...Great Britain - King Charles lll Polymer Series Full Set Released 05.06.2024

 Great Britain

(England, Scotland & Wales)

 

Bank of England

Currency : Pound Sterling (GBP)

 

Here is a full set of four notes all released on 05.06.2024. Unlike the first polymer series, all these four notes were made available to the public. It has been a long time since the Bank of England has issued banknotes in full sets.

King Charles III became the King of the United Kingdom following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 08.09.2022. Coronation was held on 06.05.2023. The last series of polymer notes with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II were released between 2016 to 2021. I suppose the release of this series in full set is to honour the new monarch. If not, the Bank of England would just print new banknotes with the image of King Charles III as and when current stocks of banknotes are depleting. 

 

Since the introduction of the polymer series in 2016, this is the first reprint for the ₤5, third reprint for the ₤10, and the first reprints for both the ₤20 and ₤50 notes.

 

Apart from the new portrait of King Charles III, there are no changes to the main features or theme for this polymer series.

 

Five Pounds

King Charles III

 

Front - King Charles III (b.1948), a see-through window with Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben), Britannia;

 

Signature - Sarah John (Chief Cashier since 2018)

Watermark - Portrait of King Charles III on the see-through window

Dimensions - 126mm x 65.5mm

 

Back - Sir Winston Churchill 1874-1965, Palace of Westminster and Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben), 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature award medal, Blenheim Palace maze (Blenheim Palace - birthplace and ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill);

 

Sir Winston Churchill 1874-1965

Ten pounds

King Charles III

Signature - Sarah John (Chief Cashier since 2018)

Watermark - Portrait of King Charles III on the see-through window

Dimensions - 133mm x 70mm

Back - Image of Jane Austen (b.1775 - 1817). Jane Austen, a novelist, was born in Steventon (Hampshire), south of England.  She is known as one of the most famous writers in English literature and she has only written 6 full-length novels. Her novels were made into TV series, films, theater plays and radio adaptations. She died at a very young age of 41.

 

Jane Austen (b.1775 - 1817)

 

Twenty Pounds

King Charles III

Signature - Sarah John (Chief Cashier since 2018)

Watermark - Portrait of King Charles III on the see-through window

Dimensions - 140mm x 73.5mm

 

Back - An image of Joseph Mallord William Turner (b.1775-1851) with a backdrop of one of his famous paintings, the Fighting Temeraire. This oil painting was completed in 1838. The portrait William Turner printed on this note came from a self-portrait oil painting completed in around 1799. William Turner was a romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He was born and lived in London all his life.

 

Joseph Mallord William Turner (b.1775-1851)

 

Fifty Pounds

King Charles III

Signature - Sarah John (Chief Cashier since 2018)

Watermark - Portrait of King Charles III on the see-through window

Dimensions - 147mm x 78mm

 

Back - The main design of this note on the back features Alan Mathison Turing (b.1912-1954). Alan Turing was a brilliant mathematician, computer scientist and a code breaker too. If you have seen the movie called 'The Imitation Game' then you know who I am referring to. Alan Turing was born on 21.06.1912. This note pays tribute to Alan Turing for breaking the Nazi Germany Enigma machine encryption code during the Second World War. The Enigma was a machine used by the Nazi to send secret messages securely and to make it even more difficult to crack, the German changed the cipher system daily. During the first few years of the war, Germany's U-boats (Wolfpack - a convoy of submarines) were very successful in sinking Allied ships in the Atlantic ocean, the Indian ocean and the Pacific ocean thus affecting Britain's war supplies from the United States and other countries in fighting the Nazi. The British government then formed a cryptography team that initially included Alan Turing to study and find a way to break the Enigma code. Alan Turing was not happy with some of the team members in the initial process, and he wrote to the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who then put Alan Turing in charge of the project. In July 1942, he successfully cracked the code which enabled the British to listen to the messages sent by the Germans, thus giving the British an advantage in the open seas. Alan Turing was awarded an OBE in 1945 for his wartime contribution. However, he was prosecuted in the early 1950s for being a homosexual as it was illegal then. He was arrested and found guilty of gross indecency and instead of going to prison, he accepted chemical castration as his punishment. On 07.06.1954 at the age of 41, he was found dead at his home. The official caused of death was suicide by cyanide poisoning. As not many people, even in the Great Britain would have heard of Alan Turing until the movie 'The Imitation Game' made in 2014, I guess this note is to celebrate Alan Turing's achievement during the last world war and perhaps (maybe) an apology to him for prosecuting him for who he was. In 1967, the British parliament passed the law to decriminalise homosexual activities in the United Kingdom.

 

Whilst Alan Turing was credited with the breaking of the German Enigma code, it should be noted that it was the Polish mathematicians who worked out how to read the Enigma messages first and then shared the information with the British government.

