10 Pounds - William Shakespeare

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 Paper tens were withdrawn faster than many expected, and significant quantities never saw prolonged circulation.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.