Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney has unveiled the design of the new £20 note featuring the artist JMW Turner. It will be issued for the first time on February 20. The polymer £20 note contains security features making it the most secure Bank of England banknote yet, it’s claimed. For the first time, the note includes two windows and a two-colour foil, against counterfeiters. Visit thenew20.co.uk.
Features include:
– a see-through window with a blue and gold foil on the front depicting Margate lighthouse and Turner Contemporary. The foil is silver on the back. The shape of the large window is based on the shape of the fountains in Trafalgar Square.
– a smaller see-through window in the bottom corner of the note, inspired by Tintern Abbey.
– a metallic hologram which changes between the word ‘Twenty’ and ‘Pounds’ when the note is tilted.
– Queen’s portrait in the see-through window with ‘£20 Bank of England’ printed twice around the edge.
– 1 silver foil patch with a 3D image of the coronation crown.
And a purple foil patch containing the letter ‘T’ and based on the staircase at the Tate Britain. The Bank offers on its website free education materials to help check your banknotes.
Polymer notes last longer than paper notes and they stay in better condition during day-to-day use. This note, like the polymer £10, will contain a tactile feature to help vision impaired people identify the denomination. The £20 note will join the Churchill £5 and the Austen £10. A new £50 note, featuring Alan Turing, will follow in 2021. The public will begin to see the new £20 as the notes leave cash centres around the UK and enter general circulation. The public can continue to spend paper £20 notes as usual and these will be gradually withdrawn as they are banked by retailers and the public. Notice will be given six months ahead of legal tender status of the paper £20 being withdrawn.
Carney said: “Our banknotes celebrate the UK’s heritage, salute its culture, and testify to the achievements of its most notable individuals. And so it is with the new £20 banknote, featuring JMW Turner, launched today at Turner Contemporary in Margate. Turner’s contribution to art extends well beyond his favourite stretch of shoreline. Turner’s painting was transformative, his influence spanned lifetimes, and his legacy endures today. The new £20 note celebrates Turner, his art and his legacy in all their radiant, colourful, evocative glory.”
