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The Bank of England £5 note, also known as a fiver, is a sterling
banknote A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commerc ...
. It is the smallest denomination of banknote currently issued by the
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...
. On 5 June 2024 and 13 September 2016, a new
polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...
note was introduced, featuring the images of
King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
and the late
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
on the obverse and a portrait of
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
on the reverse. The note is of a green colouring. The old paper note, first issued in 2002 and bearing the image of prison reformer Elizabeth Fry on the reverse, was phased out and ceased to be legal tender after 5 May 2017.


History


Introduction

Five pound notes (£5) were introduced by the
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...
in 1793, following the ten pound note, which had been introduced in 1759 as a consequence of gold shortages caused by the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
. The 5 pound note was introduced again, due to gold shortages caused by the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
and the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
and was the lowest denomination of note issued until 1797. The earliest notes were handwritten and were issued to individuals as needed. These notes were written on one side only and bore the name of the payee, the date and the signature of the issuing cashier.


Restriction period

In 1797, due to the extra money needed to fund the war and the uncertainty caused as Britain declared war on France, a series of
bank run A bank run or run on the bank occurs when many Client (business), clients withdraw their money from a bank, because they believe Bank failure, the bank may fail in the near future. In other words, it is when, in a fractional-reserve banking sys ...
s drained the Bank of England of its gold supply. The Bank was forced to stop exchanging gold for notes and to issue notes of £1 and £2 denominations. This was known as the " restriction period", as the exchange of notes for their value in gold was restricted. The Restriction Period ended in 1821 as the Government had to anchor the value of the currency to gold in order to control sharply rising
inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...
and national debt. After a brief period to offset any sudden deflation, the UK returned to the
gold standard A gold standard is a backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the ...
on 1 May 1821. These notes could again be exchanged in full, or in part, for an equivalent amount of gold when presented at the bank. If redeemed in part, the banknote would be marked to indicate the amount that had been redeemed. From 1853 printed notes replaced handwritten notes, with the declaration "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of five pounds" replacing the name of the payee. This declaration remains on Bank of England banknotes to this day. A printed signature of one of three cashiers appeared on the printed notes, though this was replaced by the signature of the Chief Cashier from 1870 onward.


Move away from gold standard

The right to redeem banknotes for gold ceased in 1931, when Britain stopped using the gold standard. Metal thread was introduced on the £5 note in 1945 as a security feature. The printed black and white notes were replaced from 1957 onwards by new, two-sided notes. The first two-sided £5 notes (series B) were blue and featured a bust of
Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...
on the front and a lion on the back. Series C notes, first introduced in 1963, were the first notes to feature an image of the monarch on the front, with Britannia being relegated to the back. From 1971 onward, with the introduction of series D, a British historical figure was portrayed on the reverse: the soldier and statesman the Duke of Wellington in this case. Series E notes, first issued in 1990, are multicoloured, although they are predominantly turquoise-blue. These notes feature a portrait of railway pioneer
George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was an English civil engineer and Mechanical engineering, mechanical engineer during the Industrial Revolution. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victoria ...
, as well as for the first time "windowed" metal thread; this thread appears as a dashed line, yet forms a single line when held up to the light.


2002 Varnish issue

In 2002, a problem was identified in which the serial numbers could be rubbed off some notes. The problem was highlighted after six members of the public complained to The Bank of England; banks as well as Post Offices stopped distributing the notes at the request of the Bank of England to stop issuing the new £5 notes. The Bank said the move was a "precautionary measure while we carry out further tests and investigative work into what might have caused the fault and how widespread the problem is". The bank consequently did rigorous testing and found the problem to be that the serial numbers were printed over the varnish rather than under it allowing the ink to be removed if enough force was applied. The Bank started to varnish the notes in an attempt to make them last longer than previous notes which only had an estimated lifespan of nine months. A spokesman for the Bank of England said: "The notes are still
legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that Standard of deferred payment, courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment in court for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything ...
and the public shouldn't have a problem spending them in the shops. As long as shopkeepers check the anti-counterfeit measures, then the lack of serial numbers is not a problem. "If members of the public are concerned, then they should take the notes back to the bank where they will be exchanged." The F series £5 note was never issued.


Moving to polymer

In April 2013, the
Governor of the Bank of England The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent choosing and mentoring a successor. The governor ...
Sir Mervyn King announced on behalf of the bank that Elizabeth Fry would be replaced by
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
on the next £5 note which would enter circulation in 2016. It was also announced that the images featured on the reverse would include the famous 1941 portrait of Churchill (''
The Roaring Lion ''The Roaring Lion'' is a black and white photographic portrait of a 67-year-old Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The portrait was taken in 1941 by Yousuf Karsh in the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario ...
'') by Yousuf Karsh, a view of the
Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
, a quote by Churchill ("I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat") and a background image of Churchill's
Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...
, while the obverse would feature an image of
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
. In December 2013 the Bank of England announced that the next £5 note would be printed on a
polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...
, rather than cotton paper. The bank cited that they would be cleaner, more secure and more durable. It was also said that the new polymer notes would be more environmentally friendly, lasting 2.5 times as long as cotton paper notes, according to the Bank's own environmental testing. The note was introduced on 13 September 2016, with an initial print run of 440 million notes (worth £2.2 billion), over the period of co-circulation. It was announced that there would be a co-circulatory period with the old series E notes, and then on 5 May 2017, the series E would cease to be legal tender. However, as with all Bank of England notes, they can be exchanged at face value at any time in the future.


Ingredients controversy

In November 2016, there was controversy when the Bank of England confirmed that the new notes contained traces of tallow. According to an online petition on this issue, this is unacceptable to vegans, vegetarians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Jews and other groups in the UK, and one Cambridge cafe boycotted the new note. The note's manufacturer, Innovia Security, was looking into changing the recipe for the polymer used, so as to contain no animal products, which are added to polymer pellets at an early stage of production. However, on 10 August 2017 the Bank of England announced that all future notes, including future £5 note prints would continue the use of traces of tallow.


Design


List of historical designs

Sources from the Bank of England:


Current designs

The series G (polymer) note is the only £5 note that is currently legal tender. The old paper series E was withdrawn, following a co-circulation period with both notes being legal tender which ended on 5 May 2017.


Circulation

The Bank of England is responsible for printing and issuing notes to ensure a smooth monetary supply across the United Kingdom. It reports the number of notes in circulation at any given time. The £5 note circulation peaked in 1979 before the £50 was re-introduced. Table sources from th
Bank of England Statistics


See also

*
Bank of England note issues The Bank of England, which is now the central bank of the United Kingdom, British Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories, has issued banknotes since 1694. In 1921 the Bank of England gained a legal monopoly on the issue of bankno ...


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bank of England 5 note Banknotes of England Five-base-unit banknotes 1793 introductions