Bank of England note issues Bank of England note issues The Bank of England, which is now the central bank of the United Kingdom, has issued banknotes since 1694. In 1921 The Bank of England gained a legal monopoly on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales, a process that started with the Bank Charter Act of 1844 when the ability of other banks to issue notes was restricted. Banknotes were originally hand-written; although they were partially printed from 1725 onwards, cashiers still had to sign each note and make them payable to someone. Notes were fully printed from 1855. Since 1970, the Bank
Bank of England £10 note note features a number of security features in addition to the metallic thread, including raised print, a watermark, microlettering, a hologram, and a number ten which only appears under ultraviolet light. In December 2013 the Bank of England announced that the next £10 note would be printed on polymer, rather than cotton paper. This followed the announcement in July 2013 that Charles Darwin would be replaced by 19th Century author Jane Austen on the next £10 note, which would enter circulation in 2017. The decision to replace Darwin with Austen followed a campaign to have a woman on the back