Southport MP gets preview of the new £10 note featuring Jane Austen

Southport MP gets preview of the new £10 note featuring Jane Austen

Southport MP Damien Moore joined the Bank of England’s Chief Cashier, Victoria Cleland, in Parliament on 19 July to find out more about the new £10 note featuring the world-renowned author Jane Austen.

Damien tested the new tactile feature on the £10 note which helps blind and vision impaired users identify their value – a first for Bank of England banknotes. The tactile feature is a series of raised dots in the top left-hand corner and has been developed in conjunction with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). This is in addition to the elements already incorporated in Bank of England banknotes for vision impaired people; the tiered sizing, bold numerals, raised print and differing colour palettes.

Victoria Cleland said: “The new £10 note celebrates the life of Jane Austen whose novels are loved by many across the world. The Bank is proud to mark her contribution to British culture, particularly in this anniversary year and we are looking forward to the note entering circulation from 14 September.”

As it is made of polymer, the new £10 note is cleaner, safer and stronger. It joins the Churchill £5 in the first family of polymer Bank of England banknotes and a new £20 note featuring J.M.W Turner will follow in 2020. The £10 note contains sophisticated security features which make it very difficult to counterfeit. It will last at least 2.5 times longer than the current paper £10 notes – around 5 years in total – and stay in better condition during day to day use.

The new £10 note will be issued on 14 September 2017, so the public here in Southport will begin to see them in the following days and weeks as the notes leave cash centres around the country and enter general circulation. The public can continue to spend paper £10 notes as usual and these will be gradually withdrawn as they are banked by retailers and the public. Legal tender status of the paper £10 featuring Charles Darwin will be withdrawn in Spring 2018 with the exact date being announced at least three months in advance.

Readers can find out more at www.thenewten.co.uk  or at one of the Bank of England’s regional events around the UK.

This event was in partnership with the Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT)