King Charles III
First King Charles III Banknotes ENTER CIRCULATION!
The first banknotes featuring King Charles III entered circulation on 5th June 2024, here’s everything you need to know.
Credit: Bank of England
Hot off the press
In November 2023, The Bank of England started printing new banknotes featuring King Charles III at a rate of 6 million in 24 hours. The delay in them entering circulation was apparently caused by machines such as self service tills not being able to recognise the new image and needing to be recalibrated.
Credit: Bank of England Flickr
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 sustainable transition
Taking guidance from the Royal Household, the new banknotes will only be issued to replace worn or damaged Queen Elizabeth II notes, meaning both monarchs’ portraits will co-circulate for the foreseeable future.
There are approximately 4.7 billion Queen Elizabeth II banknotes currently in circulation, worth an estimated £82 billion, so don’t worry – they’ll still be accepted in shops as well as the new King Charles III notes.
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.
King Charles III’s portrait will now appear on the front of the notes, an image based on an engraving of a picture of His Majesty taken in 2013, however there will be no changes to the current reverse designs:
- Winston Churchill (£5)
- Jane Austen (£10)
- JMW Turner (£20)
- Alan Turing (£50)
Credit: Bank of England
Security Features
All denominations of the new banknotes share some of the same security features which you can use to verify the authenticity of the note.
Monarch’s portrait in a see-through window
A portrait of King Charles III is printed on the window with the denomination and ‘Bank of England’ printed twice around the edge.
Hologram Image Change
When tilting the note from side to side, the word within the hologram should change between the value of the note, ‘Five’, ‘Ten’, ‘Twenty’ or ‘Fifty’ and ‘Pounds’.
Silver foil patch
A silver foil patch contains a 3D image of the coronation crown.
Print Quality
The printed lines and colours on the note are sharp and clear, with no smudges or blurred edges. If you use a magnifying glass, you should be able to see the value of the note written in small letters and numbers below the monarch’s portrait.
Feel of polymer and raised print
The note is printed on polymer, a thin and flexible plastic. On the front of the note, you can feel the raised print on the words ‘Bank of England’ and in the bottom right corner.
Ultraviolet number
Under a UV light, the denomination number appears in bright green and red on the front of the note.
£5 features
Here are some security features specific to the £5 notes.
Colour changing border
When the note is tilted, a coloured border around the edge of the see-through window and the ‘£’ symbol inside the window will change from purple to green.
Green foil patch
On the other side of the silver foil patch showing the coronation crown, the £5 has a green foil patch featuring the word ‘BLENHEIM’.
£10 features
Here are some security features specific to the £10 notes.
Colour changing quill
When the £10 note is tilted, a coloured quill at the side of the see-through window will change from purple to orange.
Copper foil patch
On the other side of the silver foil patch showing the coronation crown, the £10 has a copper foil patch containing the letters ‘JA’ within an open book, representing Jane Austen.
£20 features
Here are some security features specific to the £20 notes.
A second see-through window
In the bottom right corner of the front of the £20 note, there is a second, smaller see-through window containing the number 20.
Purple foil patch
On the other side of the silver foil patch showing the coronation crown, the £20 has a purple foil patch containing the letter ‘T’ for JMW Turner.
£50 features
Here are some security features specific to the £50 notes.
A second see-through window
In the bottom right corner of the front of the £50 note, there is a second, smaller see-through window containing the number 50.
Hologram change
The £50 note has two gold foil squares on the front, and the images within should change between ‘50’ and the ‘£’ symbol when the note is tilted.
Red foil patch
On the other side of the silver foil patch showing the coronation crown, the £50 has a red foil patch containing the letters ‘AT’, paying tribute to Alan Turing who features on the note.
Rare serial numbers
Whenever new banknotes are issued, it causes quite a stir in the collecting community, with serious collectors rushing to secure the notes with the lowest serial numbers.
The Bank of England generally hold back some of the notes with the earliest serial numbers, donating them to people or institutions that were involved in the development of the note, but others can fetch hefty sums at auction!
For example, serial numbers such as AK47 due to the machine gun connotations, and 007 which could be desirable to James Bond fans are considered collectable, as well as serial numbers representing key dates relating to the figure on the reverse of the note.
On 11th July 2024, a King Charles III £20 note with the serial number EH 01 000002 sold for £7,000 at auction – that’s 350 times its face value!
Find out more about which serial numbers to look out for here >>
A closer look
Where can I find a King Charles III banknote?