 

Alan Mathison Turing (b.1912-1954)

...Great Britain - Polymer Series With Signature Of Sarah John

Great Britain

(England, Scotland & Wales)

 

Bank of England

Currency : Pound Sterling (GBP)

 

Update: On the 3rd of September 2020, I posted the new Great Britain £20 polymer note. Here, I have uploaded two more notes of £10 and £50 polymer notes all bearing the signature of Sarah John.

 

Below is a £10 note issued with the signature of Sarah John. This £10 note is a reprint from the 2017 first issue. I have also now updated this note as per below. There is no chance in design for the £10 polymer note except it's printed with a new signature.

Signature - Sarah John (appointed since 2018)

Dimensions - 132mm x 69mm

 

Ten Pounds

Dated 2016Ⓒ, Queen Elizabeth The Second

Jane Austen (b.1775-1817)

Twenty Pounds

 

Posted here is the latest £20 note issued with the Chief Cashier's signature of Sarah John. Sarah John was appointed to the role on 01.06.2018. The £20 note is a new issue which was released to the public on 20.02.2020. This is the third of the polymer series since 2016 replacing the current paper banknotes in circulation.

 

As for the £20 note, and as expected, the main feature of the note on the front is the portrait of her majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second together with the Bank of England building. On the larger transparent window, it shows the Golden Margate lighthouse which was built in 1828 and Turner Contemporary (art gallery in Margate Kent, England) in blue. The design for the smaller window is based on Tintern Abbey in Monmouthshire.

On the back, it depicts an image of Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775-1851 with a backdrop of one of his famous paintings, the Fighting Temeraire. This oil painting was completed in 1838. The portrait William Turner printed on this note came from a self-portrait oil painting completed in around 1799. William Turner was a romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He was born and lived in London all his life.

As mentioned earlier, the signature on the note belongs to Sarah John and this is the first time (£20) her signature appears on a banknote.

This £20 note is printed with the copyright©️ date of 2018.

Chief Cashier - Sarah John
Dimension - 138mm x 73mm
First Prefix - AA01

Twenty Pounds

nd2020 (©️2018), portrait of Queen Elizabeth the Second (portrait dated 1985, aged 59)

Reverse - Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775-1851, the Fighting Temeraire painting

 

Fifty Pounds

 

This is the new £50 polymer note released on 23.06.2021. This is also the last of the polymer series issued by the Bank of England since 2016 and needless to say, England is the latest country to fully adopt the polymer banknote series. The Bank of England, which was established on 27.07.1694, has been issuing banknotes since 02.03.1797.

 

The main design of this note on the back features Alan Mathison Turing (b.1912-1954). Alan Turing was a brilliant mathematician, computer scientist and a code breaker too. If you have seen the movie called 'The Imitation Game' then you know who I am referring to. This note was released on 23.06.2021. Alan Turing was born on 21.06.1912. This note pays tribute to Alan Turing for breaking the Nazi Germany Enigma machine encryption code during the Second World War. The Enigma was a machine used by the Nazi to send secret messages securely and to make it even more difficult to crack, the German changed the cipher system daily. During the first few years of the war, Germany's U-boats (Wolfpack - a convey of submarines) were very successful in sinking Allied ships in the Atlantic ocean, the Indian ocean and the Pacific ocean thus affecting Britain's war supplies from the United States and other countries in fighting the Nazi. The British government then formed a cryptography team that initially included Alan Turing to study and find a way to break the Enigma code. Alan Turing was not happy with some of the team members in the initial process, and he wrote to the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who then put Alan Turing in charge of the project. In July 1942, he successfully cracked the code which enabled the British to listen to the messages sent by the Germans, thus giving the British an advantage in the open seas. Alan Turing was awarded an OBE in 1945 for his wartime contribution. However, he was prosecuted in the early 1950s for been a homosexual as it was illegal then. He was arrested and found guilty of gross indecency and instead of going to prison, he accepted chemical castration as his punishment. On 07.06.1954 at the age of 41, he was found dead at his home. The official caused of death was suicide by cyanide poisoning. As not many people, even in the Great Britain would have heard of Alan Turing until the movie 'The Imitation Game' was made in 2014, I guess this note is to celebrate Alan Turing's achievement during the last world war and perhaps (maybe) an apology to him for prosecuting him for who he was. In 1967, the British parliament passed the law to decriminalise homosexual activities in the United Kingdom.

 

Whilst Alan Turing was credited with the breaking of the German Enigma code, it should be noted that it was the Polish mathematicians who worked out how to read the Enigma messages first and then shared the information with the British government.

As per all current series of banknotes, on the front it features the portrait of Queen Elizabeth the Second. Her portrait was taken in 1985 when she was 59 years old.

Signature - Sarah John (appointed since 2018)

Dimensions - 146mm x 77mm

First Prefix - AA01

 

 

Fifty Pounds

Dated 2020Ⓒ, Queen Elizabeth The Second

Alan Mathison Turing (b.1912-1954)

Great Britain - £20 Polymer, s. Chief Cashier Sarah John

Great Britain

(England, Scotland & Wales)

Bank of England

Currency : Pound Sterling (GBP)

Posted here is the latest £20 note issued with the Chief Cashier's signature of Sarah John. Sarah John was appointed to the role on 01.06.2018. The £20 note is a new issue which was released to the public on 20.02.2020. This is the third of the polymer series since 2016 replacing the current paper banknotes in circulation.

