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King Charles III Banknotes – From print to pocket
The first King Charles III banknotes entered circulation on 5th June 2024, read on to discover their journey from print to pocket…
Credit: Bank of England
*** June 24 – BANKNOTES ENTER CIRCULATION ***
King Charles III banknotes finally enter circulation
On 5th June 2024, all denominations of UK banknotes featuring King Charles III entered circulation.
You can find out everything you need to know about the new notes, including details about their special security features and how to get your hands on one here >>
*** April 2024 – UPDATE ***
The King is presented with the first low numbered banknote of each denomination
On 9th April 2024, King Charles was presented with new banknotes of each denomination featuring his image. The portrait on the new notes is based on an engraving of a picture of His Majesty taken in 2013.
The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey and chief cashier, Sarah John visited His Majesty at Buckingham Palace where the new notes were presented. Mr Bailey told The King it was a “big moment” as previously, it had been only his mother Queen Elizabeth II who had appeared on British banknotes.
Credit: POOL/AFP via Getty Images
The King was presented with some of the first low numbered notes of each denomination, with the following serial numbers:
£5 CA 01 000001
£10 HB 01 000001
£20 EH 01 000001
£50 AJ 01 000001
Did you know? The letters at the beginning of a banknote’s serial number indicate its position on the sheet on which it’s printed. The 6 numbers that follow the letters refer to the number on the sheet the note is printed on.
*** February 2024 – UPDATE ***
CONFIRMED – King Charles III banknotes to enter circulation from June 2024
The Bank of England have confirmed that new banknotes featuring King Charles III would begin entering circulation from 5th June 2024.
We can expect to see new £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes featuring The King’s portrait on the obverse, however the reverse designs will remain unchanged. Currently, banknote reverse designs feature Sir Winston Churchill, Jane Austen, JMW Turner and Alan Turing (from the £5 to £50 respectively).
Credit: Bank of England Flickr
The new notes will only be issued when there is sufficient demand or to replace worn or damaged older notes featuring Queen Elizabeth II – meaning that both monarchs will co-circulate on UK banknotes for the foreseeable future. The Queen Elizabeth II notes that are already in circulation will still be accepted in shops even after the new notes start to enter circulation.
Did you know? There are approximately 4.7 billion Queen Elizabeth II banknotes currently in circulation, worth an estimated £82 billion!
*** January 2024 – UPDATE ***
The first King Charles III banknotes go on display in the Bank of England Museum
New King Charles III banknotes are due to go on display as part of a special exhibition in The Bank of England Museum. Whilst we’ve seen some images of the new polymer notes featuring The King, this will be the first opportunity to see the them in person before they go into circulation later in the year.
Credit: Bank of England Museum
As well as the new banknotes, the Future of Money exhibition will feature digital currencies, crypto assets, the increasing role of AI and explore the lifespan of cash.
The free exhibition will open in the Bank of England Museum on 28th February and will run until September 2025.
*** November 2023 – UPDATE ***
The Bank of England begin printing millions of King Charles III banknotes
The Bank of England have announced that banknotes featuring King Charles III are being printed at a rate of 6 million in 24 hours. However despite this, the new notes won’t begin circulating until mid-2024.
Credit: Bank of England Flickr
The delay in new notes entering circulation is caused by machines such as self service tills not being able to recognise the new image.
The Bank of England’s chief cashier, Sarah John, said “There is a lot to do to ensure that machines used up and down the country can accept the banknotes. They all need to be adapted to recognise the new design, with software updates, and that takes months and months. Otherwise, we will be putting a banknote out there that people simply would not be able to use.”
A more sustainable transition
Taking guidance from the Royal Household, the new banknotes will only be issued to replace worn or damaged Queen Elizabeth II notes, consequently two monarchs’ portraits will co-circulate for some time!
This transition phase will minimise the environmental and financial impact of the change, in keeping with the King’s vision for a more sustainable future.
His Majesty’s portrait will now appear on the front of the notes, however there will be no changes to the current reverse designs:
- Winston Churchill (£5)
- Jane Austen (£10)
- JMW Turner (£20)
- Alan Turing (£50)
But, any serious collector knows that it’s not just the design you should be looking out for…
King Charles III Banknotes – ‘Rare’ Serial Numbers to look for
AA01
Remember the excitement when the first polymer £5 note was issued?
I’m willing to bet that every single person in the country checked theirs at some point to see if they were lucky enough to find one with the prefix AA01.
The annual Bank Of England charity auction held at Spink and Son Ltd in London auctioned off a Queen Elizabeth II polymer £5 note with the serial number AA01 000017 for £4,150.
And the following year, a Jane Austen Polymer £10 note with the serial number AA01 000010 sold for a staggering £7,200 – over double the guide price!
As King Charles III becomes only the second monarch to appear on circulating Bank of England notes, i’m expecting a similar level of demand for the first run of AA01 notes during His Majesty’s reign.
AK47
Considered collectable due to the machine gun connotations, polymer notes with the prefix AK47 were thought to be worth tens of thousands of pounds following the new £5 release in 2016.
This idea emerged after a £5 banknote with the prefix AK47 fetched a winning bid of £80,100 on eBay.
The seller must have been overjoyed with the jackpot amount but unfortunately the buyer had no intention of paying up.
Continue learning about ‘rare’ serial numbers to look out for >>
The first King Charles III 50p Coin
The first coin bearing the portrait of King Charles III entered circulation in December 2022 – have you found on in your change yet? Use our helpful collector map to see where in the UK they’re being spotted to help you hunt one down >>
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Swap, learn, and share with other collectors on the only official Change Checker Facebook group >>
The biggest movers EVER! Your Scarcity Index Update…
It’s time for your latest Scarcity Index update, where we reveal the UK’s most sought-after circulation coins of the last three months! As we continue to go out and spend more cash, we’ve seen some BIG movers and shakers on our Scarcity Index.
One 50p now holds the title as the biggest EVER mover since our Scarcity Index started! And, there’s some HUGE movers on our A-Z 10p Index too…
You can use the updated A-Z 10p, 50p and £2 indexes below to discover how sought-after the coins in your collection really are.
This information has been compiled using data from the Change Checker Swap Centre and presented in the easy to use indexes below, with arrows to signify how many places up or down a coin has moved since the last Scarcity Index.
50p Scarcity Index
Whilst the top of our 50p Index has remained relatively untouched, there have been some big shakeups to the rest of the coins!
The Olympic Shooting 50p has dropped by an astonishing 24 places, which is the biggest mover EVER on our Scarcity Index since it started.
We’ve also seen the Olympic Volleyball 50p and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 50p coins climb 10 and 12 places respectively making these the ones to watch.
With lots of big movers on our 50p Index, and the recent release of the Platinum Jubilee 50p into circulation, it’s a reminder to keep checking your change as you never know what treasure you’ll discover.
When we have a confirmed total mintage figure for the Platinum Jubilee 50p, we’re excited to see this brand new coin make its Scarcity Index debut.
A-Z 10p Scarcity Index
There are some HUGE movers on the A-Z 10p Scarcity Index this quarter!
In the biggest shake up we’ve ever seen on our 10p Index the Postbox 10p has climbed an incredible 19 places!
Other big movers also include the K for King Arthur 10p, having climbed 13 places, and the Fish and Chips 10p which has climbed 10 places too!
The Robin 10p has been bumped off the top spot by the Zebra Crossing design, which has a 2019 mintage of just 63,000, making it one of the rarest A-Z 10p coins!
Regardless of where they feature in the above index, if you have any of the A-Z 10ps in your collection you should consider yourself very lucky. A maximum of only 304,000 of each design entered circulation!
Other key movers include the Union Jack 10p which has been bumped down 15 places and the G, H, and I 10p coins have also climbed up 8 coins each.
£2 Scarcity Index
Despite a quite last quarter for the £2 coins, this Scarcity Index update sees lots of movers across the middle and top of the board. We’ve even seen all but one of the Commonwealth Games coins shuffle around!
The Commonwealth Games Wales £2 has moved up by 7 places and the Wireless Transmission £2 has also climbed by 6 places!
Another coin to watch is the Great Fire of London £2 which has jumped up 5 places!