Eventually, we’ll start to see King Charles III banknotes crop up in our cash, but as their introduction will be a gradual process, some collectors may not want to wait to get their hands on one.
Check out our list of the first locations to stock the new banknotes >>
Credit: Bank of England
Have you found one in circulation already? Let us know where in the comments!
Safely store your new banknotes
With the release of these new banknotes, now’s the perfect time to start your banknote collection, by owning the Change Checker Polymer Banknote Collecting Pack – with space to securely house all four of England’s polymer banknotes!
Everything you need to know about Polymer Banknote Serial Numbers
The new King Charles III banknotes entered circulation on 5th June 2024, and whilst the reverse designs remain unchanged, this is the first time we’ve ever seen a King feature on UK banknotes – as they were introduced well into Queen Elizabeth II’s reign.
Image credit: Bank of England
It’s not that long ago, however since we last saw a major change in our banknotes, with the introduction of the first polymer banknotes in 2016. The polymer notes were issued to replace paper banknotes with a cleaner, safer and stronger alternative, and by 2022, all banknote denominations had been replaced with a new polymer version and the older paper notes were withdrawn from circulation.
Image Credit: Bank of England
The new polymer notes caused quite a stir, with collectors rushing to secure the notes with the lowest serial number. But what happened to the very first notes of each denomination?
£5 Polymer Banknotes
Whilst collectors were on the hunt for polymer £5 banknotes with low serial numbers when they first entered circulation in 2016, the very first ones never actually made it into circulation.
The Bank of England always hold back some of the notes with the earliest serial numbers, donating them to people or institutions that were involved in the development of the note, or who traditionally receive a note when a new series is issued.
Serial number Recipient
AA01 000001 – Her Majesty The Queen
AA01 000002 – Prince Phillip
AA01 000003 – Prime Minister
AA01 000004 – Chancellor of the Exchequer
AA01 000005 – The Governor (for the Bank)
AA01 000006 – Deputy Governor (responsible for Notes)
AA01 000007 – The Chief Cashier
AA01 000008 – Bank of England Museum
AA01 000009 – British Museum
AA01 000010 – Churchill family
AA01 000011 – Permanent Secretary of the Treasury
AA01 000012 – Chair of the Bank’s Court
AA01 000013 – Chris Salmon (former Chief Cashier)
AA01 000014 – De La Rue
AA01 000015 – Innovia
AA01 000016 – Royal Mint
AA01 001704 – Blenheim Palace
AA01 001874 – Lord King (former Governor)
AA01 001910 – The Home Secretary
AA01 001924 – The Chair of the Treasury Select Committee
AA01 001929 – George Osborne (former Chancellor of the Exchequer)
AA01 001940 – The Governor
AA01 001941 – The US Ambassador to the UK
AA01 001942 – The Foreign Secretary
AA01 001945 – Churchill War Rooms
AA01 001951 – David Cameron (former Prime Minister)
AA01 001960 – Churchill Archive, Churchill College Cambridge
AA01 001965 – Chartwell
AA01 002016 – Andrew Bailey (former Chief Cashier)
Image Credit: Bank of England
The Bank of England also conducted an auction of low serial numbered £5 notes on 3 October 2016, which raised £194,500 to be split between three charities – The Myotubular Trust, The Lily Foundation and Bliss.
The lowest polymer £5 note with the serial number AA01 000017 sold for £4,150!
It’s also worth looking out for banknotes with serial numbers that could be considered collectable, such as AK47 due to the machine gun connotations, and 007 which could be desirable to James Bond fans.
£10 Polymer Banknotes
The UK’s first polymer £10 note, featuring Jane Austen on the reverse, entered circulation on 14th September 2017, and, similarly to the £5 note, the first ones printed were donated.
In October 2017 some of the first Jane Austen Polymer £10 notes were auctioned and raised a staggering £260,900 for charities Candelighters, Haven House Children’s Hospice and Macmillan Cancer support.
The £10 note with the lowest serial number AA01 000010 sold for an incredible £7,200.
Other notes that fetched hefty sums were AA01 000011 and AA01 000014, selling for £5,200 and £3,500 respectively.
£20 Polymer Banknotes
Issued in 2020, the £20 was the third polymer banknote denomination to enter circulation.
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.
With the £20 note being larger than the £5 and £10 notes, less notes were printed per sheet, however there were still an incredible 59,940,000 notes with an serial number starting AA!
