Bank of England White Five Pound Note

The Bank of England white five pound note is a large-format sterling banknote printed in black ink on white paper on one side only. Five pound notes were first introduced by the Bank of England in 1793 to address gold shortages arising from the French Revolutionary Wars. Early issues were handwritten onto paper as needed for individuals, bearing the payee's name, the date, and the signature of an issuing cashier. In 1853, fully printed notes superseded these handwritten documents, introducing the standardised typographic phrasing that promised to pay the bearer on demand the sum of five pounds.

During the restriction period between 1797 and 1821, the convertibility of banknotes into gold was halted following severe bank runs. When the gold standard resumed in May 1821, notes could once more be presented at the Bank of England for full or partial redemption in gold, with partial redemptions marked directly on the paper. The right to redeem these banknotes for gold was permanently ended in 1931 when Britain departed from the gold standard. In 1945, a metal thread was embedded into the note as an added security feature. The traditional black and white notes remained in circulation until they were phased out from 1957 onwards in favour of smaller, double-sided notes.

Characterised by its single-sided typographic layout, the note features the prominent Bank of England heading alongside the printed promise to pay. The reverse of the banknote is entirely blank. The paper used for the note incorporates a watermark. When printed issues commenced in 1853, they initially carried the printed signature of one of three cashiers; from 1870 onward, this was standardised to feature the printed signature of the Chief Cashier, which serves to distinguish different eras of production.

The specific period of issue is indicated by the signature of the Chief Cashier and the presence of an embedded metal thread introduced in 1945.