How your Scarcity Index works
Generally collectors have had to rely upon mintage figures to identify the scarcest coins. But they only tell part of the story. Trying to find a good quality coin from 15 – 20 years ago, even for a higher mintage issue, is much more challenging than a more recent issue, as coins become damaged over time and are ultimately removed from circulation.
Additionally, some designs are more hoarded than others by people who might not normally collect coins – the poignant First World War £2 Coin series being an example. Finally, it can be up to a couple of years before the Royal Mint eventually confirms the actual mintage for an issue.
That’s why we have combined the mintage information with two other key pieces of information.
- How many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin.
- The number of times a design has been requested as a swap over the previous 3 months, showing the current level of collector demand.
Importantly, as new coins are released and popularity rises and falls across different designs the Scarcity Index will be updated quarterly allowing Change Checkers to track the relative performance of the UK’s circulation coins.
How much are my coins worth?
The Scarcity Index does not necessarily equate to value but it is certainly an effective indicator. For example, the Kew Gardens 50p coin commands a premium of up to 200 times face value on eBay.
You can use the 6 point guide to help you determine a more realistic value for your coins.
What about £1 Coins?
The £1 Scarcity Index has already been published for the Round £1 coins and, because they are no longer being issued, this is now set in stone.
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Change Checker LIVE Events are BACK! The Road to the Platinum Jubilee…
In celebration of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, we’ve seen some incredible coin issues mark the occasion.
We even recently heard the very exciting news that an initial 1.3 million Platinum Jubilee 50p coins will enter circulation in the UK on the 7th of February!
To continue the celebrations, Change Checker has been taking the Platinum Jubilee 50p, with that very special obverse, on a tour of the UK.
We’re delighted to announce we’re heading to Newcastle AND Glasgow on our next stop of our tour!
Join us on Thursday 5th May from 9am – 9pm at the Metrocentre in Newcastle and Saturday 7th May from 9am – 6pm at Buchanan Galleries, Glasgow. We’re giving collectors the chance to swap ANY UK 50p coin for the coin of a lifetime, in Brilliant Uncirculated quality.
This version of the Platinum Jubilee 50p won’t be entering circulation, so it’s a great chance to get your hands on it in superior quality for just face value!
We’ll be taking 1,952 coins with us to swap on the day, in tribute to Her Majesty’s Coronation anniversary! Swaps will be limited to one per person whilst stocks last and it will be a strict first come first served basis.
We’ve already visited Oxford and Sheffield on our tour of the UK and there will be other occasions and locations for you to swap your coins, on the countdown to the Platinum Jubilee weekend in June!
Metrocentre, Newcastle
On Thursday 5th May you can find us on the lower level of the Metrocentre, just outside Timpson and Market Cross Jewellers, as highlighted by the pink arrow above.
Metrocentre is located just off the A1, following signs for Newcastle and Gateshead. If travelling via car, you can use the Sat Nav reference: NE11 9YG to guide you.
The centre is also on the national rail network and has its own train station.
Buchanan Galleries, Glasgow
On Saturday 7th May you can find us on the ground floor of Buchanan Galleries in the North Atrium. We’ll be located just outside John Lewis, as highlighted above with a pink dot.
Buchanan Galleries is located in the heart of Glasgow city centre, on the corner of Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street.
If you’re joining us by car, use G2 3NW as your destination and enter the car park from either Killermont Street or Cathedral Street.
Being in the city centre, it’s very handy to reach via public transport. Buchanan Galleries is located next to Queen Street train station, Buchanan Street subway station and Buchanan bus station. Glasgow Central train station is also just 5 minutes’ walk away.
FAQs
Can I swap more than one coin?
Such is the popularity of our Live Coin Swaps and to ensure that it is fair for everybody, we’ll be limiting the number of swaps to strictly 1 swap per person.
Can I reserve a coin before I arrive?
To ensure it is a fair swap event for everyone, we do not offer reservations of coins. It is a strictly first come first served basis.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Secure the 2022 UK Platinum Jubilee 50p in Brilliant Uncirculated quality!
Whilst we hope you’re excited to swap your 50p coin for the brand new Platinum Jubilee 50p at one of our live swap events, if you want to ensure this coin is guaranteed for your collection, you can do so for JUST £4.99 (+p&p) >>
Be sure you don’t miss out!