In addition to the £20 note, a £10 note is also issued with the signature of Sarah John. This £10 note is a reprint from the 2017 first issue. I do not have this £10 note yet. There is no chance in design for the £10 polymer note except it's printed with a new signature.

As for the £20, and as expected, the main feature of the note on the front is the portrait of her majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second together with the Bank of England building. On the larger transparent window, it's showing the Golden Margate lighthouse which was built in 1828 and Turner Contemporary (art gallery in Margate Kent, England) in blue. The design for the smaller window is based on Tintern Abbey in Monmouthshire.

On the back, it depicts an image of Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775-1851 with a backdrop of one of his famous paintings, the Fighting Temeraire. This oil painting was completed in 1838. The portrait William Turner printed on this note came from a self-portrait oil painting completed in around 1799. William Turner was a romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He was born and lived in London all his life.

As mentioned earlier, the signature on the note belongs to Sarah John and this is the first time her signature appears on a banknote.

This £20 note is printed with the copyright©️ date of 2018.

Chief Cashier - Sarah John
Size - £20 (138mm x 73mm)
First Prefix - AA01

Ten pounds (do not have one yet)

Twenty Pounds

nd2020 (©️2018), portrait of Queen Elizabeth the Second (portrait dated 1985, aged 59)

Reverse - Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775-1851, the Fighting Temeraire painting

Footnote➥:
About 267 pieces of the £20 notes in 139 lots were auctioned off by Spink and Son Ltd in partnership with the Bank of England on 08.04.2020. All these notes are printed with the first prefix of AA01 and with low serial numbers, starting with AA01 000010 to the highest no AA01 002020. In addition to this, a full sheet of uncut 45 was also sold for £15,000. The auction raised a total of £149,960 plus a buyer commission of 20%. All net proceeds raised from the sale are donated to charities. Previous auctions on the £5 and £10, in 2016 and 2017, raised collectively in excess of £450,000 for charities.

Below are some of the results achieved:-
AA01 000010 - £7,500;
AA01 000011 - £2,800;
AA01 000020 - £3,200;
AA01 000028 - £1,400;
AA01 000088 - £3,000;
AA01 000100 - £1,800;
AA01 000999 & 001000 (2 notes) - £1,600
AA01 001794 - £270;
AA01 002016 - £270; and
AA01 002020 - £1,600.

The above prices exclude the hammer's commission of 20%. The lowest price realised for a single note was £270. Only 2 lots sold at that price. If you have bought one or more, congratulations to you.

Recently, it was reported that they are two varieties for the new £20 polymer note. The polymer materials were supplied by two companies, De La Rue and CCL (formerly Innovia). The purple ink surrounding the window is clear on notes with the De La Rue substrate, but slightly mottled in the CCL substrate. The polymer supply contract was split 75/25% between CCL and De La Rue, though all the notes were actually produced by De La Rue.

Great Britain - £10 2016 (ND2017) Polymer Note

This is the second issue for the new Polymer series. This note was released to the public for circulation on 14.09.2017.

Ten Pounds

Dated 2016, AA01 First Prefix

Dated 2016 (ND2017), P395

Jane Austen 1775 - 1817 (novelist)

Reverse, AA01 First Prefix

Reverse

Great Britain - £5 Isused on 13.09.2016

2016 is the year where four banks issued £5 polymer banknotes in the United Kingdom. They are the Bank of England (13.09.2016), Clydesdale Bank (27.09.2016), Bank of Scotland (04.10.2016) and The Royal Bank of Scotland (27.10.2016). Whilst both the Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank have previously issued polymer notes, this is the first time that the Bank of England has issued a polymer note in their current banknotes series. The Bank of England also intends to release two more polymer notes (£10 and £20) over the next few years. However, it is not sure if the £50 will also be converted into polymer material too. This note bears the signature of the Chief Cashier Victoria Mary Florence Cleland. She was appointed to the current role in March 2014. First prefix of this issue is AA01 with AM as the last letter prefix. It is not clear if AM60 is the last prefix yet, or the number could be higher. This note is printed with a year date of 2015.

Designs:
Front - Queen Elizabeth the Second, Coronation Crown, see-through window with Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben), Britannia;
Back - Sir Winston Churchill 1874-1965, Palace of Westminster and Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben), 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature award medal, Blenheim Palace maze (Blenheim Palace - birthplace and ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill);

440 million pieces printed.

Five Pounds

Dated 2015 (Issued 13.09.2016), PNL

Reverse

According to a report, 440m printed with prefix AA to AM, with 60m of each prefix printed. Based on these information given, I am unable to work these out unless I know all the prefixes printed ie AA01, AA02 etc.