| date=7 October 2008 |access-date=9 April 2010| url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmbills/147/08147.i-v.html |publisher=Publications.parliament.uk }}</ref><ref name=boe_2009act>{{cite web|title=Scottish and Northern Ireland Banknotes – Overview|url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/about/s_ni_overview.aspx|work=Bank of England|access-date=29 November 2013}}</ref> Critics of the 2009 Act expressed concerns that it would restrict the issue of banknotes by commercial banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland by removing many of the provisions of the earlier Acts quoted above.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7224987.stm| title= Salmond voices bank notes fears| date=4 February 2008|work=BBC News| access-date=15 October 2008}}</ref> Under the original proposals, banks would have been forced to lodge sterling funds with the Bank of England to cover private note issue for a full week, rather than over a weekend, thereby losing four days' interest and making banknote production financially unviable. Following negotiations among the UK Treasury, the Bank of England and the Scottish banks, it was agreed that the funds would earn interest, allowing them to continue to issue their own notes.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/latestnews/Scotland39s-own-banknotes-saved.4171798.jp| title=Scotland's own banknotes saved| date=11 June 2008|work=The Scotsman| access-date=15 October 2008}}</ref>

During the public debate leading up to the [[2014 Scottish independence referendum]], the question of Scotland's future currency was discussed. Whilst the [[Scottish National Party|SNP]] advocated a [[currency union]] between an independent Scotland and the remaining United Kingdom,<ref name=bbc_independence>{{cite news|title=Scottish independence: Osborne says currency plans 'dive into uncharted waters'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-22251103|access-date=27 April 2013|newspaper=BBC News|date=23 April 2013}}</ref> [[HM Treasury]] issued a statement in April 2013 stating that the present relationship with the Bank of England could be changed after independence, with the result that Scottish banks might lose the ability to issue banknotes backed by Bank of England funds.<ref name=herald_risk>{{cite news|last=Gardham|first=Magnus|title=Scottish banknotes at risk under Yes vote, warns Treasury|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/referendum-news/scottish-banknotes-at-risk.20872840|access-date=29 November 2013|newspaper=The Herald|date=21 April 2013}}</ref><ref name=guardian_independence>{{cite news|last=Carrell|first=Severin|title=Scottish banknotes: the Treasury's symbolic hostage in the independence debate|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/scottish-independence-blog/2013/apr/22/scottish-independence-banknotes|access-date=27 April 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2 April 2013|location=London}}</ref><ref name=herald_independence>{{cite news|title=More detail needed on key issue of currency|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/herald-view/more-detail-needed-on-key-issue-of-currency.20873499|access-date=27 April 2013|newspaper=The Herald|date=22 April 2013}}</ref>

===Scotland===
{{Main|Banknotes of Scotland}}

Until 1701 Scotland issued its own pound, the [[Pound Scots]]. The issuing of retail-bank banknotes in Scotland is subject to the [[Bank Charter Act 1844]], Banknotes (Scotland) Act 1845, the [[Currency and Bank Notes Act 1928]], and the [[Coinage Act 1971]]. Pursuant to some of these statutes, the [[Commissioners for Revenue and Customs]] publishes an account of "the Amount of Notes authorised by Law to be issued by the several Banks of Issue in Scotland, and the Average Amount of Notes in Circulation, and of Bank of England Notes and Coin held" in the ''[[London Gazette]]''. See for example ''Gazette'' Issue 58254 published 21 February 2007 at page 2544.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

