Exact date first banknotes featuring King Charles will enter circulation

BANK notes featuring King Charles will soon be in circulation.

The portrait of the King will appear on existing designs of the £5, £10, £20 and £50 note.

Banknotes carrying a portrait of the King will be issued for the first time on June 5 this year.

His Majesty’s portrait will appear on the existing designs of all four banknotes with no other changes to the notes.

Banknotes that feature the portrait of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will remain legal tender and will circulate alongside King Charles III notes.

The new banknotes will only replace ones that are worn and to meet any overall increase in demand.

The Bank of England has said, “The public will begin to see the new King Charles III notes very gradually.”

Members of the public will be able to exchange a limited value of current or old series notes for new King Charles III notes through the Bank of England for a short time from June 5.

Further information on this will be provided by the Bank of England closer to the time of the issue date.

The current series of banknotes features the following characters in the designs, Winston Churchill (£5), Jane Austen (£10), JMW Turner (£20) and Alan Turing (£50).

Although the notes that enter circulation on June 5 will feature a new portrait of the monarch, the reverse side of each note remains unchanged.

The new banknotes carrying the portrait of King Charles were first unveiled in December last year.

Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey said at the time: “I am very proud that the Bank is releasing the design of our new banknotes which will carry a portrait of King Charles III.

This is a significant moment

“This is a significant moment, as The King is only the second monarch to feature on our banknotes.”

When Queen Elizabeth II came to power, coins with her father’s image, George VI remained in circulation for almost 20 years after his death.

They were eventually removed when decimalisation was introduced in 1971.

But after one monarch has died and another lined up to take their place, it means a whole host of other things need to change.

Coins with the new King on entered circulation at the beginning of December 2023.

The 50p officially entered circulation and is available from Post Offices around the UK.

In keeping with tradition, The King’s portrait faces to the left – in the opposite direction to the late Queen.

On the new 50p coin featuring King Charles III, the Monarch is not wearing a crown.

This is because Kings are not often depicted wearing a crown on coins, although Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had one.

All UK coins bearing the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II will remain legal tender and in active circulation.

They will be replaced over time as they become damaged or worn and to meet demand for additional coins – much like with notes.

Historically it is the case that coins featuring different monarchs do co-circulate, ensuring a smooth transition with minimal environmental impact and cost.

How to spot rare coins and banknotes that could be worth hundreds

Rare coins and notes hiding down the back of your sofa could sell for hundreds of pounds.

If you are lucky enough to find a rare £10 note you might be able to sell it for multiple times its face value.

You can spot rare notes by keeping an eye out for the serial numbers.

These numbers can be found on the side with the Monarch’s face, just under the value £10 in the corner of the note.

Also if you have a serial number on your note that is quite quirky you could cash in thousands.

For example, one seller bagged £3,600 after spotting a specific serial number relating to the year Jane Austen was born on one of their notes.

You can check if your notes are worth anything on eBay, just tick “completed and sold items” and filter by the highest value.

It will give you an idea of what people are willing to pay for some notes.

But do bear in mind that yours is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.

This is also the case for coins, you can determine how rare your coin is by looking a the latest scarcity index.

The next step is to take a look at what has been recently sold on eBay.

Experts from Change Checker recommend looking at “sold listings” to be sure that the coin has sold for the specified amount rather than just been listed.

People can list things for any price they like, but it doesn’t mean it will sell for that amount.

We explain further how you can find out if you have a rare coin worth thousands sitting around the house.