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 The Stephenson £5 note was withdrawn as legal tender from 21 November 2003, at which time it formed around 54 million of the 211 million £5 notes in circulation.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 The Series C note was withdrawn on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 £20 note Bank of England £20 note The Bank of England £20 note is a banknote of the pound sterling. It is the second highest denomination of banknote issued by the Bank of England. The current cotton note, first issued in 2007, bears the image of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and the image of Scottish economist Adam Smith on the reverse. Starting in 2020, the current note will be phased out, to be replaced by a polymer note featuring a portrait of artist J. M. W. Turner in place of Smith. Twenty pound notes were introduced by the Bank of