====Bank of Scotland notes====
{{Main|Bank of Scotland}}
All Bank of Scotland notes bear a portrait of Sir [[Walter Scott]] on the front in commemoration of his 1826 ''Malachi Malagrowther'' campaign for Scottish banks to retain the right to issue their own notes.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-22251098|title=Malachi Malagrowther and the Scottish banknote|date=22 April 2017|work=BBC|access-date=25 August 2017}}</ref> Bank of Scotland's 2007 redesign of their banknotes are known as the ''Bridges of Scotland'' series. These notes were introduced on 17 September 2007, and show Scotland's most famous bridges on the reverse side. The ''Bridges of Scotland'' series is currently being refreshed with the issue of new polymer notes with designs that follow the same basic theme of "bridges". The previous ''Tercentenary'' series notes are being withdrawn from circulation and replaced with the 2007 series (or polymer series as these are issued), but remain legal currency. 
Following the announcement that [[HBOS]] (Bank of Scotland's parent company) would be taken over by [[Lloyds TSB]] in September 2008, it was confirmed that the new banking company would continue to print bank notes under the Bank of Scotland name.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Takeover--39may--tip.4508538.jp|title=Takeover 'may tip economy of Scotland into turmoil'|date=19 September 2008|work=The Scotsman|last2=MacDonell|first2=Hamish|location=Edinburgh|access-date=20 September 2008|first1=Lindsay|last1=McIntosh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921192551/http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Takeover--39may--tip.4508538.jp|archive-date=21 September 2008|url-status = live}}</ref> According to the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845, the bank could have lost its note-issuing rights, but by retaining headquarters within Scotland, banknote issue will continue.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article4783626.ece|title=Salmond rallies bank chiefs to rescue Scottish jobs|last=MacLeod|first=Angus|date=18 September 2008|work=The Times|location=London|access-date=20 September 2008}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Bank of Scotland banknotes
|-
! Denomination !! Obverse !! Reverse
|-
! colspan="3" |Tercentenary Series (1995)
|-
| [[Bank of Scotland £5 note|£5]]|| rowspan="5" | Sir Walter Scott || [[vignette (graphic design)|vignette]] of [[Petroleum|oil]] and energy
|-
| [[Bank of Scotland £10 note|£10]]||vignette of [[distillation|distilling]] and brewing
|-
| [[Bank of Scotland £20 note|£20]]|| vignette of education and research
|-
| [[Bank of Scotland £50 note|£50]]|| vignette of arts and culture
|-
| [[Bank of Scotland £100 note|£100]]|| vignette of [[recreation|leisure]] and tourism
|-
! colspan="3" |Bridges of Scotland Series (2007)
|-
| [[Bank of Scotland £5 note|£5]] || rowspan="5" | Sir Walter Scott || the [[Brig o' Doon]]
|-
| [[Bank of Scotland £10 note|£10]] || the [[Glenfinnan Viaduct]]
|-
| [[Bank of Scotland £20 note|£20]]|| the [[Forth Bridge]]
|-
| [[Bank of Scotland £50 note|£50]]|| the [[Falkirk Wheel]]
|-
| [[Bank of Scotland £100 note|£100]] || the [[Kessock Bridge]]
|-
! colspan="3" |Polymer Series (2016 onwards)
|-
| [[Bank of Scotland £5 note|£5]] || rowspan="5" | Sir Walter Scott || the [[Brig o' Doon]]
|-
| [[Bank of Scotland £10 note|£10]] || the [[Glenfinnan Viaduct]]
|-
| [[Bank of Scotland £20 note|£20]] || the [[Forth Bridge]]
|-
| [[Bank of Scotland £50 note|£50]] || the [[Falkirk Wheel]]
|-
| [[Bank of Scotland £100 note|£100]] || [[Flora Murray|Dr Flora Murray]]
|}

====Royal Bank of Scotland notes====
{{Main|The Royal Bank of Scotland}}

As of August 2017, the Royal Bank of Scotland is in the process of adopting a new series of banknotes. These will be made of [[Polymer banknote|polymer]]. Two (the £5 and £10 notes) have already been released, whilst a new £20 note is being designed. The £5 note shows [[Nan Shepherd]] on the obverse accompanied by a quote from her 1977 book ''The Living Mountain'', and the [[Cairngorms]] in the background. The reverse displays two [[mackerel]], with an excerpt from the poem {{lang|gd|[[An Roghainn]]}} (The Choice) by [[Scottish Gaelic]] poet [[Sorley MacLean]].<ref name="Scotsman2">{{cite news|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/new-rbs-bank-notes-to-feature-nan-shepherd-and-mary-somerville-1-4108245|title=New RBS bank notes to feature Nan Shepherd and Mary Somerville|date=25 April 2016|work=[[The Scotsman]]|access-date=25 April 2016}}</ref> The obverse of the £10 note shows [[Mary Somerville]], with a quote from her work 'The Connection of the Physical Sciences', and [[Burntisland]] beach in the background. The reverse displays two [[otter]]s and an excerpt from the poem 'Moorings' by [[Norman MacCaig]].<ref name="Scotsman3">{{cite news|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/new-rbs-bank-notes-to-feature-nan-shepherd-and-mary-somerville-1-4108245|title=RBS to issue polymer £10 banknote in October|date=11 August 2017|work=[[BBC]]|access-date=11 August 2017}}</ref> The obverse of the £20 note, to be introduced in 2020, will show [[Catherine Cranston]].<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-40892642|title=New RBS bank notes to feature Nan Shepherd and Mary Somerville|date=25 April 2016|work=[[The Scotsman]]|access-date=25 April 2016}}</ref>

