This is the new plastic 5 note – and people in Leicestershire today had the chance to get a grip of it. They were also invited to twist, fold, scrunch and try to rip up the demonstration fiver. They had been asked by the Bank of England1 to get to grips with the new polymer fiver – which becomes legal tender on September 13.
The note, which bares the face of Sir Winston Churchill, was making its last public appearance before going into circulation. Try as they may they could not add any new wrinkles to his famous visage. Predominantly blue and the green, the security marks on the note flashed in multi colours if twisted or tilted.
Chief cashier of the Bank of England Victoria Cleland, who had hand in its design, was on hand to preview the new fiver at the National Space Centre.2
Members of the public and selected retailers were invited to see the new note. Ms Cleland said: “We have been considering polymer notes for some time.”
“We are the largest economy to introduce them
“They have proved to be a success in Australia and Canada.”
The roadshow at the National Space Centre was the last in a series of a dozen or so similar events held around the British Isles. She said: “The idea of the events was to introduce it people so they could familiarise themselves with it.
“We wanted to explain that is not like a credit card.
“It can be treated like an ordinary paper note.
“But it is much more resilient.”
Sir Winston Church features on the reverse of the note which includes pictures of the Houses of Parliament, his Nobel Prize for literature and his famous Second World War statement “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
The plastic fiver, is 15 per cent smaller that its paper counterpart, and will be used alongside it until May next year. Ms Cleland said: “We want to assure people that it behaves in the same way as the paper note.
“But it is much more durable. It will last for 5 years, two and a half times the paper equivalent.
“Although slightly more expensive than the paper note it proves more economic as it lasts much longer.”
Among selected retailers invited to the event was Fenwick merchandise manager Tracie Charity who said: “We are very impressed with the note.
“The Bank of England has built in a lot of features with holograms.
“You can even wash them.”
She said staff at the Leicester store were being trained how to handle the new money and cash handling machines were being reconfigured. The paper fiver will be withdrawn from circulation in May next year.
The polymer fiver is not the only note which will be switching to plastic. A new polymer 10 note, featuring the author Jane Austen, will be issued next summer. The new polymer 20 note, featuring the artist JMW Turner, will be issued by 2020.
No date has been given for if or when The Bank of England will issue a 50 polymer note.
Security elements on the front of the new note.
^ Bank of England (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)