Bank Of England Withdraws £50 Note From Circulation

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Why Is The Houblon £50 Note Being Withdrawn?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Do You Have Any Withdrawn Coins You Would Like To Exchange?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+.

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