The previous series of Royal Bank of Scotland notes, originally issued in 1987, remains in circulation, although it is now in the process of being replaced by polymer notes. On the front of each note is a picture of [[Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll|Lord Ilay]] (1682–1761), the first governor of the bank, based on a portrait painted in 1744 by the Edinburgh artist [[Allan Ramsay (artist)|Allan Ramsay]].<ref name="ramsay">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/R/6240/artist_name/Allan%20Ramsay/record_id/3983|title=Archibald Campbell [Mac Cailein Mòr], 3rd Duke of Argyll, 1682 – 1761. Statesman|year=2008|publisher=National Galleries of Scotland – Scottish National Portrait Gallery|access-date=27 April 2013}}</ref> The front of the notes also feature an engraving of the bank's former headquarters in [[St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh]]. The background [[graphic]] on both sides of the notes is a radial [[firmament|star design]] which is based on the ornate ceiling of the banking hall in the old headquarters building.<ref name="ilaynotes">{{cite web|url=http://www.rbs.com/about/our-banknotes/current-issue-notes.html |title=Our Banknotes – The Ilay Series |year=2008 |publisher=The Royal Bank of Scotland Group |access-date=27 April 2013 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126133012/http://www.rbs.com/about/our-banknotes/current-issue-notes.html |archive-date=26 January 2013 }}</ref> On the back of the notes are images of Scottish castles, with a different castle for each denomination.

Occasionally the [[Royal Bank of Scotland]] issues commemorative banknotes. Examples include the £1 note issued to mark the 150th Anniversary of the birth of [[Alexander Graham Bell]] in 1997, the £20 note for the 100th birthday of [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother]] in 2000, the £5 note honouring veteran golfer [[Jack Nicklaus]] in his [[2005 Open Championship|last competitive]] [[The Open Championship|Open Championship]] at [[Old Course at St Andrews|St Andrews]] in 2005, and the £10 note issued in commemoration of HM Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee in 2012. These notes are much sought-after by collectors and they rarely remain long in circulation.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Royal Bank of Scotland banknotes
|-
! Denomination !! Obverse !! Reverse
|-
! colspan="3" |Ilay Series (1987)
|-
| [[The Royal Bank of Scotland £1 note|£1]]|| rowspan="6" | Lord Ilay || [[Edinburgh Castle]]
|-
| [[The Royal Bank of Scotland £5 note|£5]] || [[Culzean Castle]]
|-
| [[The Royal Bank of Scotland £10 note|£10]]||[[Glamis Castle]]
|-
| [[The Royal Bank of Scotland £20 note|£20]]|| [[Brodick Castle]]
|-
| [[The Royal Bank of Scotland £50 note|£50]]|| [[Inverness Castle]] (introduced 2005)
|-
| [[The Royal Bank of Scotland £100 note|£100]]|| [[Balmoral Castle]]
|-
! colspan="3" |Fabric of Nature series (2016 onwards)
|-
| [[The Royal Bank of Scotland £5 note|£5]] || [[Nan Shepherd]] ||[[mackerel]]
|-
| [[The Royal Bank of Scotland £10 note|£10]]||[[Mary Somerville]] ||[[otter]]
|-
| [[The Royal Bank of Scotland £20 note|£20]]||[[Catherine Cranston]] ||[[red squirrel]]
|-
| [[The Royal Bank of Scotland £50 note|£50]]||[[Flora Stevenson]]||[[osprey]]
|}

====Clydesdale Bank notes====
{{Main|Clydesdale Bank}}

Clydesdale Bank has three series of banknotes in circulation at present. The most recent set of notes, the ''Polymer'' Series started coming into circulation in March 2015, when the Clydesdale Bank became the first bank in Great Britain to issue [[polymer banknotes]]. The £5 commemorative notes, issued to mark the 125th anniversary of the construction of the Forth Bridge, contain several new security features including a reflective graphic printed over a transparent "window" in the banknote.<ref>{{cite news|title=Clydesdale Bank brings in plastic £5 notes|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-32000610|access-date=23 March 2015|work=BBC News|date=23 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Plastic £5 notes released by Clydesdale Bank in first for Scotland|url=http://news.stv.tv/scotland/314758-first-plastic-banknotes-from-clydesdale-bank-enter-circulation/|access-date=23 March 2015|work=STV|date=23 March 2015}}</ref> Further notes in the polymer series will be introduced over time, replacing the previous paper notes.

The polymer notes continue the theme of the ''World Heritage'' Series of paper banknotes, introduced in autumn 2009. The new notes each depict a different notable Scot on the front and on the reverse bear an illustration of one of Scotland's [[List of World Heritage Sites of the United Kingdom|UNESCO World Heritage Sites]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2481697.0.Clydesdale_launches_Homecoming_bank_notes.php |title=Clydesdale launches Homecoming bank notes – Herald Scotland |work=The Herald|date=14 January 2009 |access-date=9 April 2010 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214014854/http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2481697.0.Clydesdale_launches_Homecoming_bank_notes.php |archive-date=14 February 2009 }}</ref>

