the £20 note came out in 1725.
the £20 note came out in 1725.
when did the £20 note come out?
1725
twenty pound notes were introduced by the bank of england for the first time in 1725. the earliest notes were handwritten, and were issued to individuals as needed. these notes were written on one side only and bore the name of the payee, the date, and the signature of the issuing cashier. with the exception of the restriction period between 1797 and 1821 when the french revolutionary wars and the napoleonic wars caused a bullion shortage, these notes could be exchanged in full, or in part, for an equivalent amount of gold when presented at the bank. if redeemed in part, the banknote would be signed to indicate the amount that had been redeemed. from 1853 printed notes replaced handwritten notes, with the declaration "i promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of twenty pounds" replacing the name of the payee. this declaration remains on bank of england banknotes to this day. a printed signature of one of three cashiers appeared on the printed notes, though this was replaced by the signature of the chief cashier from 1870 onward.
bank of england £20 note
the famous scots issue of the £20 note featuring the scottish king robert the bruce was introduced in 1971. on the reverse of this note are several images representing a statue of robert the bruce, the monymusk reliquary, stirling castle, and a william wallace monument. the note was updated in 2005 with the bank's new logo on the front, an image of the bank’s new exchange building. a commemorative issue of the £20 note was produced in 1999 to celebrate glasgow's designation as that year's uk city of architecture and design. this note has a portrait of the architrave alexander thomson on the front and an image of charles rennie mackintosh's lighthouse on the back alongside a representation of the dome of holmwood house. another commemorative note was issued in 2006 to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the coronation of robert the bruce. this note has robert the bruce's coat of arms on the front and a vignette celebrating the anniversary on the back. the current world heritage series £20 note was introduced in 2009. this note also features a portrait of robert the bruce on the front, and an image of the model industrial settlement of new lanark on the back.
clydesdale bank £20 note