5 — Five Pounds
The artwork
Front: King Charles III in three-quarter view, engraved in fine blue line-work — the first Bank of England fiver to carry his likeness. Behind the promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of five pounds sits the Bank's own Threadneedle Street façade, with four shields above it. At left, a large clear window framing the Elizabeth Tower in gold foil, a smaller window portrait, a foil crown and the Britannia medallion.
Back: Sir Winston Churchill, jowls set, from the well-known 1941 sitting, with the words "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" beneath and his signature alongside. Behind him the Palace of Westminster and the Elizabeth Tower, the clock hands at three o'clock, and the reverse of his 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature medal. Serial number CA31 599141 in ascending figures.
In circulation
The Churchill polymer fiver has been in issue since September 2016; this variant, bearing King Charles III, entered circulation on 5 June 2024. Charles and Elizabeth II notes of the same design circulate side by side and both remain legal tender, the older portrait being withdrawn only gradually as notes wear out.
Details
- CurrencyPound
- DenominationFive Pounds
- Collectedon the United Kingdom journeys, 1991–2016
- IssuerBank of England — "For the Governor and Company of the Bank of England", London
- SeriesPolymer £5, Churchill reverse, King Charles III portrait; copyright date 2023
- SignatureSarah John, Chief Cashier
- PrinterDe La Rue
- SecurityPolymer substrate; large clear window with gold foil Elizabeth Tower, second window portrait, foil crown, green foil patch on the reverse
- Dimensions125 × 65 mm