Question:
Do the faces on the pounds change with a change in royalty? Queen Elizabeth II's face is currently on them now?
Ximeno
2009-12-22 10:51:45 UTC
would it change once she's gone, etc? and why.. what happens to the old money?
Ten answers:
Richard Leonard Sullivan Shand
2009-12-22 11:40:51 UTC
Hi,I believe the heads on the coins changes when the monarch changes but it happens over time as the coins are replaced.

I can remember old 10 pence coins with King George on still in circulation in the early 90’s before being replaced by the current 10p.

Merry X-mas!
Steve T
2009-12-22 13:58:53 UTC
I was at the Bank of England Museum the other day and learned that the present Queen is actually the first whose face has appeared on banknotes. So there is no tradition as yet as to what will happen after her death.



For coins it definitely will change, but banknotes could equally go back to the earlier tradition of not including the monarch's face
The Dark Side
2009-12-23 14:38:44 UTC
The only British monarch whose face has ever appeared on a Bank of England banknote apart from Queen Elizabeth II is George V, who was pictured on the 10 shilling notes printed 1918-1928. The design returned after that to one without the monarch's head on it until 1961. The same was true of the £1 note at approximately the same period. (So Rollo is incorrect - George VI's head has never appeared on a British banknote.) Other notes were basically black copperplate printing on white paper until the early 1960s when coloured designs started to be used - people of a "certain age" still remember the "white fiver" and how, when money was worth a lot more than it is now because of inflation, breaking into a £5 note was quite an event! Pictures of all notes going back for the last 3 centuries are at the Bank of England's interactive web page linked below.



No doubt when Queen Elizabeth II dies, a suitable portrait of the new king will be commissioned and used on banknotes printed after that. Old ones will continue in circulation until they wear out and are withdrawn and pulped, and as paper wears out quickly this is a fairly quick process - the average life of a banknote is two years.



Coins are another matter - the monarch's head has appeared on them for many centuries and traditionally, it changes the direction it faces with each new monarch. Elizabeth II faces right on British coins, so when Charles becomes king, he will face left. Coins can last for many years so it is common for coins of the previous monarch to continue in circulation well into the reign of the next one. New coins will of course bear the head of the current monarch. There are currently no coins in circulation in the UK that don't have the head of Elizabeth II on them - this might have been the case anyway as she has been Queen for 57 years, but another factor is that the UK changed its currency in 1971 - on 15 February that year, it changed from £1 = 20/- (20 shillings) = 240d (240 pence) to £1 = 100p. This meant a massive changeover of coins and a lot of confusion for older people, though one thing that eased the burden on the Royal Mint was that some old coins had exact "new money" equivalents - so that the old 6d, 1/- and 2/- coins carried on for a while as they exactly equalled 2 1/2 p, 5p and 10p respectively.



Which brings me on to what Rollo and Richard are talking about - what Richard remembers is 2 shilling coins, which carried on in circulation after the decimalisation of 1971 for some considerable time as they had the same value as the new 10p. In the same way, the 1 shilling coin continued in use as the 5p coin. In fact the 5p and 10p were made the same size and weight as the coins they replaced so they could be easily identified and used in vending machines without machines having to be altered. The 5p and 10p have now been made smaller and lighter and at that point, any remaining 1/- and 2/- coins in circulation were positively withdrawn as they came into the hands of the banks.



Just as an interesting side note, the UK is the only country in the world not to have its name on postage stamps as it was the first country in the world to issue them and the monarch's head identifies them. Unlike coins, the monarch always faces left on stamps.



Now if the UK ever agrees to abolish the pound and enter the euro, the Queen's head will disappear from banknotes as they have a common design across the "eurozone", but each country that uses the euro still produces its own coins. They have to produce them all to the same specification except that they can choose their own design for the "heads" side - and of course all the monarchies use the monarch's head. So that part would continue. I find it fascinating when I visit continental Europe as I so often do - you can get all kinds of designs in your change!
Rollo
2009-12-22 14:27:50 UTC
Richard:

"I can remember old 10 pence coins with King George on still in circulation in the early 90’s before being replaced by the current 10p."