Banknotes of the earlier ''Famous Scots'' Series portray notable Scottish historical people along with items and locations associated with them.<ref name=scotbanks_clydesdale>{{cite web|title=Current Banknotes : Clydesdale Bank|url=http://www.scotbanks.org.uk/banknotes_current_clydesdale_bank.php|publisher=Committee of Scottish Bankers|access-date=27 April 2013}}</ref>

The [[Clydesdale Bank]] also occasionally issues special edition banknotes, such as a £10 note celebrating the bank's sponsorship of the Scotland team at the [[2006 Commonwealth Games]]

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Clydesdale Bank banknotes
|-
! Denomination !! Obverse !! width=340pt|Reverse
|-
! colspan="3" |Famous Scots Series
|-
| [[Clydesdale Bank £5 note|£5]] || [[Robert Burns]] || A [[wood mouse|field mouse]] from Burns' poem ''[[To a Mouse]]''
|-
| [[Clydesdale Bank £10 note|£10]]|| [[Mary Slessor]]|| A map of [[Calabar]], [[Nigeria]], and African [[missionary]] scenes
|-
| [[Clydesdale Bank £20 note|£20]] || [[Robert the Bruce]] || The Bruce on horseback with the [[Monymusk Reliquary]] against a background of [[Stirling Castle]]
|-
| [[Clydesdale Bank £50 note|£50]] || [[Adam Smith]]|| Industrial tools against a background of sailing ships
|-
| [[Clydesdale Bank £100 note|£100]] || [[Lord Kelvin]] || [[University of Glasgow]]

|-
! colspan="3" |World Heritage Series (2009)
|-
| [[Clydesdale Bank £5 note|£5]] || [[Alexander Fleming|Sir Alexander Fleming]] || [[St Kilda, Scotland|St Kilda]]
|-
| [[Clydesdale Bank £10 note|£10]]|| [[Robert Burns]] || [[Edinburgh|Edinburgh Old and New Towns]]
|-
| [[Clydesdale Bank £20 note|£20]]|| [[Robert the Bruce]] ||[[New Lanark]]
|-
| [[Clydesdale Bank £50 note|£50]] || [[Elsie Inglis]] || [[Antonine Wall]]
|-
| [[Clydesdale Bank £100 note|£100]]|| [[Charles Rennie Mackintosh]] || [[Heart of Neolithic Orkney|Neolithic Orkney]]
|-
! colspan="3" |World Heritage (Polymer) Series (2015 onwards)
|-
| [[Clydesdale Bank £5 note|£5]] || [[William Arrol|Sir William Arrol]] || [[Forth Bridge]]
|-
| [[Clydesdale Bank £10 note|£10]] || [[Robert Burns]] ||Edinburgh Old and New Towns
|-
| [[Clydesdale Bank £20 note|£20]] || [[Robert the Bruce]] ||St Kilda
|}

===Northern Ireland===
{{Main|Banknotes of Northern Ireland}}
In [[Northern Ireland]], three [[retail bank]]s exercise their right to issue pound sterling notes: [[Bank of Ireland]], [[Danske Bank (Northern Ireland)|Danske Bank]] (formerly Northern Bank) and [[Ulster Bank]].<ref name=acbi>{{cite web|title=Current Banknotes|url=http://www.acbi.org.uk/current_banknotes.php|publisher=The Association of Commercial Banknote Issuers|access-date=27 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913155057/http://www.acbi.org.uk/current_banknotes.php|archive-date=13 September 2017|url-status = dead}}</ref> {{as of|2020}}, Northern Bank and Ulster Bank are the only two banks that have issued special commemorative notes so far.

Until June 2020, [[First Trust Bank]] (formerly [[Allied Irish Banks]] and now [[AIB (NI)]]) issued their own banknotes but no longer do so.<ref name="BBC130219" />

====Bank of Ireland notes====
[[File:Bank of Ireland sterling 5 .jpg|right|thumb|185px|A Bank of Ireland £5 note]]
Like other banks in Northern Ireland, Bank of Ireland retains its note-issuing rights from before the [[partition of Ireland]]; while Bank of Ireland is headquartered in Dublin, it issues sterling notes within the United Kingdom. In spite of its name, Bank of Ireland is not, and never has been, a [[central bank]]; it is a retail bank. Its sterling notes should not be confused with banknotes of the former [[Irish pound]] which were in use in the Republic of Ireland before the adoption of the [[euro]] in 2001.

Banknotes issued by Bank of Ireland are of a uniform design, with denominations of [[Bank of Ireland £5 note|£5]], [[Bank of Ireland £10 note|£10]] [[Bank of Ireland £20 note|£20]], [[Bank of Ireland £50 note|£50]] and [[Bank of Ireland £100 note|£100]] each differentiated by colour. The notes all feature an illustration of a seated woman, [[Hibernia (personification)|Hibernia]], and the [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|heraldic shield]]s of the [[Counties of Northern Ireland]].<ref name=boi_notes>{{cite web|title=Bank Notes|url=http://boini.bankofireland.com/about-boi-group/bank-notes/|publisher=Bank of Ireland Group}}</ref> Until April 2008, all Bank of Ireland notes featured an illustration of [[Queen's University of Belfast]] on the reverse side. A new series of £5, £10 and £20 notes issued in April 2008 depicts the [[Old Bushmills Distillery]] and these new notes will gradually replace the previous series as older notes are withdrawn from circulation.<ref name="bushmills1">{{cite web|url=http://www.bankofireland.com/press_room/latest_releases/2008/General_Content_1000233.html|title=Bank of Ireland to feature Old Bushmills Distillery on new Northern Ireland note issue|date=11 February 2008|publisher=Bank of Ireland|access-date=30 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7361944.stm|title= Bank raises glass to famous drink |date=23 April 2008|work=BBC News|access-date=30 October 2008}}</ref> In 2019 the Bank of Ireland released new Polymer banknotes with the same design as their paper counterparts but the same size as the Bank of England equivalents.

====First Trust Bank====
[[File:FirstTrust100.jpg|right|thumb|185px|A First Trust Bank £100 note]]
Until June 2020, First Trust Bank issued notes in denominations of £10, £20, £50 and £100. The notes bear portraits of generic Northern Irish people on the front with varied illustrations on the reverse.<ref name=firsttrust>{{cite web|title=First Trust Bank banknotes security features|url=http://www.firsttrustbank.co.uk/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FTPersonalPortal/FTContent_C/ft_download&c=FTContent_C&cid=1253690809929&channel=P004|publisher=First Trust Bank|access-date=27 April 2013}}</ref> Until 1993 the bank issued notes under its former trading name, Allied Irish Banks.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Denomination !! Obverse !! Reverse
|-
| £10|| Generic young man || The ship ''[[Girona (ship)|Girona]]''
|-
| £20 || Generic old woman || The chimney at Lacada Point, [[Giant's Causeway]]
|-
| £50 || Generic old man || A 1588 commemorative medal and cherubs 
|-
| £100 || Old man and woman together || [[Spanish Armada]]
|}
In February 2019, First Trust announced it would stop issuing its own banknotes, with the final withdrawal on 30 June 2020.<ref name="BBC130219">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-47225597 |title=First Trust Bank to stop printing notes |author=O'Neill, Julian |date=13 February 2019 |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC |access-date=20 February 2020 }}</ref> Any notes still in circulation remained legal currency until 30 June 2022, after which they could be exchanged for other sterling notes at branches of the bank.<ref name="FirstTrustEnd">{{cite web|title=First Trust Bank to cease issuing its own banknotes| url=https://firsttrustbank.co.uk/banknotes |publisher=First Trust Bank | access-date=1 June 2019}}</ref>

====Danske Bank====
[[File:Danske Bank NI 10 pounds.png|right|thumb|185px|A Danske Bank £10 note]]
[[File:NorthernBankNI20.png|right|thumb|185px|A Northern Bank £20 note]]
In 2012, Northern Bank adopted the name of its Copenhagen-based parent company [[Danske Bank]] Group and rebranded its retail banking operation.<ref name="bbc-dankse">{{cite news|title=Northern Bank officially rebrands as 'Danske Bank'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-20327672|access-date=4 May 2013|newspaper=BBC News|date=15 November 2012}}</ref><ref name="bt-dankse">{{cite news|last=Poole|first=Amanda|title=Northern Bank to be rebranded by owners Danske Bank|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/northern-bank-to-be-rebranded-by-owners-danske-bank-28748463.html|access-date=4 May 2013|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|date=11 May 2012}}</ref> In June 2013 the bank issued a new series of £10 and £20 notes bearing the new brand name; at the same time it also announced that it would cease production of £50 and £100 notes. Older notes bearing the Northern Bank name will continue in circulation for some time as they are gradually withdrawn, and remain acceptable forms of payment.<ref name=bbc_danske>{{cite news|title=Danske Bank puts new bank-notes into circulation|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-23032800|access-date=27 November 2013|newspaper=BBC News|date=24 June 2013}}</ref><ref name=bccm>{{cite web|title=Danske Bank Launch New Bank Notes |url=http://www.belfastcentre.com/danske-bank-launch-new-bank-notes/ |work=Belfast City Centre Management |date=24 June 2013 |access-date=29 November 2013 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203041013/http://www.belfastcentre.com/danske-bank-launch-new-bank-notes/ |archive-date=3 December 2013 }}</ref> In spite of the [[Danish language|Danish]] name on the new notes, banknotes issued by Danske Bank are sterling notes and should not be confused with banknotes of the [[Danish krone]] issued by the [[Danmarks Nationalbank]], Denmark's central bank.

