Bank of England 10s note

Ten shillings
(United Kingdom)
Value 10/-
Width 140 mm
Height 67 mm
Paper type Cotton
Years of printing 1928–1969
Obverse
Design Queen Elizabeth II
Design date 12 October 1961
Reverse
Design Bank of England logo
Design date 12 October 1961

The Bank of England 10s note was a banknote of the pound sterling. Ten shillings in pre-decimal money (written 10s or 10/-) was equivalent to half of one pound. The ten-shilling note was the smallest denomination note ever issued by the Bank of England. The note was issued by the Bank of England for the first time in 1928 and continued to be printed until 1969. The note ceased to be legal tender in 1970 and was removed in favour of the fifty pence coin.

History

Obverse side of the ten-shilling banknote issued by HM Treasury

In the 18th and 19th centuries, banknotes were handwritten or part-printed and could be exchanged, in whole or in part, for an equivalent amount of gold when presented at the bank. During the First World War the British Government wanted to maintain its stocks of bullion and so banks were ordered to stop exchanging banknotes for gold. One pound and 10 shilling notes were introduced by the Treasury in lieu of gold sovereigns. These notes were nicknamed "Bradburys" because of the prominent signature of Sir John Bradbury, Permanent Secretary to the Treasury displayed on the notes.[1] Britain returned to the gold standard in 1925, but the Bank of England was only obliged to exchange notes for gold in multiples of 400 ounces or more. The responsibility for the printing of ten-shilling notes was transferred to the Bank of England in 1928, and the right to redeem banknotes for gold ceased in 1931 when Britain stopped using the gold standard.[2]

The first Bank of England ten-shilling notes were two-sided, red, printed banknotes featuring the declaration "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of ten shillings" on the front. This declaration remains on Bank of England banknotes to this day. In 1940, during the Second World War, ten-shilling notes were issued in a new mauve and grey colour scheme in order to deter counterfeiters, although the design remained the same. At the same time, a metallic thread running through the paper was introduced as a security feature. After the war ten-shilling notes were issued in their original red colour. The earliest post-World War II notes did not have the metallic thread security feature, but those issued from October 1948 onward did.[1]

A new design for ten-shilling notes was introduced in 1961, with the old notes ceasing to be legal tender in 1962. These new series C notes were slightly longer and narrower, and were the first ten-shilling notes to feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the front. The reverse design incorporated the logo of the Bank of England.[1] In the late 1960s it was decided that future banknotes should feature a British historical figure on the reverse. The first such note was the series D £20 note, first issued in 1970, featuring William Shakespeare. A design for a ten-shilling note featuring Walter Raleigh on the reverse was approved in 1964 but was never issued.[3] Instead, in 1969, as part of the process of decimalisation, a new fifty pence coin was introduced as a replacement for the ten-shilling note. The principal reason for the change was economy: the notes had an average lifetime of about five months whereas coins could last at least fifty years.[4] The series C ten shilling notes ceased to be legal tender on 22 November 1970.[1] In the Isle of Man, both the English and Manx Ten Shilling Notes continued to be legal tender for fifty new pence until 2013.[5]

Designs

Note First issued Last issued Ceased to be legal tender Colour Size Design Additional information
Series A (1st issue)22 November 1928Unknown29 October 1962Red-brown138 × 78 mm
Emergency wartime issue2 April 1940Unknown22 October 1962Mauve and grey138 × 78 mmIncorporated metal thread for the first time; same design as series A
Series A (2nd issue)17 June 1948Unknown29 October 1962Brown138 × 78 mmReissue of unthreaded pre-war notes
Series A (3rd issue)25 October 1948Unknown29 October 1962Brown138 × 78 mmMetal thread introduced permanently
Series C12 October 196113 October 196922 November 1970Red-brown140 × 67 mmFront: Queen Elizabeth II; Back: Bank of England logoFirst 10/- note to carry portrait of monarch
Series DN/ARed-brown121 × 62 mmFront: Queen Elizabeth II; Back: Sir Walter RaleighIntended as 50p note following decimalisation; never issued

Information taken from Bank of England website.[1][2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Withdrawn banknotes reference guide" (PDF). Bank of England. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 "A brief history of banknotes". Bank of England. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  3. ↑ "Reverses of English Banknotes". British Notes. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "New 50-pence coin sparks confusion". BBC News. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "Withdrawal of Manx Plastic £1 note". Isle of Man Government. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
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