Number of paper Bank of England £5, £10, £20 and £50 banknotes returned or still in circulation as at 28 April 2023

Freedom of Information rules mean that, as a public authority, the Bank of England is obliged to disclose certain types of information, both proactively and on request.

Date: 30 May 2023

Disclosure: 

Please see below for the number and value of Bank of England (the ‘Bank’) £5, £10, £20 and £50 paper banknotes (all series) which have been returned and are still in circulation since the issue of the respective polymer banknotes as at 28 April 2023:

  Number of banknotes returned (millions) Number of banknotes in circulation (millions) Value of returned banknotes (£millions) Value of banknotes in circulation (£millions)
 £5 paper banknotes returned since 13 September 2016*  232  111  1,158  555
 £10 paper banknotes returned since 14 September 2017*  726  65  7,256  7,654
 £20 paper banknotes returned since 20 February 2020*  1,645  198  32,891  3,968
 £50 paper banknotes returned since 23 June 2021*  276  70  13,823  3,506
 Total  2,878  445  55,127  8,683

*Date the polymer banknote was issued

All genuine Bank of England banknotes that have been withdrawn from circulation retain their face value for all time. There is no expiry on the period in which we will exchange old banknotes. Details on how to exchange banknotes can be viewed on our website.