The New £50

The introduction of the new £50 was undertaken by the Bank of England Governor, Andrew Bailey, at a special ceremony at Bletchley Park, once the top-secret home of the World War Two codebreakers and where Alan Turing, the subject of the note, carried out his most famous work breaking the Enigma code.

The portrait on the reverse of the £50 is of Turing, and the main design and security features are centred on his life and work.

Those security features, many of which are achievable only with polymer substrate, include words that change from ‘Fifty’ to ‘Pounds’ when the note is tilted, different metallic coloured foils on the front and back of the note, a portrait of the Queen in a transparent window, a 3D image of the crown in a silver foil patch, and a figure ‘50’ that only appears under ultraviolet light.

A foil applied to the front of the note is on a continuous window that is designed to reveal elements of the KURZ Re-View + Re-colour foil on the reverse.

The notes were printed by De La Rue. The contract for the substrate was split between its SAFEGUARD® and CCL Secure’s GUARDIAN®.

Commenting on the new note, the Governor said: ‘our banknotes celebrate some of our country’s most important historical figures. That’s why I am delighted that Alan Turing features on the new polymer £50 note. Having undertaken remarkable codebreaking work here at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, he went on to pioneer work on early computers, as well as making some ground-breaking discoveries in the field of developmental biology. He was also gay and was treated appallingly as a result. Placing him on this new banknote is a recognition of his contributions to our society, and a celebration of his remarkable life.’ 

The Governor also announced that paper £20 and £50 notes will be withdrawn on 30 September 2022, after which they will no longer be legal tender.

The Bank of England Museum has launched an online exhibition to coincide with the Turing £50 note entering circulation. A multimedia tour on how Alan Turing’s work inspired the new £50 note design can be found at Smartify, the digital arts and culture platform – https://smartify.org/ tours/new-ps50-note-featuring-alan-turing.