Britain gets Jane Austen banknote

World
Europe

The first British banknote to feature a portrait of a female other than Queen Elizabeth II went into circulation on Thursday, the Bank of England announced.

This ten-pound note features the famous English novelist Jane Austen, but it also has several other new features, including a special tactile feel to aid blind and partially sighted users and a tamper-proof polymer construction.

Just over one billion ten-pound notes have been printed and are ready for issue, with circulation beginning in the coming days and weeks as the notes leave cash centers around the country, the bank said.

The first of the new notes has been given to Queen Elizabeth, with her husband Prince Philip and the heir to the British throne receiving the second and third notes produced.

The new Jane Austen ten-pound note joins the Winston Churchill five-pound note in being the first in a series of Bank of England banknotes made of polymer instead of paper. A new 20-pound note featuring J.M.W Turner will follow in 2020.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin / Reuters photo

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said: "The new 10 pound note celebrates Jane Austen's work. Austen's novels have a universal appeal and speak as powerfully today as they did when they were first published."

The new note contains sophisticated security features which make it very difficult to counterfeit and is expected to last at least 2.5 times longer than the current paper notes and stay in better condition during day-to-day use.

A series of raised dots in the top left-hand corner helps blind and partially sighted users to identify the denomination of the note.

The old ten pound notes will remain as legal tender until spring of 2018.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency