How the British pound has changed over time
The evolution of the UK's venerable currency

Roman inspiration

Creation of the pound

First English coins

Sterling silver

First gold coin

Lower value coins

Gold crown

First banknotes

Pound Scots

First printed notes

UK currency

Great Recoinage of 1816

Gold Standard

Lowest value coin

Bank of England monopoly

Scottish and Northern Irish notes

First fully printed notes

Global currency

Gold standard dumped

Lowest value note

Big-money notes

Queen's Elizabeth II's face

Famous figures

Decimalisation

Old money out

Maundy money

Shrinking cash

As well as looking remarkably different, Bank of England coins and notes have shrunk over time – the 1797 copper twopences for instance measured a whopping 41mm a piece and were nicknamed cartwheels. The modern decimal 2p is just 25.9mm in diameter. Likewise, the £5 note has reduced in size from 211mm x 133mm in the 1950s to a compact 125mm x 65mm.
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New decimal coins

A new coin, the heptagonal 20p, which featured a crowned Tudor rose on the reverse, was minted in 1982. The humble 1/2p, which was worth a pittance by the 1980s, was withdrawn from circulation in 1984. Interestingly, the current 5p coin is only 1mm larger in diameter than the tiny decimal halfpenny.
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£1 coin introduced

In 1984, the £1 coin was introduced spelling the end for the £1 note. The last note was printed that same year, but it wasn't until 1988 that all £1 notes were withdrawn from circulation. By this point, many of the notes were incredibly worn and tatty. A review of the UK's currency in the mid 1990s recommended the introduction of a £2 coin, and the coin entered circulation in 1998.
Security updates

In 1992, a new £5 note featuring George Stephenson launched. It was tweaked again for security reasons in 2002, and Stephenson was swapped for Elizabeth Fry. The Bank of England's notes have become increasingly forge-proof over time with features like security threading and microprinting now standard. The £10 note got a revamp in 1992 with Florence Nightingale replaced by Charles Darwin, who remained on the note until 2018.
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New faces

The £20 note changed in 1991 to feature Michael Faraday and again in 1999, when it depicted Edward Elgar. The £50 note was modified in 1994, and Christopher Wren was replaced with John Houblon. The note was overhauled again in 2011, and John Houblon was swapped for Matthew Boulton and James Watt.
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Polymer notes

In 2015, Scotland's Clydesdale Bank introduced the UK's first polymer note – all notes were printed on cotton paper previously. The Bank of England followed suit the following year with the launch of the new £5 note featuring Winston Churchill. A polymer £10 note with Jane Austen on the reverse launched last year and a new £20 note depicting artist JMW Turner will debut in 2020. A polymer £50 note, which will feature a prominent scientist, is planned for the early 2020s.
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