The secrets hidden in the NEW Alan Turing £50 banknote…

Whether you love them or hate them, it’s fair to say that when the Bank of England issued the very first polymer banknotes, UK currency was revolutionised. As well as refreshing the designs of the notes, these polymer versions were considered a cleaner, safer, and stronger alternative.

In 2016 it was the £5 that received the first makeover, and Winston Churchill was selected to feature on the note. Jane Austen soon followed on the £10 note and JMW Turner was selected to feature on the £20 polymer note last year.

Now, the scarcest and largest banknote in circulation – the £50 banknote – has received the same polymer makeover treatment, and on 23rd June 2021 the brand new polymer banknote featuring Alan Turning was released.

But it’s not only the design that makes this note special. You see, the Bank of England have described their polymer notes as the most secure series of banknotes yet. So, I’m of course curious to see what special security features have been worked into the design of our newest banknote…

Britain’s most secure banknote

Before the revolutionary polymer £50 came along, The Bank of England estimated that there were over 350 million £50 paper banknotes in circulation in the UK in 2021 – the lowest number of all UK banknotes.

Last year, approximately 20,000 counterfeit £50 notes were seized by The Bank of England – the second highest number of counterfeits out of all UK banknote denominations. When you consider that, it’s understandable that the need to make the new £50 polymer banknote difficult to counterfeit was at the forefront of the designer’s mind!

Let’s take a look at some of the security features incorporated into the design:

The First 50 Pound Polymer Banknote DateStamp Issue Product Images Note Front - The secrets hidden in the NEW Alan Turing £50 banknote…
  • Transparent windows – the foil in the large see-through window is green and gold on the front, and silver on the back. Within the gold foil squares the image changes between ‘50’ and a ‘£’ symbol when tilted. Plus, there’s a second, smaller window in the bottom corner.
  • Changing holograms – the hologram beneath the large clear pane will alternate between reading ‘Fifty’ and ‘Pounds’ depending on what way you tilt the note.
  • The Queen’s portrait in the transparent window – the Queen’s portrait is printed on the window with ‘£50 Bank of England’ printed twice around the edge.
  • Foil patches – a silver foil patch contains a 3D image of the coronation crown. There is a second red foil patch which contains the letters ‘AT’.
  • Ultra-violet technology – under UV light, the number ’50’ appears in bright red and green on the front of the note, against a duller background.
  • Raised dots – you’ll find four clusters of raised dots in the top left hand corner. This tactile feature helps blind and partially sighted people identify the value of the note.

Alan Turing design

The First 50 Pound Polymer Banknote DateStamp Issue Product Images Note Back 1 - The secrets hidden in the NEW Alan Turing £50 banknote…

In 2018 the Banknote Character Advisory Committee chose to celebrate the field of science on the £50 note. Following this, nominations were accepted by the public over six weeks, accumulating over 225,000 nominations and 989 individual characters for consideration. 12 names were shortlisted, and Alan Turing was finally selected by the Governor of the Bank of England.

The note itself features a portrait of Turing based on a photo taken in 1951 by Elliot & Fry which is part of the Photographs Collection at the National Portrait Gallery. The artwork on the reverse of the note celebrates Turing’s pioneering mathematics and work with computers.

Most notably the design features technical drawings for the British Bombe, the machine specified by Turing and one of the primary tools used to break Enigma-enciphered messages during WWII.

Stationed at Bletchley Park, he played a pivotal role in cracking intercepted coded messages that enabled the Allies to defeat the Nazis in many crucial engagements, including the Battle of the Atlantic. It’s estimated that this work shortened the war in Europe by more than two years and saved over 14 million lives.

What do you think about the new £50 Polymer note? Let us know in the comments!


If you’re interested…

If you’re looking for a way to own this significant, revolutionary piece of British currency, then look no further than the UK 2021 £50 Polymer Banknote DateStamp™ issue. Each DateStamp™ issue has been postmarked by Royal Mail with the note’s first day of release – 23rd June 2021 – forever ensuring its provenance.

The First 50 Pound Polymer Banknote DateStamp Issue Product Images In Box - The secrets hidden in the NEW Alan Turing £50 banknote…

First issues are always valued by collectors and by owning the DateStamp™ issue you will be one of just 995 collectors able to forever mark the date the new £50 polymer banknote entered circulation. We have a limited number available, so click here to find out more >>

The British banknote set to sell for up to £12,000!

Tomorrow on 28th October a Victorian £5 Banknote is set to sell at auction catalogued at up to £12,000! Now you might be wondering how an old piece of paper could be worth such an extortionate price. Well, even though it is over 150 years old, the banknote is in pristine condition – almost as if it has come straight from the Victorian Cashier who issued it himself!

The £5 Banknote, dated for the 28th December 1863 is a representation of the height of the industrial period and the advances made in Victorian Britain. In fact the design and printing technology was so advanced that the exact design was used up until 1956! You see, British Banknotes have an incredible history that is often overlooked in the collecting world…

The First UK Banknote

In 1694 King William III was at war with France, and as is often the case with warfare, the financial state of the nation was put under pressure. And so the Bank of England was established. One of its main jobs was to issue banknotes in return for deposits of gold or silver. It’s thought that the first banknote ever issued was one for £1000! But seeing as most people’s wages were less than £20 a year in those days, most people never saw a banknote.

123100023 2927512590682554 5079541005404482714 n - The British banknote set to sell for up to £12,000!

Each banknote was handwritten on bank paper addressed to the payee, and signed by a cashier to authenticate it –sort of like a modern day cheque. This is a tradition that continues today as each banknote is issued with the Chief Cashier’s signature.

“I promise to pay the barer on demand the sum of five pounds”

THSBC008 Warren Fisher 1 004.tiff - The British banknote set to sell for up to £12,000!

Before 1853 banknotes were completely handwritten, but the innovation of the Victorian period meant that templates for banknotes could be printed. Therefore cashiers no longer had to sign each note individually. The words “I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of Five pounds” were introduced to link the notes to a physical gold value. In theory, anyone could go to the bank and ask them to give them £5 worth of gold in exchange for a £5 banknote, although the meaning has changed today, the tradition remains on the banknotes.

Emergency Wartime issues

2020 wwi emergency bank note front and back - The British banknote set to sell for up to £12,000!

During the First World War, gold was preserved by the government and gold coins in circulation had to be withdrawn. To replace these coins, the Bank of England needed to make a large supply of £1 and 10/- notes available, but the haste at which these were produced meant that there were huge security problems. The notes were too small for cashiers to handle and they had very few anti-counterfeiting measures, but the notes themselves played a vital role in keeping the economy going.

The Second World War Nazi threat

Capture - The British banknote set to sell for up to £12,000!

During World War Two, the British government found out about a Nazi plot to introduced thousands of fake banknotes to destabilise British currency. However the Bank of England took emergency action and changed the colour of some of the notes for the duration of the war. The Nazi’s could not match the high levels of security features on the British banknotes and their plans failed.

Polymer banknotes

Â10 front - The British banknote set to sell for up to £12,000!

Today historic banknotes are harder and harder to get hold of, especially the ones in good condition, and those that are will often sell for thousands of pounds. Few have seen the earlier banknotes, and a small number of us remember using pre-decimal or war time banknotes in our childhoods. This is largely because the paper design which made them more susceptible to damage, so many have been lost over time. The new polymer banknotes first issued in 2016 marked a monumental change in numismatic history, bringing new technology and innovation to our pockets.


If you’re interested

Today you have the chance to own a limited edition pair of Emergency Wartime Banknote reproductions, each struck from 5g of FINE SILVER.

The Emergency Banknotes each carry a fascinating story, and your Silver versions come complete in a presentation folder telling the full story of how these banknotes helped Britain win the war.

