Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
2 Pounds White, 1807 issue
| Issuer | Bank of England |
|---|---|
| Year | 1807-1821 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Unprinted white note executed entirely in letterpress, with a Britannia vignette enclosed within a crowned cartouche at the upper right. The text of the promise-to-pay obligation is set in copperplate script across the body of the note, with the denomination 'Two Pounds' rendered in an ornate panel at the lower right. The cashier's manuscript signature appears at the lower left, alongside the handwritten date and serial number. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | P#191a - handwritten date with counter P#191b - handwritten date without counter P#191c - printed date and serial # |
| Comments |
The Bank of England's £2 denomination had an uneasy life. It was introduced in 1797 as a direct consequence of the Restriction Period — the suspension of gold convertibility triggered by the threat of French invasion and a run on the bank's reserves. The two-pound note was an awkward compromise, filling the gap left when gold coin effectively vanished from everyday commerce, yet sitting at a denomination too large for most wage transactions and too small for wholesale trade.
Forgery was a serious problem across the entire white note series during this period. The Bank prosecuted aggressively and controversially — hundreds were hanged for uttering forged notes in the Napoleonic decades, a policy that drew fierce public criticism. The £2 was discontinued by 1821, when resumption of cash payments made the denomination redundant.