10 — Ten Pounds
The artwork
Front: Queen Elizabeth II in three-quarter profile, wearing tiara and pearl earring, set against the Bank's own facade on Threadneedle Street and the four heraldic shields of the Union. "Bank of England" in copperplate above the promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of ten pounds. Left of centre, a clear window carrying a second portrait of the Queen and a crown, with the quill and Winchester Cathedral picked out in gold foil.
Back: Jane Austen, after the engraving worked up from her sister Cassandra's pencil sketch — cap, ringlets, and a level gaze. Behind her, Godmersham Park, her brother Edward's Kent house, and an illustration of Elizabeth Bennet at her letters. Her signature sits beside the dates 1775–1817 and the line "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!". The cathedral foil repeats in silver; a book-shaped patch holds the letters JA.
In circulation
Issued 14 September 2017, the second Bank of England note on polymer after the Churchill £5. Its arrival retired the paper Darwin £10, which lost legal tender status on 1 March 2018. Notes of this design remain in circulation alongside the King Charles III £10 introduced in June 2024.
Details
- CurrencyPound
- DenominationTen Pounds
- Collectedon the United Kingdom journeys, 1991–2016
- IssuerBank of England, London
- SeriesPolymer £10, Jane Austen (2016 date line, issued 2017)
- SignatureVictoria Cleland, Chief Cashier
- PrinterDe La Rue, Debden
- SecurityClear window with portrait of the Queen and crown; gold and silver foil of Winchester Cathedral and quill; book-shaped foil patch lettered JA; raised print
- Dimensions132 × 69 mm