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100 Pounds White
| Issuer | Bank of England |
|---|---|
| Year | 1870-1943 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 209.55 × 133.35 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Bank of England I promise to pay the Bearer on demand the Sum of One Hundred Pounds here or in London For the Gov. and Compa. of the Bank of England |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The "White Note" series was printed entirely in black on white paper — no colored inks, no elaborate chromolithography — a deliberate policy the Bank maintained for over two centuries on the basis that the engraved letterpress work was itself the security. Forgery, rather than convenience, dictated the format: the Bank prosecuted counterfeiters aggressively throughout the 19th century, and the death penalty for forgery wasn't abolished in England until 1832.
The £100 denomination was strictly a instrument of wholesale finance and interbank settlement. Ordinary commerce never saw these. The series was withdrawn in 1943 as a wartime measure — German Operation Bernhard had demonstrated how vulnerable high-denomination notes were to sophisticated counterfeiting at scale.