Revealing the shape of banknotes bearing the image of King Charles (photos)

The Bank of England has unveiled a new look for its British Pound Sterling banknote featuring the image of England’s new King Charles.
The image will be the only change to the current designs of the £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes. It will start trading in mid-2024.
The new notes will feature the King’s portrait on the obverse and clear security window.
Existing cards will continue to be accepted at stores after new cards are issued.

Queen Elizabeth is the first and only monarch to appear on Bank of England banknotes in circulation since 1960. Banknotes issued by banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland do not depict the monarch.
Currently, there are around 4.5 billion individual Bank of England notes in circulation, worth around £80 billion.

The Bank of England said that, at the direction of the royal family, the new banknotes will be printed to replace worn out banknotes or to meet demand in order to minimize the environmental and financial impact of the changeover.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said he was “proud” of the “significant moment” the new design holds.
A fifty pence coin bearing the effigy of King Charles III was issued and circulated by post offices throughout the country.
4.9 million new coins are distributed to post offices, half of the total number in circulation, to be delivered to customers.

Coins bearing the late Queen’s image will still be accepted in shops, as will bank notes.
For anyone taking this year’s family Christmas quiz, it’s worth remembering that, in ascending order, the reverse side of current Bank of England bank notes shows Sir Winston Churchill, Jane Austen, JMW Turner and Alan Turing.
The use of banknotes has remained low compared to the use of cards, primarily due to contactless payment technology strengthened by the Covid pandemic. Inflation has also weakened the purchasing power of some currencies and banknotes.
However, there is still significant interest from consumers and collectors regarding the images used on banknotes.
Collectors are especially excited to get their hands on the lowest serial numbers of new King Charles banknotes when they appear.