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10 Pounds - William Shakespeare
| Issuer | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 2016 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 10 Pounds (10 GBP) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of William Shakespeare (1564–1616) in portrait, flanked by a scene from Macbeth set in medieval Scotland. Denomination £10 appears at left and right; inscriptions read KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN, Ten Pounds, and ESSAY NOTE | NO VALUE. Underprint carries guilloche patterning in period style. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
This is the final paper £10 note issued by the Bank of England before the polymer version entered circulation in September 2017, making it the last of the cotton-fibre series that had defined British banknotes since the 1970s. The Shakespeare theme was not new currency policy — the £20 series had featured Elgar, the £50 Watt and Boulton — but the timing here was abrupt. Paper tens were withdrawn faster than many expected, and significant quantities never saw prolonged circulation.
Franck Medina designed the note under the Bank's in-house process. Watermark-only security was already considered inadequate by the time this note printed.