Bank of England New £20 Banknote

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Adam Smith to Feature on New-Series
£20 Banknote

30 October 2006

The contribution of world-renowned 18th century philosopher and economist, Adam Smith, is to be acknowledged on a new-design £20 banknote the Bank of England is to introduce into circulation next Spring. Changes to the design mean that the note will start a new series of Bank of England banknotes.

Making the announcement yesterday, Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, said, “It is such a pleasure to use the occasion of the launch of a new series of notes as an opportunity to recognise Adam Smith’s contribution to the understanding of society and its development.  Smith’s insights into human nature, the organisation of society, the division of labour and the advantages of specialisation remain at the heart of economics.” The Governor was giving the Adam Smith Lecture at the Adam Smith College, Kirkcaldy, Fife.

“As the central bank for the United Kingdom, the Bank of England is in a privileged position to acknowledge the enduring contribution of its most talented citizens over their lifetime to the advancement of society. Our choice of Adam Smith reflects the keen importance we attach to that position and the place of the notes themselves as a record of Britain’s heritage.”

The overall design of the new series, known as ‘Series F’, retains some of the features and style of the current series to provide continuity for ease of recognition. The new £20 note will be the same size as the current £20 note featuring Sir Edward Elgar and will include the now familiar portrait of Her Majesty The Queen.

Along with the different ‘look’ of the note, the main change is the inclusion of a portrait of Adam Smith on the back of the note, along with the image of a pin-making factory and a summary of Smith’s observations on the benefits of the division of labour, drawn from his major work, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.

Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s Executive Director – Banking Services and Chief Cashier, whose signature appears on Bank of England notes, commented, “The introduction of new banknote designs are our opportunity to incorporate advances in anti-counterfeiting features and production techniques. This new £20 note incorporates enhanced security features. The work of the police, and our education programme – ‘Take a Closer Look’ – to increase public awareness of banknote security features, are the other key elements to beating counterfeiting and so maintaining public trust in our banknotes.”

The Bank’s full-scale publicity and education effort gets underway from the first day of issue next Spring. For obvious reasons the details of the enhanced security features incorporated into this new note will not be revealed in advance but in summary they include: a see-through feature, a holographic strip, more raised-print areas, improvements to the watermark, and more ultra-violet features.

When introduced, the new £20 note will circulate in tandem with the current Elgar £20 which will then be progressively withdrawn from circulation.  As is the usual practice, the date of cessation of its legal tender status will then be announced but, as with all Bank of England notes, they can be always be exchanged for their face value at the Bank of England.

Notes to Editors

A brief background on Adam Smith is available under 'Key Resources'    

Three images of the new banknote, plus one of Adam Smith and one of pin manufacturing which he referred to in his work ‘…the Wealth of Nations’ can be obtained at www.newscast.co.uk.    All five images carry reproduction conditions which must be adhered to.

The image of Adam Smith is based on a likeness of the portrait of him by James Tassie – Scottish National Portrait Gallery – and reproduced by permission; and the image of pin manufacturing is based on an original image, and by permission of the British Library. You are welcome to reproduce these images with acknowledgement. Further details of both images can be found on the Newscast website.

The Executive Director – Banking Services and Chief Cashier, Andrew Bailey, has some time available for interviews and additional photographs/filming, at the Bank.  Please contact the Bank’s Press Office on 020 7601 4411.

Audio-visual and audio-only clips of Governor Mervyn King and Mr Bailey are available. These can also be obtained from the Bank’s Press Office

The Smith £20 will be the first in Series F. The first Series E note was the £5 George Stephenson note in 1990. The Elgar Series E £20 was introduced in 1999.  Previous £20 personages and dates have been William Shakespeare 1970-1993 and Michael Faraday 1991-2001.  

At the end of December 2005, there were some 1.2 billion (1,234,900,000) £20 banknotes in circulation (55% of total notes by volume, 63% by value); over the whole of 2005 the average figures were 1.1 billion (1,110,500,000) £20 notes (55% of total notes by volume, 63% by value).  Counterfeit notes recovered in the calendar year ended December 2005 included 487,000 £20s out of a total of 505,000 notes recovered. For the previous year, figures were 287,000 £20s out of a total of 325,000 recovered.  The average life of a £20 note is 4-5 years.

The Governor’s speech and news release, issued on 29 October, can be found under 'Related Links'.

More information on Bank of England banknotes can be found on the Banknotes pages.

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/news/2006/098.htm

News Release
Launch Date for the New ‘Adam Smith’
£20 Banknote

21 February 2007

The new-design £20 banknote from the Bank of England will begin being introduced into circulation from Tuesday 13 March.  

Announcing the date, Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s Executive Director [ch8722] Banking Services and Chief Cashier, said: “The introduction of the Adam Smith £20 from 13 March will be a major undertaking for us as the £20 denomination is by far the most common note in circulation. This means that the proportion of Adam Smith £20s will gradually increase over time.  The note’s enhanced security features will play a key role in our continuing fight to prevent counterfeiting.  Maintaining public confidence in our banknotes is paramount.”