Danske Bank does not issue £5 notes, but a special commemorative £5 note was issued by the Northern Bank to mark the [[Year 2000]]; it was a [[polymer banknote]], printed on synthetic polymer instead of paper. It is the only one of the bank's pre-2004 notes still in circulation; all others were recalled following the [[Northern Bank robbery|£26.5&nbsp;million pound robbery]] at its Belfast headquarters in 2004.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Denomination !! Obverse !! Reverse
|-
| [[Northern Bank £5 note|£5]]|| "Alpha" (α) motif, [[Solar System]], stars || Stars, globe, electronic circuitry, and the [[Space Shuttle]]
|-
| [[Danske Bank £10 note|£10]]|| [[John Boyd Dunlop|J. B. Dunlop]] ||rowspan="4"| [[Dome]] and [[pediment]] of [[Belfast City Hall]]
|-
| [[Danske Bank £20 note|£20]] ||[[Harry Ferguson]]
|-
| [[Northern Bank £50 note|£50]] || [[Samuel Cleland Davidson|Sir S. C. Davidson]]
|-
| [[Northern Bank £100 note|£100]] || [[James Martin (engineer)|James Martin]]
|}

As of 2019, Danske Bank only issues the £10 and £20 denominations.{{citation needed|date=February 2021|reason=ACBI website states this, but doesn't say when they stopped issuing £5 or £50 notes}}

====Ulster Bank====
[[File:UlsterBank20.jpg|right|thumb|185px|An Ulster Bank £20 note featuring the older NatWest arrowheads device]]
Ulster Bank notes all feature a vignette of three Northern Ireland views: the [[Mourne Mountains]], the [[Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, Belfast|Queen Elizabeth Bridge]] and the [[Giant's Causeway]]. Notes issued from 1 January 2007 feature the [[Royal Bank of Scotland]] "daisy wheel" logo.

In November 2006, Ulster Bank issued its first commemorative banknote – an issue of one million £5 notes commemorating the first anniversary of the death of Northern Irish footballer [[George Best]].

In June 2018, Ulster Bank announced the introduction of a new series of polymer banknote designs, the first in the United Kingdom to have a [[Banknote#Vertical orientation|vertical orientation]]. The new series was designed around the theme "Living in Nature", highlighting Northern Ireland's botanical, zoological and geographical features. The first announced were the five-pound note, featuring images of [[Strangford Lough]], the [[Brent goose]] and the [[fuchsia]], was designed using the theme of "migration", while the ten-pound note, which carries the theme of "growth", features [[Lough Erne]], the [[Irish hare]] and the [[Guelder-rose]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rbs.com/rbs/news/2018/06/ulster-bank-reveals-new-note-designs.html |title=Ulster Bank reveals new note designs |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=6 June 2018 |website=RBS |access-date=27 February 2020 }}</ref> In August 2019, the design of the new twenty-pound note was revealed, with the idea of Northern Ireland as 'dwelling place', and images including [[Lough Neagh]], the [[European eel]] and the [[Crataegus|Hawthorn flower]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rbs.com/rbs/news/2019/08/ulster-bank-introduces-new-p20-note-designs.html |title=Ulster Bank introduces new £20 note designs |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=21 August 2019 |website=RBS |access-date=27 February 2020 }}</ref>

As part of the transfer of the business of Ulster Bank Limited to National Westminster Bank PLC that was completed on 3 May 2021, in 2020 the right to issue banknotes was transferred from Ulster Bank Limited to National Westminster Bank PLC.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/658/made?view=plain|title=The Northern Ireland Banknote (Designation of Authorised Bank) Regulations 2020|work=legislation.gov.uk|date=29 June 2020|accessdate=15 September 2021}}</ref>

==Channel Islands==
The Channel Islands are grouped for administrative purposes into the [[Bailiwick]]s of [[Jersey]] and [[Guernsey]]. The islands are not part of the United Kingdom but are dependencies of the British Crown and in currency union with the UK. Both Jersey and Guernsey issue their own banknotes. These notes circulate freely between the two territories, so Jersey notes are commonly used in Guernsey, and vice versa. Private banknotes are no longer in circulation in the Channel Islands. These notes are legal tender in their jurisdictions but are not legal tender in the UK.

