Bank of England note issues was decided to replace the 10/- note with the 50p coin. The ten-shilling note was withdrawn from circulation on 20 November 1970 following the introduction on 14 October 1969 of the fifty pence coin. The first Bank of England £1 note was issued on 2 March 1797 under the direction of Thomas Raikes, Governor of the Bank of England, and according to the orders of the government of William Pitt the Younger, in response to the need for smaller denomination banknotes to replace gold coin during the French Revolutionary Wars. The Bank of England's first £1 note since 1845 was
Bank of England £1 note with retailers and other groups it was announced on 31 July 1981 that the one pound note would be replaced by a one pound coin. Part of the reason for this change was that notes, on average, lasted only nine months in general circulation, while coins could last forty years or more. The government also believed that the growing vending industry would benefit from the introduction of a one-pound coin. The new cupro-nickel coin was introduced on 21 April 1983 and the one pound note ceased to be legal tender on 11 March 1988. Bank of England £1 notes are