The Twenty Pound Note

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The new polymer Twenty Pound note is a Series G and was introduced on the 20th February 2020.

Note that the words ‘SPECIMEN’ must be shown twice on reproductions of Bank of England notes to comply with their legal requirements. The red areas in the pictures are to highlight the transparent windows.

Obverse:

Reverse:

Size: Approx. 139 x 73mm

Chief Cashiers: polymer £20 notes in circulation bear the signature of Sarah John, chief cashier from June 2018 to date.

The story behind the design:

The reverse of the £20 note shows the painter Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775 – 1851). http://www.turnersociety.com/ 

Ones to look out for:

Scarcer (but not necessarily valuable notes) include the following:

AA01 prefix notes with early (e.g. with at least 2 leading 0’s) prefixes.

 

The old style paper Twenty Pound note

The current paper Twenty Pound Note is technically a Series F and was first issued in this guise on the 13th March 2007. It will circulate alongside the new polymer Twenty Pound note (above) until further notice.

 Note that the words ‘SPECIMEN’ must be shown twice on reproductions of Bank of England notes to comply with their legal requirements.

Obverse:

twentypnoteobv

Reverse:

twentypnoterev

Size: Approx. 149 x 80mm.

Chief Cashiers: £20 notes in current circulation bear the signature of one of three different Chief Cashiers, namely Andrew Bailey (2004 to 2011), Chris Salmon (2011 to 2014) or Victoria Cleland (2014 to date).

The story behind the design:

The reverse of the £20 note shows the philosopher and economist Adam Smith. Author of ‘The Wealth of Nations’. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/smith_adam.shtml

Ones to look out for:

Scarcer (but not necessarily valuable notes) include the following:

Andrew Bailey notes with AA01, AL, LL or HD36 prefixes.

Chris Salmon notes with HA and possibly JH prefixes (and possibly others, more research is needed).

Victoria Cleland notes with JJ or possibly JK prefixes (and possibly others, more research is needed).

 

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