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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 banknotes in England and Wales, a process that started with the Bank Charter Act 1844, when the ability of other banks to issue notes was restricted.
A third note surfaced recently on the collector market, dated 8 September 2003, serial number R016492, and it is signed by Andrew Turnbull, Secretary to the Treasury, and cancelled. Until 2006, these Treasury notes were issued by the Bank of England, in the City of London.
Main articles: Banknotes of the pound sterling and Bank of England note issues. Note: The description of banknotes given here relates to notes issued by the Bank of England. Three banks in Scotland and three banks in Northern Ireland also issue notes, in some or all of the denominations: £1, £5, £10, £20, £50, £100.
As provincial banking companies merged to form larger banks, they lost their right to issue notes, and the English private banknote eventually disappeared, leaving the bank with a monopoly of note issues in England and Wales. The last private bank to issue its own banknotes in England and Wales was Fox, Fowler and Company in 1921. [117]
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.
In Great Britain, country banks that issued banknotes multiplied in the 18th century, even though the Bank of England had a monopoly on note issuance in London and its immediate surroundings. [4] The Bank Charter Act 1844 established a nationwide note-issuance monopoly for the Bank of England in England and Wales, but not in Scotland or Ireland.
However, when the Bank Charter Act was passed in 1844, no new banks could issue notes in England and Wales, and the number of note-issuing institutions fell gradually with financial sector consolidation. Fox, Fowler, and Company was the last commercial note-issuing bank in England and Wales, until it was bought out by Lloyds Bank in 1921.
It is the policy of the Bank of England to redeem all withdrawn notes for current currency at the face value shown on the note, except for counterfeit currency. [ 100 ] [ n 14 ] Examples of counterfeits from Operation Bernhard have appeared at auction and been sold through dealers for a higher face value than the original £5.