Bank of England note issues of the note; these notes are now very rare and sought by collectors. The Stephenson £5 note was withdrawn as legal tender from 21 November 2003, at which time it formed around 54 million of the 211 million £5 notes in circulation. The first Bank of England £10 note was issued in 1759, when the Seven Years' War caused severe gold shortages. Following the withdrawal of the denomination after the Second World War, it was not reintroduced until 21 February 1964 when a new brown-coloured note was issued in the Series C design. The Series C note was withdrawn on
Bank of England note issues tender in 1945. The £50 denomination did not reappear until 20 March 1981 when a Series D design was issued featuring the architect Christopher Wren and the plan of St Paul's Cathedral on the reverse of this large note. In 1994 this denomination was the last of the first Series E issue, when the Bank commemorated its 300th birthday by featuring its first governor, Sir John Houblon, on the reverse. The old Series D £50 note was withdrawn from circulation on 20 September 1996. In May 2009, the Bank of England announced a new design in Series F, featuring James