Yahoo News The rule allowing King Charles banknotes to be swapped for older notes that only runs for 3 weeks
The brand new banknotes featuring the face of King Charles III will come into circulation on Wednesday, June 5. The King's portrait will appear on all four banknotes - £5, £10, £20 and £50 - with no other changes being made to the designs.
King Charles has already had a sneak peek at how the notes look after he was presented with the first low-numbered note of each denomination with 01 000001 serial numbers at Buckingham Palace by the Governor of the Bank of England. In what will be a surprise to many, the King will only be the second British monarch to grace the Bank of England’s notes.
Despite banknotes being in use since the late 17th Century, it was Queen Elizabeth II who was the first monarch to feature on a banknote when in 1960 her portrait was used on a £1 paper note. Before this, Britannia was the only character to have appeared.
The new money, with Charles’s portrait featuring on the front of the banknotes as well as being visible on the front and back in cameo in the see-through security window, will gradually come into circulation from June 5. The reverse side characters remain unchanged from previous editions – with Sir Winston Churchill on the £5, Jane Austen on the £10, JMW Turner on the £20 and Alan Turing on the £50.
When he got a first look at the notes, King Charles was clearly impressed with how they look saying of the £5: “It’s a very good photograph of Sir Winston.” And he took a particular liking to the back of the £20 and the £50. “They’re very elegant these ones, I must say,” he said.
What happens to banknotes featuring Queen Elizabeth II
Existing notes featuring the portrait of the late Queen will continue to be legal tender, so the Elizabeth II and King Charles III notes will co-circulate and both will be available to be used. New notes of the King will only be printed to replace worn-out notes and to meet any overall increase in demand.
This is based on the Royal Family's request to minimise the environmental and financial impact of the change. There is no need to exchange current banknotes for the new King Charles III notes if you don't want to.
Can old banknotes be swapped for banknotes featuring King Charles III?
The Bank of England is aware there is likely to be a lot of interest from people wanting to use the new notes. As a result, for a short time only people can exchange up to £300 for the new King Charles III banknotes.
This will be done via the Bank of England's postal exchange service and by filling out an application form. The exchanged notes can only be sent to a UK address.
This service will only run for a little more than three weeks from Wednesday, June 5 through to Sunday, June 30. There is a strict £300 limit per customer, any money sent in excess of this amount will be returned in the older form of notes featuring Queen Elizabeth II.
The Bank of England counter at Threadneedle Street will only be issuing new banknotes featuring King Charles III from Wednesday, June 5 to Tuesday, June 11. The counter is open to UK and non-UK residents. The same limit of £300 per customer applies. From June 12, the Bank’s counter will revert to issuing Queen Elizabeth II banknotes only.
Rare King Charles III banknotes to be sold at auctions
The renowned auctioneers Spink & Son, known for sales of coins, banknotes and medals, is hosting a series of charity auctions of new King Charles III low-serial numbered banknotes. An auction of £5 notes is taking place at 2pm on Thursday, June 13, with the auction for £10 notes being held two weeks later on June 27 at 2pm. The £20 notes auction is taking place on Thursday, July 11 at 2pm and the final auction for £50 notes is on Wednesday, July 24 at 2pm.
In addition to the auctions, members of the public will be able to enter a ballot to purchase a set of notes. The money raised will be donated to charity.
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