2020 wwi emergency bank note in folder lifestyle - The British banknote set to sell for up to £12,000!

JUST 100 of these special FINE SILVER banknotes pairs are available, so click here to order yours now, before it’s too late >>

The secrets hidden in Britain’s most secure banknote yet

Whether you love them or hate them, it’s fair to say that when the Bank of England issued the very first polymer banknotes, UK currency was revolutionised. As well as refreshing the designs of the notes, these polymer versions were considered a cleaner, safer and stronger alternative.

In 2016 it was the £5 that received the first makeover, and Winston Churchill was selected to feature on the note. Jane Austen soon followed on the £10 note and now, as chosen by the British public, renowned artist JMW Turner graces the new £20 polymer note.

But it’s not only the design that makes this note special. You see, the Bank of England have described this note as the most secure banknote yet. So, I’m of course curious to see what special security features have been worked into the design of our newest banknote…

Britain’s most secure banknote

Before the revolutionary polymer £20 came along, there were over 2 billion £20 paper notes in circulation. The sheer volume of them made the £20 note Britain’s most used, and consequently most forged, banknote.

So it’s understandable that the need to make it difficult to counterfeit was at the forefront of the designer’s mind! The result? A whole host of special features that make it harder to forge and stand out from other notes in circulation.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the security features incorporated into the design:

polymer 20 specimen front 1 1 - The secrets hidden in Britain’s most secure banknote yet
Front of 2020 polymer £20 note. Credit: Bank of England
  • Transparent windows – the foil in the large see-through window is blue and gold on the front, and silver on the back. Plus, there’s a second, smaller window in the bottom corner.
  • Changing holograms – the hologram beneath the large clear pane will alternate between reading ‘Twenty’ and ‘Pounds’ depending on what way you tilt the note.
  • The Queen’s portrait in the transparent window – the Queen’s portrait is printed on the window with ‘£20 Bank of England’ printed twice around the edge.
  • Foil patches – a silver foil patch contains a 3D image of the coronation crown. There is a second purple foil patch which contains the letter ‘T’.
  • Ultra-violet technology – under UV light, the number ’20’ appears in bright red and green on the front of the note, against a duller background.
  • Raised dots – you’ll find three clusters of raised dots in the top left hand corner. This tactile feature helps blind and partially sighted people identify the value of the note.

JMW Turner design

When choosing the design for the £20 note, the Bank of England were spoilt for choice. They received over 29,000 nominations submitted by the general public. And the choice to select JMW Turner makes him the first British artist to ever feature on a UK banknote.

polymer 20 specimen back 1 1 - The secrets hidden in Britain’s most secure banknote yet
Back of 2020 polymer £20 note. Credit: Bank of England

The note itself features Turner’s 1799 self-portrait, which is currently housed in the Tate Modern in London. And behind this you’ll notice one of his most recognisable works – The Fighting Temeraire. This famous painting is a tribute to the ship that played a pivotal role in in Nelson’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

The final nod to Turner in the design comes from the quote “light is therefore colour”, alongside the signature taken from his will. The quote is taken from a lecture Turner gave in 1818 and is a reference to his innovative use of light, shade, colour and tone.

What do you think about the new £20 Polymer note? Let us know in the comments!


If you’re interested…

dn datestamp 20 polymer banknote product images 3 300x208 - The secrets hidden in Britain’s most secure banknote yet

If you’re looking for a way to own this significant, revolutionary piece of British currency, then look no further than the UK 2020 £20 Polymer Banknote DateStamp™ issue. Each DateStamp™ issue has been postmarked by Royal Mail with the note’s first day of release – 20th February 2020 – forever ensuring its provenance.

First issues are always valued by collectors and by owning the DateStamp™ issue you will be one of just 2,500 collectors able to forever mark the date the new £20 polymer banknote entered circulation. We have a limited number available, so click here to find out more >>