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Concept
Banknotes of the pound sterling
Summary
Sterling banknotes are the banknotes in circulation in the United Kingdom and its related territories, denominated in pounds sterling (symbol: £; ISO 4217 currency code: GBP).
Sterling banknotes are official currency in the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Tristan da Cunha. One pound is equivalent to 100 pence. Three British Overseas Territories also have currencies called pounds which are at par with the pound sterling.
The Bank of England has a legal monopoly of banknote issuance in England and Wales but, for historical reasons six banks, three in Scotland and three in Northern Ireland, also issue their own banknotes that circulate in the system and may be used for cash transactions anywhere in the United Kingdom - but the law requires that the issuing banks hold a sum of Bank of England banknotes (or gold) equivalent to the total value of notes issued. Versions of the pound sterling issued by Crown dependencies and other areas are regulated by their local governments and not by the Bank of England.
The pound sterling banknotes in current circulation consist of Series G Bank of England notes in denominations of £5, £10, £20 and £50. The obverse of these banknotes all feature the portrait of Elizabeth II originally introduced in 1990. Over time, banknotes featuring Elizabeth II will be phased out and replaced with notes featuring a portrait of Charles III. Select banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland also issue their own banknotes at par with Bank of England issues. Scottish and Northern Irish notes may be rejected as payment in England by merchants unfamiliar with them, and are likely difficult or impossible to exchange outside Britain.
Until the middle of the 19th century, privately owned banks in Great Britain and Ireland were free to issue their own banknotes. Paper currency issued by a wide range of provincial and town banking companies in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland circulated freely as a means of payment.
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