Archive for April, 2014

Bank Of England Withdraws £50 Note From Circulation

Posted on: April 29th, 2014 by Ian Stormnet

Tomorrow is the day that the Bank of England will withdraw the Houblon £50 note from circulation. The note, featuring the portrait of Sir John Houblon (shown below) has been in circulation since 1994 and was released to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Bank of England.

Spend Them, Exchange Them Or Deposit Them Quick!

At the time of writing, the Bank of England estimates that there are still over 50 million notes out in the wild amounting to a total of £2.65bn. If you have any of these notes in your possession, you are strongly advised to deposit, spend or exchange them as quickly as possible. From May 2014 onwards, shops across the UK are unlikely to accept the old notes as payment and most UK banks will only exchange Houblon £50 notes for members of the public until 30 October 2014.

Here is some advice from the Bank of England on what to do with your Houblon £50 notes:

Are Other Notes Affected?

The remaining bank notes featuring James Watt and Matthew Boulton will stay legal however.

Why Is The Houblon £50 Note Being Withdrawn?

The reason why the Houblon note is affected whilst the other notes remain in circulation is to crack down on fraud. The Watts and Boulton notes feature a green ‘motion thread’ running through them and windows that feature the number 50 and a pound symbol making these notes much harder to counterfeit.

Trivia Fact: Who Was Sir John Houblon?

Sir John Houlbon was the first governor of the Bank of England.

Do You Have Any Withdrawn Coins You Would Like To Exchange?

At Cash4Coins we keep a close eye on the Bank of England and the currency industry in general. If you have any coins that are no longer legal tender we would be delighted to accept them and to exchange them for a good price. Sending us your coins is easy and we will give you a competitive valuation. Once you accept the valuation we will deposit the money directly to the account or charity of your choice. It really couldn’t be easier!

Written by Dave Barker. Dave Barker is a currency specialist and writes on a number of topics relating to the history of currency and how to make the most of your unwanted foreign coins and notes. You can find him on Google+.

You Won’t Believe What Old Banknotes Once Looked Like

Posted on: April 28th, 2014 by Ian Stormnet

Did you know that the paper money that we know and love (but never quite seem to have enough of!) originated in Britain during the 17th Century? Well, actually the first recorded use of paper money was in China during the 7th century, but its use was not widespread until nearly a thousand years later.

A Brief History Of The English Banknote

Money in Britain back then was not in general circulation but was given to goldsmith bankers as a receipt for depositing gold. The Bank of England, when it first started in 1694, would also issue notes or receipts for any cash (coin) deposits. These notes would feature the words ‘or the bearer’ and a promise was made by the bank to the depositor to pay up when the depositor brought back their receipt or note from the bank – this is where the term bank note comes from.

It was during the 18th century that fixed denominations came in. On these notes the £ sign and the first digit were printed on the note whilst other details such as the exact figure and the payee’s name would be written on by hand. Some notes would be made out in uneven amounts, but on the most part they were made out to round sums of money. By the year 1745, banknotes were being printed in denominations ranging from £20 to £1000.

Here is the oldest known banknote issued by the Bank of England in 1699.

Here is the original one pound note from around 1797. It went through several changes between the years of 1779 and 1821 and further changes until its withdrawal in 1988 when the one pound coin was introduced.

When Not To Send Us Your Unwanted Currency

At Cash4Coins we are always encouraging you to send us your foreign coins so that we can turn them into real money that you can use, and that applies to withdrawn notes too! However,  we probably would have refrained when it comes to the bank note below. This withdrawn five pound note from 1913 was sold at auction for £1,700!

Do you have any old banknotes at home? We’d love to see some photos of your collection or to hear any stories about old money that you can share with us. Have you ever sold a note or coin at auction or bought a special coin for your collection?  Send us your stories and photos and we will publish them on our blog and our social media page. Get in touch with us today by calling us on 0161 635 0000 or emailing us at admin@cash4coins.co.uk.

Exchange Foreign Currency The Easy Way With Cash4Coins

Remember, we exchange any foreign currency regardless of the country it came from or whether it is still legal tender. Why not take a look in old drawers or travel wallets today to see how much you could make on the money that you are otherwise not using?  You might be surprised at how much you get back. It’s easy to exchange your foreign currency and you could have the money in your bank account very quickly.

Written by Dave Barker. Dave Barker is a currency specialist and writes on a number of topics relating to the history of currency and how to make the most of your unwanted foreign coins and notes. You can find him on Google+.