New £50 Note Celebrates Science and Diversity

The Bank of England has unveiled the design for the new £50 which, when it goes into circulation in June, will compete the transition to a new all-polymer series.

The mathematician Alan Turing, known as the father of modern computing, was chosen for the £50 following the Bank’s character selection process. In 2018, the public were invited to nominate candidates and nearly 230,000 people did so, covering 989 eligible characters. The Banknote Character Advisory Committee (CAC) narrowed these down to a shortlist of 12, and the decision was taken by the Governor (at the time, Mark Carney). His successor, Andrew Bailey, unveiled the new note at a virtual press conference on 25 March.

The UK has few circulating denominations compared with most other countries – just four. And of those, the £50 is rarely seen in circulation, being principally held as a store of value. The main reason for its limited use as a transaction note is that, because it seldom circulates, the public aren’t familiar with it and so don’t trust it.