The Government of [[Alderney]] (a part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey) is also licensed to issue its own currency, the [[Alderney pound]], but only mints special commemorative sterling coins and does not issue banknotes.<ref name="alderney_coins">{{cite web| url=http://www.alderney.gov.gg/index.php/pid/124| title=States of Alderney Alderney Coins| publisher=Alderney Government| access-date=6 November 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224165123/http://www.alderney.gov.gg/index.php/pid/124| archive-date=24 December 2008|url-status = dead}}</ref>

===States of Jersey notes===
{{Main|Jersey pound}}

The current series of notes entered circulation on 29 April 2010.<ref name="bbc">{{cite news| date=29 April 2010|publisher=BBC| title=New Jersey banknotes begin circulation| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/jersey/8649631.stm| access-date=28 February 2011}}</ref> The obverse of the notes includes a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II based on a photograph by Mark Lawrence, alongside a view of an important Jersey landmark, with text in English. The reverse of each note includes an image of one of Jersey's numerous historic coastal defence towers, built in the late 18th century, as well as a further image of cultural or landscape importance, images of the twelve parish crests, and with denomination worded in [[Jersey Legal French|French]] and [[Jèrriais]]. The watermark is a [[Jersey cattle|Jersey cow]], and further security features include a see-through map of Jersey, and on the £10, £20 and £50 a patch hologram showing a varying image of the [[coat of arms of Jersey]] and the Island of Jersey on a background pattern of La Corbière lighthouse.<ref name="leaflet">{{cite web| url=http://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Tax%20and%20your%20money/ID%20OnDemandJersey%2020100219%20JMB.pdf| title=On Demand| access-date=28 February 2011| publisher=States of Jersey-Treasury and Resources}}</ref> On 1 June 2012, a £100 note was issued to commemorate the [[Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II|Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II]].<ref>[http://banknotenews.com/files/9309c634ca98868e15c95dfebdff10bc-1639.php Jersey to issue 100-pound commemorative note in 2012] BanknoteNews.com, Retrieved 15 August 2011.</ref>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Denomination!!Colour!!Obverse design!!Reverse design
|-
|£1||Green||Queen Elizabeth II; Liberation Sculpture in Saint Helier ||[[Le Hocq]] Tower; [[La Hougue Bie]]
|-
|£5||Sky blue||Queen Elizabeth II; Le Rât Cottage||Archirondel Tower; [[Les Augrès Manor]]
|-
|£10||Burnt Sienna||Queen Elizabeth II; Hermitage of Saint [[Helier]]||Seymour Tower; [[René Lalique|Lalique]] sculpture in the [[St Matthew's Church, Jersey|Glass Church]]
|-
|£20||Violet||Queen Elizabeth II; [[States of Jersey|States Building]]|| La Rocco Tower; States Chamber
|-
|£50||Red||Queen Elizabeth II; [[Mont Orgueil]]|| Tower, Ouaisné; La Marmotière, Les [[Écréhous]]
|-
|£100||Purple||Queen Elizabeth II; map of Jersey and [[Cotentin peninsula]]|| Royal mace of Jersey; [[Flag of Jersey]]
|}

The previous series, gradually being withdrawn from circulation in 2010, depicted Queen Elizabeth II on the front and various landmarks of Jersey or incidents in [[History of Jersey|Jersey history]] on the reverse.

===States of Guernsey notes===
{{Main|Guernsey pound}}

The Guernsey pound is legal tender in [[Guernsey]], but also circulates freely in [[Jersey]]. It is a sterling pound but the word "sterling" is omitted on banknotes, as on the English ones. Guernsey banknotes can also be exchanged in banks and in [[bureaux de change]], although it has been reported that British banks no longer accept £1 Guernsey banknotes because they no longer have the facility for handling £1 UK banknotes (which are only issued in Scotland).

In addition to coins, the following banknotes are used:
* £1 note, green, [[Daniel De Lisle Brock]], [[List of Bailiffs of Guernsey|Bailiff of Guernsey]] (1762–1842) and [[Court (royal)|Royal Court]], [[St Peter Port]] (1840) on front and the Market, St Peter Port on back
* £5 note, pink, [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] and the Town Church, St Peter Port on front, and [[Fort Grey]] and [[Hanois Lighthouse]] (1862) on the back
* £10 note, blue/orange, Queen Elizabeth II and [[Elizabeth College, Guernsey|Elizabeth College]], St Peter Port on the front and [[Saumarez Park]], [[Les Niaux Watermill]], [[Le Trepied Dolmen]] on the back
* £20 note, pink, Queen Elizabeth II and [[St James Concert Hall]], St Peter Port on the front and [[Vale Castle]] and [[St Sampson's Church, Guernsey|St Sampson's Church]] on the back
* £50 note, light brown, Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Court House on the front and St Andrew's Church and La Gran'mère on the back

==Isle of Man==
{{Main|Manx pound}}

The Isle of Man Government issues its own banknotes and coinage, which are legal tender in the Isle of Man. Manx pounds are a local issue of sterling, but the word "sterling" does not appear on the banknotes. These notes can be exchanged in banks and in [[bureaux de change]] in the United Kingdom.

