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 The ten-shilling note was withdrawn from circulation on 20 November 1970 following the introduction on 14 October 1969 of the fifty pence coin.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
Legal tender and they were recalled, not without first causing a panic among holders of the debentures. In 1847, the Colonial Bank of Issue became the only issuer of legal tender. In 1856, however the Colonial Bank of Issue was disbanded and through the Paper Currency Act 1856, the Union Bank was confirmed once again as an issuer of legal tender. The Act also authorised the Oriental Bank to issue legal tender but this bank ceased operations in 1861. Between 1861 and 1874, a number of other banks including the Bank of New Zealand, Bank of New South Wales, National Bank of