Image Credit: Bank of England
As the polymer £20 note featured JMW Turner on the reverse, some serial numbers matching key dates relating to the painter the became highly collectible.
For example, 23 041775 represents Turner’s date of birth, whilst 19 121851 relates to his death and 17 751851 would be his birth and death combined.
True Turner fans might also look for 18 381839 representing the date he painted ‘The Fighting Temeraire’ (which featured on the new £20 note) and the date the painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy respectively.
£50 Polymer Banknotes
On the day that would have been Alan Turing’s 109th birthday (23rd June 2021), The Bank of England issued their final banknote in the polymer series, celebrating the famous scientist and mathematician.
Image Credit: Bank of England
As is tradition, Queen Elizabeth II received the very first polymer £50 note printed with the serial number AA01 000001, however AA01 000010 was donated to the Turing family in honour of Alan Turing featuring on the reverse of the £50 note.
Again, certain serial numbers matching key dates relating to Alan Turing became collectable, such as 23 061912 which represents Turing’s date of birth, 07 061954 which relates to his death and 09 071941 which represents the date that the enigma code was cracked by Turing and his team at Bletchley Park during WW2.
Safely store your banknote collection
With the release of these new banknotes, now’s the perfect time to start your banknote collection, by owning the Change Checker Polymer Banknote Collecting Pack – with space to securely house all four of England’s polymer banknotes!
Canada’s King Charles III Coin Effigy Revealed!
More than a year after His Majesty King Charles III was officially proclaimed Head of State and Sovereign of Canada, The Royal Canadian Mint have announced the release of their official King Charles III coin effigy.
Credit: Royal Canadian Mint
The news was shared on the 14th November – making for a wonderful birthday treat for His Majesty, who celebrated his 75th birthday that day.
SELL OUT Canada King Charles III 50 cent Coin Roll
The brand new Canadian effigy of His Majesty features on the 50 cent coin, which has been issued in a highly sought-after special collector’s edition Wrap Roll.
Each of the Wrap Rolls include 25 brand new 2023 dated Canada 50 cent coins, which feature a design of the Canadian Coat of Arms on the reverse and – for the first time in seventy years – a new monarch’s portrait on the obverse.
A Special Presentation
The coins are packaged in special, themed illustrated paper wrapping, featuring the official Royal Canadian Mint logo and a stylised band of Fleur-de-lis – a traditional Royal symbol of Canada.
You might not have heard of coin rolls before, but they’re a big deal across the pond, and a highly collectable way to own Canadian coins. Previously, Canadian coin rolls have proved incredibly popular with UK collectors, and we’ve even seen sell outs of our initial allocations of these rolls in the past.
A Canadian Collecting Frenzy
These Canadian 50 cent Coin Rolls are part of the first wave of Canadian coinage that features the new obverse of King Charles III, so it’s currently the only way to secure them for your collection. There were also only 25,000 rolls available worldwide – making them highly sought-after by collectors. So sought-after in fact, that they SOLD OUT at The Royal Canadian Mint within just four days!
We’ve been lucky enough to secure just 500 Canada 50 cent Wrap Rolls for UK collectors, and once they’re gone, they’re gone! So don’t miss out – add these coins to your collection now for just £29.99 (+£3.99 postage) >>
A Major Change for Canadian Coinage
During her incredible 70 year reign, there have been four different obverse portraits of Queen Elizabeth II used on Canadian coinage. The latest portrait change was in 2003 when Susanna Blunt’s effigy of Her Late Majesty made its way onto Canadian coins.
Considering that the obverse of Canadian coinage hasn’t changed in over 20 years, and the fact that we haven’t seen a King on Canadian coins in 7 decades, the introduction of King Charles III’s effigy is sure to cause a stir in the coin collecting world.
The Process of Creating an Effigy
As you might imagine, there are a lot of steps behind the scenes that go into creating a new effigy…
Canada’s new coin effigy was created from Steven Rosati’s winning design, following an invitation to more than 350 artists and engravers.
The process involved each artist/engraver submitting a portfolio of portrait work to be evaluated. These were then shortlisted before a brief outlining mandatory design requirements was given out.
An internal Mint review panel judged submissions based on aesthetics, technical requirements and mass-production suitability before the winning design was submitted for approval from the government and Buckingham Palace.
Once the design was ready, the Mint could begin the engraving and tooling process – producing dies to strike the coins.
Only 500 available for Change Checkers
Click here to secure your Canada King Charles III 50 cent Coin Roll >>