How? Britain changed to decimal currency in 1970, which was 17 years into the reign of Elizabeth II. Prior to that the previous ten pence coin was minted in the reign of Edward III as "one sixth of a crown"



Steve T:

"I was at the Bank of England Museum the other day and learned that the present Queen is actually the first whose face has appeared on banknotes."



You learned wrong. George V and George VI both appeared on 10/- notes.
?
2009-12-22 11:44:19 UTC
Yes. When Prince Charles succeeds to the throne the Royal Mint will start issuing coin with his face (I expect they have a blueprint for the new coin already to hand just in case)! It will take many years for the old coin to pass out of circulation. I remember when I was a small girl checking through pennies in change to see if I could find an old one with a kings head on it instead of Queen Elizabeth's
Old Cynic
2009-12-22 10:57:46 UTC
Yes. The coins are minted constantly, and dated, and so when she dies new coins with the new monarch will be minted from day one.



Banknotes are short-lived compared to coins, and are constantly withdrawn, so a change of monarch could be fairly quick. The designs of banknotes in any case are constantly updated in England. The last one to enjoy a makeover was the £20 note. The £10 is the next one due a new design. Even in the lifetime of a monarch, you will notice the queen has steadily aged in appearance on the notes and coins.
capitalgentleman
2009-12-23 10:26:40 UTC
Yes. Coins of monarchies show the profile of the monarch. The UK (and Canada) also change the direction the monarch is facing as well. HM the Queen is facing to our left, therefore Charles will be looking to our right on coins when he becomes King.
2014-08-25 20:46:40 UTC
Hey there,

you can find a free download of Warcraft III Reign of Chaos here: http://j.mp/1ohgQ6d



You will have to lead your armies to victory while you build an impenetrable fortress to defend against enemies. There are four races available: Orcs, Humans, the Undead and Night Elves.

It's amazing.
Paco
2009-12-22 12:53:32 UTC
It is not an ancient tradition going back hundreds of years. The process may not continue after Elizabeth (especially in Canada and Australia, particularly if Charles is age 80 when he ascends).

--------------------

The whole use of coins and banknotes is fairly inefficient. It slows down transactions as people hunt for change, and it promotes crime. Automated Teller Machines are relatively expensive and not always available. If Queen Elizabeth lives another 20 years, it is possible that most cash transactions will be replaced with something using cellular phones. You will download cash into your phone and then transfer it to someone elses phone (or cash machine).

=================

Of all the western economies, the British have always been the most uncomfortable with large banknotes. It goes back to WW2 and the threat of economic chaos nearly caused by the Nazi counterfeiting operations based on Jewish detainees in concentration camps. At one point parliament recalled all the pound notes larger than £5 pounds.

---

Switzerland is the european country that has the most per capita large banknotes in circulation.

There 26.5 million 1000 Swiss franc banknotes in circulation, while Switzerland has a population of only 7.5 million. That is over 3 banknotes per person. In comparison the UK has 174 million of the £50 banknotes while UK has a population of 61 million. That is less than 3 banknotes per person. But the 1000 franc banknote is worth roughly £600.

---

Mobile phone penetration is the highest in the world in UK and Nordic countries. The currencies are all limited to circulation in one country. They are the ones most likely to switch widespread electronic transactions. I could see the UK stop printing £50 banknotes and within 3 years declaring that the remaining ones in circulation need to be exchanged in banks for lower denomination banknotes.The present day supply of coins (which is over 200 coins per person) may not need to be updated.

---

Most countries also have a limit on the size of cash transactions before they need to reported to the government. In the USA it is $10,000 before you need to fill out a form for the IRS. I don't know the equivalent in the UK, but assume it is £6000. Without a £50 banknotes you would need three hundred £20 notes which would weigh 3 kilograms (6.6 lbs). Such a transaction would be awkward at best, and transactions of £1 million would involve 500 kilograms (1100 lbs) of currency effectively making them nearly impossible. It would make all criminal transactions forced to be conducted in Euros or diamonds, or bearer bonds or more traceable electronic transfers. I think you will see a safer UK, both from white collar crime, narco traffic, human trafficking, prostitution and down to street muggings with knives.
Lord Lucan
2009-12-23 07:54:09 UTC
Yes that is true dear boy. Queen Elizabeth does not look a day over 30 on the banknotes, just like in real life.



GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
Loading...