The front of all Manx banknotes features images of [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] (not wearing a crown: she was only [[Lord of Mann]] on the island) and the [[Triskeles]] (three legs emblem). Each denomination features a different scene of the island on its reverse side:
* £1 – [[Tynwald Hill]]
* £5 – [[Castle Rushen]]
* £10 – [[Peel Castle]]
* £20 – [[Laxey Wheel]]
* £50 – [[Douglas Harbour|Douglas Bay]]

==British overseas territories==
{{see also|British currency in the South Atlantic and the Antarctic}}
Three [[British overseas territories]] use their own separate currencies denominated in pounds which are [[at par]] with the pound sterling. The governments of these territories print their own banknotes which in general may only be used within their territory of origin. Bank of England notes usually circulate alongside the local note issues and are accepted as legal currency.

===Gibraltar===

{{Main|Gibraltar pound}}
In Gibraltar, banknotes are issued by the Government of Gibraltar. The pound was made sole legal tender in 1898 and Gibraltar has issued its own banknotes since 1934.<ref>{{cite web| author=Government of Gibraltar| date=June 1934| title=Currency Notes Act| url=http://www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi/articles/1934-06o.pdf| access-date=5 November 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081029161358/http://www.gibraltarlaws.gov.gi/articles/1934-06o.pdf| archive-date= 29 October 2008 |url-status = live}}</ref> The notes bear an image of the British monarch on the obverse and the wording "pounds sterling", meaning that more retailers in the UK will accept them.

===Falkland Islands===
{{Main|Falkland Islands pound}}
The Falkland Islands pound is the currency of the [[Falkland Islands]]. Banknotes are issued by the Falkland Islands Government. The illustrations on all notes are the same, featuring the British monarch, wildlife and local scenes; denominations are distinguished by the size and colour of the notes.

===St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha===
{{Main|Saint Helena pound}}
[[St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha]]'s constituent territories of [[Saint Helena]] and [[Ascension Island]] use the [[Saint Helena pound]]. Banknotes in these areas are issued by the Saint Helena Government and bear the image of the British monarch.

==Counterfeiting==
According to the [[central bank]]s, the ratio of counterfeited bank notes is about 10 in one million for the [[Banknotes of the Swiss franc|Swiss franc]], 50 in one million for the [[Euro banknotes|euro]], 100 in one million for [[Federal Reserve Note|United States dollar]] and 300 in one million for sterling.<ref>{{in lang|fr}} Michel Beuret, [http://wp.unil.ch/allezsavoir/les-mysteres-de-la-fausse-monnaie "Les mystères de la fausse monnaie"], ''[[Allez savoir !]]'', no. 50, May 2011.</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Numismatics|Money|United Kingdom}}
* [[Bradbury Wilkinson and Company]], printer of banknotes, postage stamps and share certificates
* [[Coins of the pound sterling]]
* [[List of British banknotes and coins]]
* [[Pound Scots]] and [[Scottish coinage]], currency of Scotland before the union with England
* [[List of people on banknotes]]
* [[List of British currencies]]
* [[Polymer banknote]]

===Commonwealth===
States within the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] issue their own banknotes which are separate currencies:
* [[Commonwealth banknote-issuing institutions]]

==References==

===Notes===
{{notelist-lr}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/current-banknotes Bank of England banknote page]
* [http://www.scotbanks.org.uk Committee of Scottish Clearing Bankers home page]
* [http://www.rbs.com/about03.asp?id=ABOUT_US/OUR_HERITAGE/OUR_HISTORY/OUR_BANKNOTES The Royal Bank of Scotland banknote page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220125810/http://www.rbs.com/about03.asp?id=ABOUT_US%2FOUR_HERITAGE%2FOUR_HISTORY%2FOUR_BANKNOTES |date=20 December 2008 }}
* [http://www.gov.im/treasury/coins/notes.xml Isle of Man banknotes (IOM Treasury)] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120805103806/http://www.gov.im/treasury/coins/notes.xml |date=5 August 2012 }}
* [http://www.rampantscotland.com/SCM/story.htm History of Scottish Banks and Bank Notes] – Rampant Scotland

{{Banknotes of the pound sterling|state=open}}
{{Economy of the United Kingdom}}
{{Pound (currency)}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banknotes of the Pound Sterling}}
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Jane Austen]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Winston Churchill]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Charles Darwin]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Charles Dickens]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Isaac Newton]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Florence Nightingale]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Walter Raleigh]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of William Shakespeare]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Alan Turing]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of J. M. W. Turner]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington]]
[[Category:Currencies of dependent territories of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Currencies of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Currencies with multiple banknote issuers|Pound sterling]]
[[Category:Pound sterling]]
[[Category:Banknotes of Scotland]]
[[Category:Banknotes of the United Kingdom| ]]
[[Category:Pound (currency)]]