Bank of Ireland £5 note remained effectively unchanged for 120 years. Northern Irish banknotes are fully backed such that holders have the same level of protection as those holding genuine Bank of England notes. The £5 note is currently the smallest denomination of banknote issued by the Bank of Ireland. The Queen's University Belfast Series was first issued in 2003. This issue features a representation of Hibernia on the front, alongside shields of arms of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The back of this note displays an image of Queen's University Belfast. In 2008 a new series featuring the image of the Old Bushmills
Bank of England £20 note of England in 1943, and it was not until 1970 with the introduction of the series D notes that the denomination reappeared. The predominantly purple series D notes were two-sided, with an image of Queen Elizabeth II appearing on one side, accompanied by an image of Saint George and the Dragon (all subsequent Bank of England notes also feature an image of the Queen) and an image of William Shakespeare appearing on the other. This note also had a security feature in the form of a 'windowed' metal thread. The thread is woven into the paper so that it forms