The history of the UK banknote
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The UK banknotes have gone through some big changes since they were first introduced but do you know the story behind them? In this blog, we guide you through the history of UK banknotes as we take a look at just how far they’ve come…
By Alexandra Siddons from Change Checker
Timeline
7th Century – China
The first recorded use of ‘paper’ money was in China back in the seventh century! However, it was not until over a thousand years later that paper money made its way to Europe.
16th Century – Goldsmith-Bankers
In the 16 century, the goldsmith-bankers would issue receipts for cash, known as ‘running cash notes’. They were made out in the name of the depositor and also carried the words, ‘or bearer’, after the name of the depositor.
This similar phrase still appears on British banknotes today: “I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of…”
1694 – Bank of England
When the Bank of England was established in 1694 to raise money for King William III’s war effort, they issued notes i...
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