2016-09-28 Wed

On 7th September, the Bank of England Museum opened a special Banknote Gallery when the new £5 note was introduced.

The Bank of England was established in 1694 and the exhibit beautifully portrays its history, from paper receipts to the polymer notes of today.

The exhibits on display include historic notes, sketches and banknote artwork, along with printing plates and test prints, the Winston Churchill “Fiver” and more. The exhibition will give visitors insights about origins of paper money in China, “running cash” notes, the receipts made by 16th-century goldsmith-bankers of Britain for gold deposits and modern paper currency.

Facts about “Inimitable Note” competition in the early 1800s are also revealed that was used to create a note that could not be copied and resulted in the printing of beautiful and complex designs in the 19th Century. Advanced technology used to curb counterfeiting is also explained. The life cycle of bank notes from initial design and manufacture to destruction and recycling is described.