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Number of banknotes in circulation (millions of notes at end-Feb)
| £5 | £10 | £20 | £50 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 308 | 718 | 1,824 | 221 | 3,071 |
| 2015 | 320 | 737 | 1,946 | 236 | 3,239 |
| 2016 | 329 | 777 | 2,052 | 263 | 3,421 |
| 2017 | 382 | 801 | 2,168 | 312 | 3,663 |
| 2018 | 382 | 779 | 2135 | 330 | 3626 |
Value of banknotes in circulation (£ millions at end-Feb)
| £5 | £10 | £20 | £50 | Total1 | Other notes2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 1,540 | 7,182 | 36,483 | 11,025 | 56,230 | 3,967 |
| 2015 | 1,601 | 7,371 | 38,912 | 11,788 | 59,671 | 4,118 |
| 2016 | 1,645 | 7,767 | 41,037 | 13,157 | 63,606 | 4,212 |
| 2017 | 1,912 | 8,006 | 43,357 | 15,601 | 68,876 | 4,322 |
| 2018 | 1,910 | 7,789 | 42,692 | 16,508 | 68,899 | 4,351 |
1 Total is the sum of £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes excluding all other notes. See below.
2 Higher value notes used as cover for the note issues of banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Number of banknotes produced (millions of notes)
| £5 | £10 | £20 | £50 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013/14 | 232 | 250 | 380 | 90 | 952 |
| 2014/15 | 221 | 210 | 340 | 72 | 843 |
| 2015/16 | 256 | 274 | 144 | 0 | 674 |
| 2016/17 | 349 | 555 | 8 | 0 | 912 |
| 2017/18 | 0 | 1,104 | 200 | 0 | 1,304 |
Number of banknotes issued (millions of notes)
| £5 | £10 | £20 | £50 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013/14 | 159 | 214 | 264 | 45 | 682 |
| 2014/15 | 174 | 243 | 310 | 43 | 770 |
| 2015/16 | 195 | 568 | 253 | 37 | 1,053 |
| 2016/17 | 329 | 401 | 319 | 64 | 1,112 |
| 2017/18 | 77 | 819 | 165 | 43 | 1,104 |
Value of banknotes issued (£ millions)
| £5 | £10 | £20 | £50 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013/14 | 793 | 2,141 | 5,281 | 2,260 | 10,474 |
| 2014/15 | 869 | 2,433 | 6,202 | 2,165 | 11,668 |
| 2015/16 | 977 | 5,683 | 5,056 | 1,831 | 13,547 |
| 2016/17 | 1,643 | 4,008 | 6,382 | 3,188 | 15,220 |
| 2017/18 | 386 | 8,192 | 3,291 | 2,169 | 14,039 |
Number of banknotes destroyed (millions of notes)
| £5 | £10 | £20 | £50 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013/14 | 185 | 281 | 191 | 37 | 695 |
| 2014/15 | 200 | 235 | 192 | 35 | 662 |
| 2015/16 | 179 | 525 | 177 | 10 | 891 |
| 2016/17 | 302 | 406 | 169 | 10 | 886 |
| 2017/18 | 238 | 778 | 174 | 10 | 1,201 |
Value of banknotes destroyed (£ millions)
| £5 | £10 | £20 | £50 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013/14 | 927 | 2,811 | 3,821 | 1,874 | 9,432 |
| 2014/15 | 1,001 | 2,351 | 3,848 | 1,739 | 8,939 |
| 2015/16 | 893 | 5,250 | 3,547 | 481 | 10,172 |
| 2016/17 | 1,509 | 4,058 | 3,371 | 484 | 9,422 |
| 2017/18 | 1,192 | 7,785 | 3,474 | 506 | 12,956 |
Number of claims for damaged banknotes
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torn/part notes | 12,619 | 11,328 | 10,671 | 10,471 | 11,557 |
| Chewed/eaten | 5,815 | 5,703 | 5,364 | 5,094 | 4,826 |
| Washed | 2,072 | 1,967 | 1,801 | 1,809 | 2,065 |
| Contaminated | 2,727 | 2,962 | 2,912 | 2,565 | 2,361 |
| Fire/flood damaged | 1,182 | 1,133 | 997 | 1,239 | 1,785 |
| Total | 24,415 | 23,093 | 21,745 | 21,178 | 22,594 |
Value of claims for damaged banknotes
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torn/part notes | £2,423 | £2,337 | £1,871 | £1,853 | £3,612 |
| Chewed/eaten | £124 | £127 | £128 | £123 | £134 |
| Washed | £66 | £57 | £61 | £68 | £76 |
| Contaminated | £9,400 | £7,306 | £8,653 | £8,353 | £5,884 |
| Fire/flood damaged | £544 | £1,051 | £543 | £3,466 | £768 |
| Total | £12,557 | £10,878 | £11,256 | £13,863 | £10,474 |
Number and notional value of counterfeits discovered (rounded to the nearest 1,000)
| Year | £5 | £10 | £20 | £50 | Total | Notional Value (£ millions)* | Number removed before entering circulation (bulk seizures) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 5,000 | 248,000 | 435,000 | 16,000 | 704,000 | 12.01 | 8,000 |
| 2014 | 2,000 | 96,000 | 327,000 | 15,000 | 440,000 | 8.26 | 0 |
| 2015 | 1,000 | 53,000 | 173,000 | 23,000 | 250,000 | 5.15 | 0 |
| 2016 | 2,000 | 23,000 | 302,000 | 27,000 | 354,000 | 7.63 | 6,000 |
| 2017 | 1,000 | 43,000 | 393,000 | 32,000 | 469,000 | 9.90 | 0 |
Data include counterfeits of both current and old series notes. For £5 in 2017, these were principally discoveries of counterfeits of paper banknotes which are no longer legal tender.
Notional value* of counterfeits discovered (£ millions, rounded to nearest £1,000)
| Year | £5 | £10 | £20 | £50 | Total (£ millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | £0.03 | £2.48 | £8.70 | £0.80 | £12.01 |
| 2014 | £0.01 | £0.96 | £6.54 | £0.75 | £8.26 |
| 2015 | £0.01 | £0.53 | £3.46 | £1.15 | £5.15 |
| 2016 | £0.01 | £0.23 | £6.04 | £1.35 | £7.63 |
| 2017 | £0.01 | £0.43 | £7.86 | £1.60 | £9.90 |
*Counterfeit banknotes are worthless.
Data include counterfeits of both current and old series notes. For £5 in 2017, these were principally discoveries of counterfeits of paper banknotes which are no longer legal tender