He added, “We will not be releasing low-numbered notes at the launch.  At a later date, I expect to make an announcement on how we will release these notes.”

Full details of the new note will be announced in a further news release for publication on 13 March.

Notes to Editors:

1. The choice of Adam Smith, the world-renowned 18th century economist and  philosopher, was announced by the Bank’s  Governor, Mervyn King, in his speech “Trusting in Money: From Kirkcaldy to the MPC”,  The Adam Smith Lecture, which he gave in Kirkcaldy on 29 October 2006 (See 'Related Links').

2. A follow-up news release giving more detail on the new note and banknotes in general, plus a brief background to Adam Smith, was published on 30 October 2006. For this and more information on the new note, please see 'Related Links'.

3. Andrew Bailey will be available for interviews and photography on 12 March (under embargo) and on 13 March. Please contact the Bank’s Press Office on 020 7601 4411.

4. Detailed images of the new banknote, and related images, will be able to be downloaded by the news media from the Bank’s website from 12 March (under embargo). As access will be password-protected, please contact the Bank’s Press Office on 020 7601 4411 well in advance of embargoed pre-release on 12 March, to obtain a password.

New ‘Adam Smith’ £20 Banknote Out Today

13 March 2007
 
The introduction of the Bank of England’s new £20 banknote begins today, with the notes gradually becoming available from cash machines and bank counters around the country.

Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s Chief Cashier said, “This is a major exercise for us because with more than a billion £20 banknotes in circulation it is the most common of all the denominations – the £5, £10, £20 and £50.  That’s a huge number of notes to start replacing.”

The new note incorporates several design changes, making it the first in the new series of notes - ‘Series F’.  However, for ease of recognition, the new note is the same size as the current £20 note (which bears a portrait of Sir Edward Elgar), both notes are purple in colour (although the new note is slightly brighter) and both carry the now familiar portrait of Her Majesty The Queen.

The most obvious difference between the new-style and current £20 banknote is the inclusion of Adam Smith, the 18th century philosopher and economist, on the back of the new note. The back also includes the image of a pin-making factory and a summary of Smith’s observations on the benefits of the division of labour, drawn from “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations”, one of his two major works.

Commenting on the choice of Adam Smith, Mr Bailey said: “Through our banknotes we can acknowledge those who have made a major contribution to the development of the United Kingdom. The Bank of England is the central bank for the whole of the United Kingdom and helping to ensure its economic stability, and thus prosperity, is at the heart of our purpose. So it’s particularly appropriate that we should honour Adam Smith, one of the fathers of modern economics and moral philosophy. His contribution to the advancement of society continues to this day and his work remains at the heart of economic thought.”

The choice of Adam Smith was first announced in a speech on 29 October last year by Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England.

To help enable the public to check that their notes are genuine the new note carries enhanced security features. These include more raised-print areas, a holographic strip, a see-through feature and improvements to the watermark.  

Mr Bailey added: “Fortunately, counterfeiting of banknotes is not a widespread problem but when it does happen the victims are often members of the public and businesses which can ill-afford the loss involved.  Counterfeiting is a serious crime which, by working with the police, we aim to stamp out. The £20 note, being the most common, is the most frequently targeted and it is time for the current £20 design to be replaced.  Our job is to protect the public against counterfeiters and so maintain public trust in our banknotes.”

He concluded: “The Elgar £20 will certainly continue to be used alongside the new Smith £20 over the next few years. We will eventually announce the end of the legal tender status of the Elgar £20 but the public will be given good notice. And, of course, they can always exchange any Bank of England banknotes for their face value, at the Bank of England.”

Notes to Editors:

1. Images of the new banknote and related images can be downloaded by the news media from the Bank’s Media Centre.
2. The images are password-protected and available for downloading by the news media only. To obtain a password please contact the Bank’s Press Office on 020 7601 4411.
3. Mr Bailey is available for interviews and photographs/filming at the Bank on Monday 12 March (under embargo) and Tuesday 13 March. Please contact the Bank’s Press Office on 020 7601 4411.
4. Footage of Mr Bailey with the new banknotes and including the printing/production of the new notes, is available from the Bank’s Press Office.
5. Audio-visual and audio-only clips of the Governor and of the Chief Cashier are also available from the Press Office.
6. The Smith £20 is the first in Series F. The first Series E note was the £5 George Stephenson note in 1990. The Elgar Series E £20 was introduced in 1999.  Previous £20 banknotes have depicted William Shakespeare (on £20 notes from 1970-1993) and Michael Faraday (1991-2001).
7. At the end of December 2006, there were some 1. 3 billion (1,305,800,000) £20 banknotes in circulation (55% of total notes by volume, 64% by value), over the whole of 2006 year the average figures were 1.2 billion (1,177,100,000) £20 notes (56% of total notes by volume, 63% by value).  Counterfeit notes recovered in the calendar year ended December 2006 included 351,000 £20s out of a total of around 370,000 notes recovered. For the previousyear figures were 487,000 £20s out of a total of 505,000 recovered. The average life of a £20 note is 5-6 years.